What's That White Stuff Coming From the Sky????

Oh yes my friends, it started snowing last night and hasn't stopped. Today marked my first day walking to work in the snow. I was pleased to find that my hiking boots are water/snow proof. I have two kinds of snow boots....one for -40 degree weather, but I just wasn't ready to bust them out, yet.

People here have been chuckling at my furry earmuffs. Now, I found out that the women here only have their ears pierced once. And they wear beautiful beaded dangling earrings. The kids rub my earlobes & feel my earrings quite often. So to me, it makes sense that the most pierced up woman in the village would be wearing earmuffs. It just makes sense....and the fur part is just cool. I own that look!! People have told me that once the temp hits -30 I'll have to take my earrings out....and for some reason I am totally against that. I've given up the vegetarian, I'm sure the fur is murder part is gonna go too, and I've started dressing down for work, but I just can't give up my earrings!! I only take them out to clean them....I betcha I can totally keep wearing them. I have made it my personal mission to keep my earrings in all winter, without freezing my ears.

I took the kids outside for a quick recess in the snow. I was hoping being outside would recharge them & give them a chance to chill out. It worked. They made snowballs, snow angels, and swung on the swings. A couple of my boys were showing me how to make snowballs.... :) And we had fun & all of us felt better when we came back in. My first snow recess!!

People think it's funny that I'm not used to snow. But they aren't used to wind here & it's been really windy. So I see your snow Akiak, & raise you some wind!! People were saying "Man, this wind is crazy!" And I didn't even notice the wind being that bad.

I've also come to the realization that I am somewhat quirky. I think the quirkiness will be what keeps me going here, but I find myself doing some weird things. Like today my stapler jammed....so I took it apart after pounding it on the table didn't work. Have you ever taken apart a stapler? Actually, it's rather easy. The trick is putting it back together. Which I did....after a while. And that didn't really fix the stapler anyways....but I tried. I can now relate to that stapler guy from Office Space...if you have a good stapler - hold on to that baby!!!

I'm hoping to go to Bethel this weekend on a boat. A coworker read my blog and is trying to help me out. I do love the people out here. I am having a lot of fun in Akiak.

I just found out that there's a free skin sewing class two times a week. They teach you how to sew furs & skins & provide all the materials. I'm so gonna check it out! And I no longer feel bad about that kind of stuff.....a PETA person wouldn't last two weeks out in the bush. By the way, I totally ate hamburger today.

I saw an eagle flying....I found out later it was a bald eagle. Yay!! C'mon moose & bear!! I hear foxes run wild in the villages during winter.....hope so!!

Weekly Reflections - Week 7

Technically, I have been gone for two months now. I have been in Akiak for seven weeks. I am starting to feel like I want to get out for a bit. I'm thinking maybe I'll hit Anchorage for Thanksgiving break. I am being social here and I'm loving the new friends I'm making. But the urge to get out is getting stronger. I know people who have boats but I hate asking them if I could tag along. Maybe I'm being to nice about things. Should I start inviting myself on their boat trips to Bethel? I think I'll put the word out that I'd love to go to Bethel.....

It's funny, I really don't mind the isolation. It doesn't bother me being thousands of miles from home & hundreds of miles from the nearest city. I don't mind being out of the loop news wise. I like being away from it all...but sometimes I need to get my civilized "fix".

I do feel like I'm at the school a bunch. I am going to try to stay after school more during the week so I can get a break from the actual building during the weekends. There's no time for planning except on my own time. I work a longer school day than I'm used to & there's only a half hour window to hit the post office before it closes. My schedule is pretty tight.

I guess I'm just feelin' antsy. It's supposed to snow next week. I'm so looking forward to that. I can't wait to experience my first Alaskan snowfall. It's gonna be sweet!

Fall seems to have happened in a matter of weeks. There's still some leaves on the trees but it went from green to yellow to leaves falling so fast. It's pretty but wow, winter's coming!

The funny thing is that being out here isn't all that exciting anymore. Life has settled down. I mostly work & meet my friends for movie nights. I'm loving it here, but it's not really exciting. I could see myself staying out here for a while.

I know those of you hoping to follow my exciting love life are probably wondering if there's anything I'm not posting....nope. Sorry. One man working on the road offered me a ride in his truck, but I don't accept rides from strangers....it's really easy to disappear out here. No thank you. So the Miss is staying a Miss! And let me warn you ladies hoping to move out to Alaska to meet all the available men. They aren't found in villages. Sorry. Stick to the more urban areas. And yes, bush pilots are cool but you have to be near a bush plane to meet them....which I haven't been.

And that's it for me....for now....enjoy the heat California....It's 50 degrees colder here.

Happy, Grumpy, & Dopey

For the first time the other night, I saw the moon! I was so excited, I grabbed my camera and ran out to take a picture. I hadn't seen the moon since California. It felt like I was seeing an old friend again. I was happy.

Until yesterday. Have you ever had just one of those crappy, ugly days? Well yesterday was one of mine. Everything that could go wrong seemed to go wrong. I was grumpy, my kids were grumpy, I had to redo my progress reports....it was just yuck, yuck, yuck....

I was worried that my grumpyness would carry over into today. But I had the best walk this morning. It was 30 degrees this morning and no humidity. I bundled up really well & left the house. I tried to see my breath, but it was too dry for that. The sun was just rising so it looked like twilight. The moon was high in the sky, full and bright. The wind came right up from the north pole. I was warm & cozy and it was freezing outside.

My outfit was something special. My wool socks & hiking boots kept my feet warm. I had forgotten to tuck my pants into my socks, so my legs had a bit of a breeze. I was wearing a tee shirt, a sweat shirt & my jacket. I had a hat, gloves, & a scarf. I was wearing a hood over my hat. It was great!! The only thing I don't like is the wind blows the dirt and it hits you right in the face. I was walking in the wind this morning, but this afternoon I kept getting a mouth full of sand. Not so fun.

My winter coat & boots came in, but they were too small. I thought I sized them out right, but nope. The nice thing is that they got here in 4 days, so I should have a replacement coat pretty soon.

I'll share a funny moment from my day: We came into the gym for an assembly. There was a podium & a mike set up with no one standing there. We were sitting there and suddenly the mic started giving that awful feedback wailing. Everyone covered their ears. But nobody got up to do anything about it. So I jumped up thinking I could just turn off the mic. I was the only one who made a move to do something. I moved the mic & the sound stopped. I got some cheers but then the sound came back. I fixed it the second time. I just think that was funny. I'm used to other people fixing that kind of stuff. I guess so was everyone else....

Since moving here, my social life has really picked up. I have plans every weekend, which is funny. When I lived in the SF Bay Area, I would stay home all the time. Get me into a village and all of a sudden I'm Miss Social....go figure!!!

Weekly Reflections - Week 6

The thing is, what I've been reflecting on lately isn't a topic I really wanted to bring up on my blog. But whatever.....I can't pretend everything is rainbows & lollipops all the time.

The real focus on my reflections has to do with negativity. I have found that negativity doesn't bring anything other than more negativity. It truly contaminates everything around you, it's like a virus, killing all that is beautiful and pure.

I saw it first hand this past week. I had a bad day. My students are amazing students, but Mondays seem to be off days. And instead of doing something constructive with my time & energy, I allowed myself to feel other people's bad vibes. And it brought me down.....brought me to tears actually. Okay, maybe hormones had more to do with the tears, but I just felt all the ugliness with humanity. And in a 2 square mile town, everything is magnified....everybody knows every body's business, and not all of it is pretty. Well, no one's life is pretty....we can just hide it better in a bigger place...or ignore certain parts of town that we don't associate with.

And everything added together can make for a pretty big downer.

So I cried & whined about it. I called a friend and listed all the bad things that were happening here. I unloaded all my issues and wallowed in my pain. I spoke about my frustrations, my fears, and my hopelessness. It was a dark moment for me....

Thank goodness I vented to a guy with the sensitivity of a box of rocks because his brilliant advice was: "Then quit."

*blink* *blink* "What? What are you crazy? I love it here!"

I gotta say, men will never get it. That so wasn't even the point! BUT hearing that was exactly what I needed to pick myself up and realize what I was doing. If you focus on the negative, you will only see the negative. So I decided to throw the Emperor down the airshaft (star wars reference!!) and turn away from the darkside. (on a side note: what is the other side called? light side of the force? no clue.....) And it worked....yes, there are things here that I do consider ugly...and those same things happen in Benicia & all over the world...but I can't focus on that...I need to be Yoda to these kids....with a better sense of grammar and fashion sense....but I'll represent the good and try to steer them away from the bad.....

I'm telling you, Star Wars is so much more than a movie....and I'm gonna make some geek so happy one day.....sigh.

Early September

Here's a slide show (with music...pretty fancy!!!) that I made of pictures of the path I take to work, Captain (my 1st rescue puppy), the river, and my house. I included a before and after shot of my room.

I will be taking more pictures this weekend. The leaves are already yellow & falling off the trees!

Enjoy!

Weekly Reflections - Week 5

So the post I did late last night wasn't a reflections post. I just wanted to give everyone an update.

So far, things are going well. It's weird that there's no familiar part of my life. That's been hard. I mean, my school's new, my house is new, my friends are new, and my village is new....at least new to me. There's not really one familiar thing to me.

At least Lola my cat is the same as ever. She's still full of energy and keeps to the same routines. After I shower, I lay down & she lays on me & cuddles. Daisy has found a new leash on life. Not only is she more playful and friendly to strangers (gasp!!), but she's more affectionate with me. Maybe she needs more reassurance, but I think she's thriving up here. They are both doing very well. I'm so grateful I brought them up with me. I would be miserable here without them. It helps me not feel homesick. Sure, I miss the people, but home is where my kitties are. When I used to go away, I'd miss my kitties. Sigh, at least being up here will help dispel the "crazy cat lady" myth....now you all know I'm a "crazy animal lady" with all the puppies & kitties around me.

Speaking of animals.....I still have yet to see any wild ones!! The crows I found out are actually ravens. Which makes me think of my brother Ethan...not only is that his favorite football team but edgar allen poe and all that (he's a big reader). So here's my list of wild animals I have seen here in Alaska:

*ravens
*ducks
*seagulls
*bugs

Yep, that's it. Gee, animals are so dangerous here in the bush....if you ever come across them!!! Where are the eagles??? The moose??? The bears??? The foxes???

One thing I have really loved about Alaska (besides the breathtaking natural beauty) is the people I've met. I have met some of the funniest people ever. There's one guy who gets my award for the funniest man I have ever met. He's in a different village but he makes me laugh so hard I cry....mostly during the inservices. I never know what he's going to say next. There's a lot of funny people around me here in Akiak, so I'm never far from a good laugh. Laughter makes life so much easier.

I guess I'm not too reflective today. My only real thoughts are that life is getting easier up here all the time. I have to buy my winter gear soon. I'll be walking to school in -30 degrees, so I have to get some good stuff! Here's my list so far:

*snow boots
*snow pants
*a winter parka
*a flash light that attaches to my head since it will be pitch black
*cleats (no, not for sports) since the road will be a sheet of ice
*goggles

I have hat's & two pairs of really good gloves. I also have something to put over your face to keep it warm under your parka. I really need to get started on getting this stuff together. Cold weather will be starting at the end of October. I see some shopping in my future!!

Dogs, Puppies, & Bush Planes.....

Well, moose season has officially started here in the bush. Which really doesn't mean much to a non-hunter like myself, except that school is closed for the week and I had a week of inservices (training). I didn't update much because not much was happening. If I did, it would look like this:

I sat all day listening to lectures.
I sat all day listening to lectures.
I sat all day listening to lectures.

Granted, it was very good information and I had a delightful presentation, but not much to write home about.

Until now.......

**************

I have been really trying to walk more. Not having a car/vechicle has really helped me achieve this goal. So I was offered a ride home and I politely passed. Until I heard those magic words: "We have the four-wheeler."

Sweet! I'm in!!!

And I loved it! It was fun bouncing around over the puddles. At one point, we passed a bunch of kids, one of them being my student, who were out playing with their dogs. One of the dogs started running alongside the 4 wheeler. My student shouts out, "He'll bite your foot!!" I think "yeah, whatever" when this wolf hound lunges and snaps at my foot!!!

I hold up my finger and say with conviction: "NO!"

The dog pauses for a moment & gives me a perplexed look. The driver gives this dog a hand motion that sends him running back to his kids. Sure wish I saw what that was, because it was very effective.

Then it hits me....I may have to kick a dog here in Alaska.

It was only later, when I got home that I remembered the man who drove me home is legally blind. Whoops.

*************

So one of my inservices was to take place at a different school in my district. Not uncommon in any district. What made this special is that we had to take bush planes to get to the other school.

Now, just because it says we're leaving at 8:30 does not mean we are actually leaving at 8:30. This is life in the bush. Nothing really goes according to plan.

So I arrive at the school around 8:00. I had checked the weather (looked out the window) & the sky was clear. Of course, when we walked out a half hour later we were covered in a blanket of fog. It dropped on us like a water balloon. And bush planes won't fly in the fog. It's too dangerous.

So we just work in our classrooms, chit chat....pretty much keep ourselves busy. The hours pass & I'm wondering when will they give up & call it a day.

At 11:00 we were told to gather our things. We went down to the airstrip....and waited some more.....and waited some more after that. Our plane arrives & we take a FIVE MINUTE FLIGHT to get to Akiachak at lunchtime.

It ended up being a lovely day. Akiachak is much larger & more spread out. We were standing on the deck at the school and you could see out for miles. There's not as many trees so the land & the sky seemed to go on and on. I bet you would have loved to see it....too bad I forgot my camera.

After our condensed version of the inservice, they had to hustle us out to the airstrip to make our 4:30 flights. Now, our district is made up of 3 villages (Akiachak, Akiak, & Tuluksak) so there were people from two villages flying out. We were piled into 2 pickup trucks & convoyed out.

We had a ginormous bush plane waiting for us. It fit 9 people and 2 pilots. (I love that the plane seemed huge to me.) And FIVE MINUTES later, we were home.

It seemed so surreal to me to be taking a plane to go to the next village for a meeting. My life now has these moments that are just so completely different from anything I've ever known that it blows my mind.

***************

I was exercising (don't be too impressed, it was the 2nd time since I moved here) and I finally get to the cool down part. I look outside my window to see a puppy come out into the road & howl. It looked just like Captain, the puppy I rescued a few weeks ago. I run outside & call, "Captain!! Captain!!" The puppy had started down the road but he turns and starts running to me. The massive lake in front of the house slowed him down, but he got to me, whining & carrying on with his ordeal.

I pick him up & was asking him how he got all the way over here. One of my neighbors comes out & asks me, "Did you find another one?" I said, "Didn't I already rescue this one?" and laugh. I look down at the puppy....hmmmm....didn't Captain have a bigger white spot on his chest?....nawwww....

I call Captain's owner. "Are you missing a puppy?" I laugh at him.

"Nope, Captain's right here."

Oooooohhhh nooooooo......this is a different puppy. This is a different puppy! I found another puppy. But Captain's Owner (protecting the innocent) tells me what house he thinks had puppies that looks like Captain.
So I venture off to return the puppy. Still in my exercise gear & dripping of sweat. Fantastic.

No one was home at the first house, but I decide to bring the puppy to a local kid hang out right by my house. Thinking maybe a kid brought him over to play & the puppy walked off. There are no kids there. Great.

But there is another teacher whose dog just had puppies. She's not sure if she's missing a puppy (she's building a dog sled team) so she does a count. Yeah, she's missing one....a black one. Just like the one I found. So she's pretty sure it's her puppy.

Good enough for me!! Puppy is now safe & sound.

Seriously though, am I a magnet for saving puppies? That puppy was running in the wrong direction. I totally saved it! Or am I just a dork who runs out of her house in her workout gear to go chasing down a puppy? I'm thinking maybe the latter....

Weekly Reflections - Month 1

I would have updated sooner, had it not been for unreliable internet service. One day the cell phones were down too. And then the power went out. You would think I'd be upset. I had no power & no way to communicate with the outside world. I wasn't upset as much as annoyed & bored. I've been more annoyed at the lack of internet. Man, remember when I would complain that the Internet was slow??? Those were the days!

Moose season has officially opened here in Alaska. And thanks to some generous villagers, I have moose meat in the fridge, waiting to be cooked up. It still has some hair on it. But I will try it. I've heard moose meat is very yummy. We'll see.

I went outside to take a picture of a fireweed. It was so green last month, but now it's a deep redish orange....basically the color of fire. Where I betcha that's where it gets it's name. A man came up to me & told me he's picking up my house & my neighbor's. I'm thinking, like on a route??

Oh no. He's lifting my house 3 feet. Out of the flood path. And here comes the kicker, "So you'll be out of water & sewer for a while. But I'm sure you can shower at the school."

I start laughing. HARD. I can't stop. All I can say is, "Of course."

Then he looks at our house & says, "Wait! There's your water line. Oh! I can do this without affecting your water & sewer at all! But don't tell your neighbors..."

Trust me, I won't.

And now for the reflections part:

My bush order finally came in. Okay, I'm still missing a box but the food came in. So life is a bit different having a pantry full of food. I now have a variety of food choices....and for that I'm happy.

Something has been bugging me that I didn't really prepare myself for. Now, I should have because this is not a "bush thing". This could happen anywhere.

When you start over somewhere new, nobody knows you. Which I knew, but I wasn't prepared for me having to prove myself as a teacher. California calls things different from Alaska. A SST is a TAT here. State Standards are called GLEs....so when people start talking, I have to clarify what they mean. Which makes me feel stupid. And i'm not used explaining myself in my classroom. I started something new and a "bigwig" came in when I was doing a "test run", seeing what works and seeing what I will have to do in the future. I was asked questions about it, and I didn't feel very good about myself.

I don't go to the principal for problems that I have. My style has been to work it out myself. And if I can't, then I go and say "I've done A, B, & C and it hasn't worked. I need help." Well, pat myself on the back because so far everything I can manage, but now I'm getting worried that I'm not out there making a name for myself.

But that's not why I'm here. I'm here for the kids. Already, the kids are showing progress. They can already do things (or at least the first step) academically that they couldn't do two weeks ago. But nobody comes in to see that. So I'm worried that I'm not coming off well at all or worse that I'm not effective. I think time will tell. I plan to just do my best and enjoy teaching my kids. I don't expect a red carpet welcoming or a parade, I just don't like feeling like people doubt my abilities. I was missing a curriculum binder that was supposed to be in my classroom (not the first thing NOT in my classroom) and was asked if maybe I threw it out. It was a big binder labeled CURRICULUM on it. Yeah, that's something I would do. I'm pretty sure I shot a dirty look when I answered that question.

Thank god my students love me. I can tell, they are what's going to make Akiak totally worth it in the end. And I am enjoying getting to know my co-workers. Sigh, leaving home and Farmar is a lot harder than I thought it was going to be.