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.