Summer School, a Funeral, 4 Wheelin', & Hot Water.....

The title of this post pretty much sums up my adventures this past week.

Summer school started, last year we had about 20 kids and this year the village next to us had 12 kids....WE have 55 kids coming every day. In fact, if it weren't for our volunteers, we wouldn't have enough staff to work with them. The elders have been coming every day and teaching the kids the traditional Yup'ik way of life. O & I have been running the academic portion of the day. We even had a documentary crew come out (okay - it was just one guy) to film the first week. And can I just say that I have no idea what he's vision with the project is because he didn't bother interviewing me at all. He interviewed the new teachers and the elders. He filmed me teaching and working with the kids but didn't really talk to me. To him I say: "Good luck with your stupid one-sided documentary.....way to get a balanced view of everyone working together." It actually makes me wonder about other documentaries.....who else did those people leave out? Michael Moore might have a lot of explaining to do......

Anyways, summer school is going very well. The kids are enjoying themselves and the community is really coming together. It's been a very cool thing to see.

On a sad note: the school's payroll accountant passed away. I didn't know him very well, but I had met him and corresponded with him a couple of times. I was invited to attend his funeral with one family. She is the school secretary and he's the elder who I have been working with for summer school. They gave me a ride on their boat and took me under their wing during the service. It was a Russian Orthodox service (my great-grandparents were Russian Orthodox until my great-grandfather committed suicide and the church refused to bury him ~ but it was kinda neat to see something I was connected to at some point anyways) and they sang most of the service. The other part was in Yup'ik, so I didn't understand most of it. It was my first open-casket funeral so I was a bit nervous as I paid my respects. It was a sad service. He was obviously loved and you can tell he will be missed. He was always nice to me and took care of any issues I had.

I won't say what village I was in.....because this next part is kinda funny. One of my colleagues had posted a sign....now, this colleague is a math teacher...and I'm sure he's a fine math teacher....but an English major he is not. The sign stated that the gym had to be "broomed" daily. That's right....."broomed". Now, in case you are saying "Lara, maybe that's just the way people talk there.....", to which I give this answer: I asked some kids what you call it when you clean the floor with a broom and they looked at me oddly & said "sweeping". See kids? Teachers make mistakes too.

On Saturday, I went down to the river where O & his family were having a picnic. There was a bonfire and they were roasting hot dogs & making s'mores. It was a lot of fun. They had borrowed another teacher's 4 wheeler and I got to drive it. I loved it! I got up to 20 miles and it felt like I was flying down the beach!! M (O's wife) splashed me pretty good when she was driving it. After that, we went wading in the river......and let me tell you: that river was COLD!!! But we had a lot of fun. I would like to buy a 4 wheeler. I would be able to put my boxes on the back and not have to rely on others to help me. I like being independent and besides, I would have so much fun zipping around Akiak. I could even drive it to Bethel on the ice road if I so desired.....I bet my mom just had a heart attack reading that one! Don't worry: I wouldn't be alone and I'd be plenty warm.

And now....for the hot water. I don't have any. They refilled the school's tanks and that causes all the sediment at the bottom to come up and so they turn off the hot water for a couple of days and wait for that stuff to settle before they try to run it through....so no hot water for me for the next two days. I can shower at the school if I need to....but I can also heat some water up to wash my face & sponge bath. My hair may get pretty gross but by the time I can't stand it, the water should come back one. Basically, I can deal. There once was a time in my life where the idea of not showering 2x a day was so unappealing to me...don't get me wrong, I still like my showers, but the world won't end if I do a quick clean for a couple of days. Life will be fine.

I'm getting so tough!

Gnome Update: My gnome sent me a new gnome to keep me company until he returns. But I've learned my lesson! This gnome hasn't left my classroom....although my neighbor planted a garden....I suppose the nice thing to do would be put him in an actual garden....sigh...we'll see.....