Finally, April has arrived! March seemed to drag so I'm hoping April will fly. Everything at school is going about the same. Ever since the accident, things around the village have gone back to normal. Last week we had a walk in the village to end domestic violence. A lot of people showed up with signs, stickers, posters, bracelets, etc. It was a state wide event and our village was one of hundreds that participated. It was nice to see everyone come together for a good cause. After the walk we had a community potluck dinner with the villagers and teachers. Everyone brought something with them, I brought some cookies that disappeared quickly. Ever since I got here the kids have talked about this eskimo ice cream that they love so much. I wasn't sure what it was until one of the teachers described what was in it. It is a combination of Crisco, sugar and frozen mixed berries. Some put fish in it. At the potluck they had bowls and bowls of this stuff. I put a tiny bit on my plate to try and see what all the rave was and found out that it was as disgusting as it sounds. It is like eating a berry chapstick rolled in sugar. NASTY! The kids were eating heaping bowls of this stuff. I couldn't even handle a tiny bit. But hey, can't blame me for not trying new things!
This past week we had Standards Based Assessment (SBA's) going on for all the upper grades. Our K-2 class had to be quiet ALL day while the older kids did their testing. Most of the kids did a great job but a few had some difficulty sitting still and keeping quiet. The testing lasted 3 full days so naturally all the kids were happy it was over today. The weather has been warming up. We get up to the mid 40's some days and amazingly it feels like 80 degrees sometimes. With all the snow and the sun beating down, everything reflects and becomes so warm. Everything is starting to melt. Slowly but surely. Its becoming a icy mess in the morning. Everything melts during the day but then in the evening it freezes again. On Wednesday, Bryan and I got a ride with Ed and Cal to school in the Explorer because the roads were so terrible. It was an ice skating rink. We would of never made it to school on time or safely. (PS- I've been walking to school with Bryan, the tutor, every morning and I sure am loving it) When we got to school, Ed parked the car but with all the ice the car just started sliding. The school parking lot is half flat/ half a hill. So, Gary (school janitor and total sweetheart) pulls up next to us and the cars coming down the hill with no control and we're going "Watch out Gary" and continue to slide down the hill until we stop on a patch of gravel that had no ice. Gary is standing there laughing along with us. It's funny how things like that at home would probably freak me out but out here in the bush, its so natural and carefree, I just laugh. After a few giggles, Ed parked the car and we tried to skate in to school with our boots. The next day we got 3 inches of snow so it wasn't so icy. Talk about how crazy that is. It's spring and it's still snowing here. I miss the flowers, the crisp spring breeze blowing in the windows, etc. We're down to 31 school days left, 42 days left till I leave the village, and 49 days till I'm back in PA! I am so excited!
Bryan left the village today as his tutoring is over now that the testing is done. He is headed down to Chignik Lake to do some substituting there at their school. It is another school south of here, still in our district. I will miss having him around. He became a good friend of mine. Best of luck Bryan!
I'll be moving back to my old apartment tomorrow morning/afternoon. My allergies just need a little break from the puppy. I'm looking forward to being my goofy self again, singing loudly in the shower and dancing around the apartment. Should be a good time. Oh, my mom sent me a CD and book on how to meditate so I will be trying to work on that as well in the coming weeks. For those of you who know me, know that I am a huge stresser/worrier, so this should help me out a lot! Thank you Deb for recommending it to my mom. I will start that soon!
Ok, I think that's it for now. We'll catch up soon.
xoxo
Friday, April 6, 2012
Saturday, March 17, 2012
Where to start....
What a crazy week it has been. I think it has been the longest and most exhausting week, ever.
I'll start back last Friday when we were off to Kokhanok. At 4 o'clock we were gearing up and bundling up for the long drive ahead of us. I put on our thick socks, under armor cold gear pants and shirt, layered with long sleeve shirt and sweater, scarves, gloves, hat, jacket, face mask, googles, and I'm sure I'm forgetting something lol. Oh, hand warmers for inside our gloves (these were lifesavers!). Basically everything was covered from head to toe. We started off down First Road here in Nondalton and then across Six Mile Lake. Danielle and I were on one Honda (aka ATV), Bryan on the other Honda pulling a small John Deer trailer with all our stuff, and then Ron on his snow machine. We were doing good until we were almost across the lake. Our Honda gets stuck and Ron/Bryan had to come over and help pull it out of the snow. After a few minutes of messing around we were back on track and heading towards the trail that led to the road. We have had a lot of snow lately and so our Hondas were having a bit of a hard time trying to get through some of the snow. There were a couple hills and what not that we just couldn't make it. Ron had to tie a rope to our honda and attach it to his snow machine to get us unstuck. After about 3 or 4 times getting stuck we finally reached the road that led to Iliamna/Newhalen. Danielle did the driving for the first 20 or so minutes then we switched. I enjoyed driving the Honda. I was nervous at first because I've never driven one before, especially one where I had to switch gears. Although it was pretty easy. We were going about 35-40 mph on the Honda and making good time on the road. It was a beautiful afternoon. The sun was shining down on us. The mountains were glistening with snow. I felt God there with me. I just smiled and thanked Him for this amazing opportunity he had given me. I drove for the next 20 or so minutes until we pulled into the gas station in Iliamna. There was a store there as well so Ron filled up our tanks as we went inside to warm up a bit. Remember our temperature was somewhere between 0-10 degrees. The sun was helping to keep us warm though. Anyway, we filled up the tanks and then we continued onward to the Newhalen school to pick up Linda (Ron's wife). We got there a bit later than expected since we got stuck so many times. We packed up Linda's stuff in the trailer and then we were off to cross the lake to Kokhanok. We started off and for the first 2 minutes across the lake we were good and then low and behold we got stuck and so did Bryan. So Ron pulled us a ways and then went back to get Bryan and pulled him. We kept trying to go but the snow was so deep our hondas kept sinking every time Ron let us off his snow machine. By this time it was getting dark and cold. We still had about an hour ahead of us and at the rate we were going with having to keep getting unstuck Ron said this is not safe for us, the sun is going down, it'll be dark and we'll never make it. So we decided to turn around and head back home. Now let me take a second to share a few laughs. Now as the hondas kept getting stuck we'd hop off and help push it and pull it. With how deep the snow was we kept falling. At one point Ron and Bryan were pushing the honda and the honda took off and was going but they were laying flat on their faces. Danielle and I laughed as I made a comment "Now that's sexy boys." Another time my foot went so deep in the snow I fell backwards and couldn't get up. I kept trying but failed twice so I just laid there and laughed at the situation we were all in. Linda fell in the snow as well and needed Bryan to help her up. Now I know you're probably thinking, please tell me you got pictures of this. And unfortunately we did not. Ron did get a few pictures of us bundled up ready to get on the hondas. So if he ever gets those to us I will definitely share them with all of you. So, back to the drive home, Ron had to take turns dragging Danielle and I and then Bryan back to the road in Newhalen. It was taking a very long time and at that point I just wanted to get home. My hands were really starting to get cold. Danielle and I had to keep switching every 10ish minutes because our hands were so cold. You're driving this honda in freezing temperatures at a fast speed with nothing to protect you from the cold other than your clothes. It was awful! My thumb was burning from applying the pressure to the ignition. I can remember as I was driving telling myself "Just push through the pain and get home." We all would stop occasionally and change drivers to give the person up front a break. The person riding in the back could shield themselves behind the driver from the cold. We were getting really close to the trail that led to Six Mile Lake when we all pulled over. I was driving and my hands were so cold I was fearful of frostbite. Ron said for me to hop on behind Bryan and give myself a break and Linda would drive the other honda with danielle behind her. We took off and made it to the trail no problems. The trail is very bumpy and hilly. I just grabbed onto Bryan and held on tight as he gunned it to get over the hills and through the snow without getting stuck. To my surprise even though it was vaguely scary going at this speed over the hills I couldn't help but laugh. A couple times we were airborne flying through the air with or butts off the seat. Yet we were still laughing. We got to the lake thankfully without getting stuck and began to cross the lake and Bryan was saying his hands were killing him so I just kept encouraging him to just cross the lake and then we are there in Nondalton. I could see the lights in the village and all I could say was "Thank God!" We got to the road in Nondalton and I took over driving back to Ron/Linda's. We finally made it home safe and sound. I couldn't wait to get inside to warm up. My legs were red and frozen as well as my hands. Danielle and I went home and changed, got out of our wet, cold clothes and then went over to Ron/Linda's for some hot cocoa and Baileys. I just remember shaking trying to warm up. No matter how many layers I put on, it just wasn't warming me up. It was quite the adventure and I was glad that we all made it back safe and sound.
Now, this week. Where to start there. Well first off, the boy I work with had a very difficult week. He's so stubborn and his attitude is not doing well. So that alone is exhausting for me. Now this next part is going to get gruesome so if you don't have the stomach for it, you may not want to read the rest. Anyway, Thursday comes and I was happy the day was over after having a rough day with my student. I had just walked him upstairs to the front door and said good bye when I walked into the office and saw Cal and Bryan standing there. They looked a bit bewildered. Me, having no knowledge of anything, said "So this is where all the cool kids hang out." They laughed and said "oh yea of course." Then Cal said I just missed Ron. I said "oh?" She replied, "We just got a phone call from Susan and she was very distressed saying "I think he's dead!"" I looked at Cal and said "what?" "That's what I said", she replied. Susan said "My neighbor, Alex, he just got beat up and I think he's dead, I need an EMT now!" So Ron being an EMT took off like a bat out of hell down to the scene. Cal, Bryan and I had no idea what to expect so we continued talking about our days and randomness. 10-15 minutes later Ron returned with some blood on his jacket. Cal said "well, what happened Ron?" "He's dead" Ron replied. No one said anything for a minute. We all just looked at each other. I don't remember if someone asked Ron what happened or if he just started talking about it. But he went into gruesome detail of what he saw. I clasped my hands over my mouth in shock and disgust. A 68 year old man, considered an elder in the village, with one eye was brutally attacked by a juvenile with a knife. Ron told us how the mans throat was sliced and his face was cut up so bad. He said they tried giving CPR but whenever they pumped his chest but the blood would gush out of his neck, so Ron said he put his fingers in his neck to stop the bleeding. He said they couldn't give him mouth to mouth because his mouth was sliced so they couldn't get him air. Ron said that at 4:06ish they declared him dead. He believed that a 13 year old boy in the village had witnessed the attack and wasn't sure who it was but had a good idea. We all went home and ended up and Ron/Lindas for dinner to just be together. The troopers were called in Dilingham and said they were not sure if they could make it out tonight. Luckily Iliamna Air went to pick them up with the Pilatus. Another good thing is that we have light till about 9:30pm. We were hopeful that they would catch the guy that did it that night. Around 6:30 the Pilatus landed at the airport and shortly after that the mayor in his red pick up truck drove by with 4 State Troopers in the back. Ron made a comment about how they don't usually send more than 1 trooper but since this was a murder they sent a few more. A few minutes later Ron's phone rang. It was Regina from the clinic saying the troopers needed snow machines, could Ron led his out. Ron said "I'm on my way" He took off and a few minutes later he was back saying how the troopers were gearing up in all their gear and guns ready to go. About 7:15 they took off from the clinic towards the airport. The town radio was dead quiet not a word was being spoken. The whole village was dead. Everyone was bunkered down in their houses. It was spooky. About an hour later (8:15) we got a call from Regina saying they had found the suspect and Ron could come get his machine back. We all took a sigh of relief to hearing the news. As Ron was leaving we all told him "Get the scoop and don't come back without it lol." A little later Ron came back saying it was a 19 year old boy who attacked the man, no alcohol was involved, they believe it to maybe be a robbery. The police are investigating. The fight began in the home and then ended out on First Road. The boy was found in the woods not far from the airport. He was accompanied by his father who was recently let out of jail. According to some of the villagers he's been here for about a month visiting with his father. They claim when you looked at the boy "He didn't look right in the head". So mental issues can be part of it. Several village men accompanied the troopers with their weapons to help them. Before the troopers got there a lot of the village men were out looking already. The kids and wives were locked away in the houses safe and sound. The body of the 68 year old man has been taken to Anchorage to be autopsied. The boy is being charged with second degree murder (last I heard). His father was not pressed with any chargers. The 68 year old man had several grown daughters. The woman he lived with, was visiting a neighboring village (Kokhanok) and was not home at the time of the murder.
I was worried and scared not only for myself but for everyone in the village. I did not want any more harm to come out of this. I had called my mom when I got home to inform her of what was going on and to pray for all of us. So for her and everyone else who said prayers for our safety, etc. I thank you! Friday we had school and the kids talked about it a bit. One of our younger students cried and was saying she was scared that something like that could happen again and hurt her or her family. This was not a story I wanted to tell about my Alaska adventure but it is making national news so I figured I'd let you know and end the worrying. All is well now and we are safe again. I am grateful to the troopers for coming in and getting the job done quickly and safely.
There's one of the articles on it if you are interesting in reading it (doesn't have all the details that I can provide):
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46766408#.T2PkzRF8Cnk
I'll start back last Friday when we were off to Kokhanok. At 4 o'clock we were gearing up and bundling up for the long drive ahead of us. I put on our thick socks, under armor cold gear pants and shirt, layered with long sleeve shirt and sweater, scarves, gloves, hat, jacket, face mask, googles, and I'm sure I'm forgetting something lol. Oh, hand warmers for inside our gloves (these were lifesavers!). Basically everything was covered from head to toe. We started off down First Road here in Nondalton and then across Six Mile Lake. Danielle and I were on one Honda (aka ATV), Bryan on the other Honda pulling a small John Deer trailer with all our stuff, and then Ron on his snow machine. We were doing good until we were almost across the lake. Our Honda gets stuck and Ron/Bryan had to come over and help pull it out of the snow. After a few minutes of messing around we were back on track and heading towards the trail that led to the road. We have had a lot of snow lately and so our Hondas were having a bit of a hard time trying to get through some of the snow. There were a couple hills and what not that we just couldn't make it. Ron had to tie a rope to our honda and attach it to his snow machine to get us unstuck. After about 3 or 4 times getting stuck we finally reached the road that led to Iliamna/Newhalen. Danielle did the driving for the first 20 or so minutes then we switched. I enjoyed driving the Honda. I was nervous at first because I've never driven one before, especially one where I had to switch gears. Although it was pretty easy. We were going about 35-40 mph on the Honda and making good time on the road. It was a beautiful afternoon. The sun was shining down on us. The mountains were glistening with snow. I felt God there with me. I just smiled and thanked Him for this amazing opportunity he had given me. I drove for the next 20 or so minutes until we pulled into the gas station in Iliamna. There was a store there as well so Ron filled up our tanks as we went inside to warm up a bit. Remember our temperature was somewhere between 0-10 degrees. The sun was helping to keep us warm though. Anyway, we filled up the tanks and then we continued onward to the Newhalen school to pick up Linda (Ron's wife). We got there a bit later than expected since we got stuck so many times. We packed up Linda's stuff in the trailer and then we were off to cross the lake to Kokhanok. We started off and for the first 2 minutes across the lake we were good and then low and behold we got stuck and so did Bryan. So Ron pulled us a ways and then went back to get Bryan and pulled him. We kept trying to go but the snow was so deep our hondas kept sinking every time Ron let us off his snow machine. By this time it was getting dark and cold. We still had about an hour ahead of us and at the rate we were going with having to keep getting unstuck Ron said this is not safe for us, the sun is going down, it'll be dark and we'll never make it. So we decided to turn around and head back home. Now let me take a second to share a few laughs. Now as the hondas kept getting stuck we'd hop off and help push it and pull it. With how deep the snow was we kept falling. At one point Ron and Bryan were pushing the honda and the honda took off and was going but they were laying flat on their faces. Danielle and I laughed as I made a comment "Now that's sexy boys." Another time my foot went so deep in the snow I fell backwards and couldn't get up. I kept trying but failed twice so I just laid there and laughed at the situation we were all in. Linda fell in the snow as well and needed Bryan to help her up. Now I know you're probably thinking, please tell me you got pictures of this. And unfortunately we did not. Ron did get a few pictures of us bundled up ready to get on the hondas. So if he ever gets those to us I will definitely share them with all of you. So, back to the drive home, Ron had to take turns dragging Danielle and I and then Bryan back to the road in Newhalen. It was taking a very long time and at that point I just wanted to get home. My hands were really starting to get cold. Danielle and I had to keep switching every 10ish minutes because our hands were so cold. You're driving this honda in freezing temperatures at a fast speed with nothing to protect you from the cold other than your clothes. It was awful! My thumb was burning from applying the pressure to the ignition. I can remember as I was driving telling myself "Just push through the pain and get home." We all would stop occasionally and change drivers to give the person up front a break. The person riding in the back could shield themselves behind the driver from the cold. We were getting really close to the trail that led to Six Mile Lake when we all pulled over. I was driving and my hands were so cold I was fearful of frostbite. Ron said for me to hop on behind Bryan and give myself a break and Linda would drive the other honda with danielle behind her. We took off and made it to the trail no problems. The trail is very bumpy and hilly. I just grabbed onto Bryan and held on tight as he gunned it to get over the hills and through the snow without getting stuck. To my surprise even though it was vaguely scary going at this speed over the hills I couldn't help but laugh. A couple times we were airborne flying through the air with or butts off the seat. Yet we were still laughing. We got to the lake thankfully without getting stuck and began to cross the lake and Bryan was saying his hands were killing him so I just kept encouraging him to just cross the lake and then we are there in Nondalton. I could see the lights in the village and all I could say was "Thank God!" We got to the road in Nondalton and I took over driving back to Ron/Linda's. We finally made it home safe and sound. I couldn't wait to get inside to warm up. My legs were red and frozen as well as my hands. Danielle and I went home and changed, got out of our wet, cold clothes and then went over to Ron/Linda's for some hot cocoa and Baileys. I just remember shaking trying to warm up. No matter how many layers I put on, it just wasn't warming me up. It was quite the adventure and I was glad that we all made it back safe and sound.
Now, this week. Where to start there. Well first off, the boy I work with had a very difficult week. He's so stubborn and his attitude is not doing well. So that alone is exhausting for me. Now this next part is going to get gruesome so if you don't have the stomach for it, you may not want to read the rest. Anyway, Thursday comes and I was happy the day was over after having a rough day with my student. I had just walked him upstairs to the front door and said good bye when I walked into the office and saw Cal and Bryan standing there. They looked a bit bewildered. Me, having no knowledge of anything, said "So this is where all the cool kids hang out." They laughed and said "oh yea of course." Then Cal said I just missed Ron. I said "oh?" She replied, "We just got a phone call from Susan and she was very distressed saying "I think he's dead!"" I looked at Cal and said "what?" "That's what I said", she replied. Susan said "My neighbor, Alex, he just got beat up and I think he's dead, I need an EMT now!" So Ron being an EMT took off like a bat out of hell down to the scene. Cal, Bryan and I had no idea what to expect so we continued talking about our days and randomness. 10-15 minutes later Ron returned with some blood on his jacket. Cal said "well, what happened Ron?" "He's dead" Ron replied. No one said anything for a minute. We all just looked at each other. I don't remember if someone asked Ron what happened or if he just started talking about it. But he went into gruesome detail of what he saw. I clasped my hands over my mouth in shock and disgust. A 68 year old man, considered an elder in the village, with one eye was brutally attacked by a juvenile with a knife. Ron told us how the mans throat was sliced and his face was cut up so bad. He said they tried giving CPR but whenever they pumped his chest but the blood would gush out of his neck, so Ron said he put his fingers in his neck to stop the bleeding. He said they couldn't give him mouth to mouth because his mouth was sliced so they couldn't get him air. Ron said that at 4:06ish they declared him dead. He believed that a 13 year old boy in the village had witnessed the attack and wasn't sure who it was but had a good idea. We all went home and ended up and Ron/Lindas for dinner to just be together. The troopers were called in Dilingham and said they were not sure if they could make it out tonight. Luckily Iliamna Air went to pick them up with the Pilatus. Another good thing is that we have light till about 9:30pm. We were hopeful that they would catch the guy that did it that night. Around 6:30 the Pilatus landed at the airport and shortly after that the mayor in his red pick up truck drove by with 4 State Troopers in the back. Ron made a comment about how they don't usually send more than 1 trooper but since this was a murder they sent a few more. A few minutes later Ron's phone rang. It was Regina from the clinic saying the troopers needed snow machines, could Ron led his out. Ron said "I'm on my way" He took off and a few minutes later he was back saying how the troopers were gearing up in all their gear and guns ready to go. About 7:15 they took off from the clinic towards the airport. The town radio was dead quiet not a word was being spoken. The whole village was dead. Everyone was bunkered down in their houses. It was spooky. About an hour later (8:15) we got a call from Regina saying they had found the suspect and Ron could come get his machine back. We all took a sigh of relief to hearing the news. As Ron was leaving we all told him "Get the scoop and don't come back without it lol." A little later Ron came back saying it was a 19 year old boy who attacked the man, no alcohol was involved, they believe it to maybe be a robbery. The police are investigating. The fight began in the home and then ended out on First Road. The boy was found in the woods not far from the airport. He was accompanied by his father who was recently let out of jail. According to some of the villagers he's been here for about a month visiting with his father. They claim when you looked at the boy "He didn't look right in the head". So mental issues can be part of it. Several village men accompanied the troopers with their weapons to help them. Before the troopers got there a lot of the village men were out looking already. The kids and wives were locked away in the houses safe and sound. The body of the 68 year old man has been taken to Anchorage to be autopsied. The boy is being charged with second degree murder (last I heard). His father was not pressed with any chargers. The 68 year old man had several grown daughters. The woman he lived with, was visiting a neighboring village (Kokhanok) and was not home at the time of the murder.
I was worried and scared not only for myself but for everyone in the village. I did not want any more harm to come out of this. I had called my mom when I got home to inform her of what was going on and to pray for all of us. So for her and everyone else who said prayers for our safety, etc. I thank you! Friday we had school and the kids talked about it a bit. One of our younger students cried and was saying she was scared that something like that could happen again and hurt her or her family. This was not a story I wanted to tell about my Alaska adventure but it is making national news so I figured I'd let you know and end the worrying. All is well now and we are safe again. I am grateful to the troopers for coming in and getting the job done quickly and safely.
There's one of the articles on it if you are interesting in reading it (doesn't have all the details that I can provide):
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46766408#.T2PkzRF8Cnk
Friday, March 9, 2012
The Aurora Borealis
Last night I finally got to see the Aurora Borealis!!! I was so excited, I've been waiting since I got to Alaska to see them. Unfortunately this is not my picture.. just a picture from online but this is what it looked it. My camera had a hard time capturing it. Not that it matters too much because it will forever be a picture in my brain.
Danielle and I went out at 10pm to try and see if we could see anything from the lake. We started heading down and couldn't see much. It was still a bit cloudy but we could see some green on the horizon. We walked back to the house and Danielle didn't think we'd see them again so we went to bed. I woke up again around 11:40 and went and looked out my bedroom window and sure enough right above the house and across the sky was the Northern Lights. I couldn't do anything but stare and wonder. It was so beautiful. The sky was a beautiful green. It did not seem to be moving in huge waves like I've heard they do but they were definitely moving slowly. I watched for about 10ish minutes and then got back in bed. I woke up again several times during the night to look out my window and nothing had changed. AFter 2am the reports said it would be difficult to see them again so I stopped looking. To my surprise, Ron messages us this morning telling us that at 5am they were amazing and just lighting up the sky and moving like crazy. I was so bummed I missed it. But hopefully we'll get another chance to see them tonight! I am so blessed to have these amazing experiences. I thank God for it all!
Also, tonight after school a couple staff members are driving across some lakes to head to another village called Kokhanok for their carnival. It should be a great time and I promise to fill you in about it as soon as I can. Just keep your fingers crossed we don't freeze driving over on the ATV's and that we make it there safely. It'll be about a 2 hour drive. Danielle and I are not 100% comfortable driving this thing manually. Having to switch gears is not something either of us are accompanied with. So say a few prayers for us!!
When looking at this map, we are traveling from Nondalton (up North) down to NewHalen (a bit South) then over to Kokhanok (East). First we'll be crossing Six Mile Lake and then Lake Iliamna. Just so you have a visual :)
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Well I made it back to the village on Saturday. The flight was good just couldn't see much of anything since we have been getting so much snow lately. Jim was my pilot again and when he saw me he said "Hey kid, want to ride up front with me again?" and of course I said yes. This would be my 3rd time riding in the co-pilot spot with Jim as my pilot. He's a great guy and I enjoy his flights. He makes the best landings. They are always so smooth you can hardly tell you are touching the ground. It's always flawless. He enjoys chatting on the flight and I am always curious about what is going on or what we are seeing. He explains the sights we are seeing and answers my questions about flying the aircraft and what happens to the plane in turbulence, etc. Even though it always makes me nervous to fly in the co-pilot spot, I really enjoy it. Now not to worry all of you, but to answer the question as to why I am always nervous about sitting there, it's because if a small plane like ours was to crash, Jim and I would be the first to go. Scary. But not to worry all is well. I always say my prayers and things go smoothly. I have faith in the Lord that he will protect me.
This is a picture I took at Alyeska. It was so cloudy there everyday but then on this day the sun started to poke through the clouds and it was perfect the way it was hitting the mountains. I was lucky to get such an amazing photo of this. I just thought I'd share it with you and see the amazing beauty I am surrounded by each and everyday. Hard not to look at this and not see God in it.
Also, after staying at the resort, a bunch of us rented a house (still in Girdwood). It was a beautiful house and a perfect size for the amount of people we had. It was three floors and had lots of things to do. There was a hot tub, pool table, slot machine, foosball table, plenty of board games, etc. The first night we all had drinks and talked. We ended up playing 90's Trivial Pursuit and to our surprise we did not know as much as we thought we would. A couple of the guys in the group were kicking our butts. But then the next night we played Battle of the Sexes and the girls kicked the boys butts! So it's all good. The boys were not too happy but the girls were thrilled. Tuesday, February 28, 2012
It's been awhile..
Long time no talk... Sorry about that.
I have been so wrapped up in everything going on here that I haven't taken the time to sit down and write to you all. Currently I am sitting in a lovely hotel room at the fabulous Alyeska Ski Resort in Girdwood, Alaska. So far my stay here has been wonderful. The food is fantastic and I'm learning from the rest of my staff members here during our inservice.
Speaking of food, I had the most amazing Reindeer sausage sandwich the other day. It was delicious! I was a little afraid to eat a reindeer seeing as my children would never forgive me for eating Rudolph but I figure I'll just tell them that I ate the reindeer that made fun of Rudolph and didn't let him play in any reindeer games. Ha-ha. I also tried an Elk burger. That was pretty tasty but I enjoyed the sausage more.
The views here are amazing. There is so much snow everywhere you look. The trees are covered and their branches are holding inches of snow on them. It sure is a beautiful site. I am enjoying watching all the skiers and snowboarders coming down all the different trails. I myself have never tried out the sport but hopefully will one day.
Everything at school has been going well. I had an interview with the district a couple weeks back to see if there was a possibility of getting an official teaching job here. The day they came to pick me up in a small twin engine bush plane was the day we were experiencing high winds. It was frustrating because I wanted to get this interview but wasn't to sure about getting on a plane that day. Ron said "If it was me, I would not be getting on a plane today." I thought about and decided, you only live once and got on the plane. The pilot warned us it would be a bumpy flight and boy was he right. Shortly after takeoff our heads were hitting the top of the aircraft. I was holding onto my seatbelt with one hand and holding the ceiling with the other so not to hit my head. The pilots head was hitting the ceiling a bit and it looked like it hurt a bit with his headset and all. I was very nervous and kept hoping and praying that the Lord would protect us. The flight got smoother after 10ish minutes but then was swaying back and forth quite a bit. I just kept telling myself I was a baby in a crib rocking back and forth.. no big deal lol. Since I first got to bush Alaska all I heard from everyone were their terrifying flight stories and I finally got to experience mine.
So far there have been a lot of budget cuts and teachers losing their jobs so it's not looking too promising for me to be coming back next year as a classroom teacher. The offer is still on the table for me to stay as an aide with the same student but I would really like to become a teacher and run a classroom of my own. I plan to move back home at the end of the year and start looking for a job back east. Hopefully everything will work out and I'll find something.
Anyway, That's all for now. I hope you all are well!
I have been so wrapped up in everything going on here that I haven't taken the time to sit down and write to you all. Currently I am sitting in a lovely hotel room at the fabulous Alyeska Ski Resort in Girdwood, Alaska. So far my stay here has been wonderful. The food is fantastic and I'm learning from the rest of my staff members here during our inservice.
Speaking of food, I had the most amazing Reindeer sausage sandwich the other day. It was delicious! I was a little afraid to eat a reindeer seeing as my children would never forgive me for eating Rudolph but I figure I'll just tell them that I ate the reindeer that made fun of Rudolph and didn't let him play in any reindeer games. Ha-ha. I also tried an Elk burger. That was pretty tasty but I enjoyed the sausage more.
The views here are amazing. There is so much snow everywhere you look. The trees are covered and their branches are holding inches of snow on them. It sure is a beautiful site. I am enjoying watching all the skiers and snowboarders coming down all the different trails. I myself have never tried out the sport but hopefully will one day.
Everything at school has been going well. I had an interview with the district a couple weeks back to see if there was a possibility of getting an official teaching job here. The day they came to pick me up in a small twin engine bush plane was the day we were experiencing high winds. It was frustrating because I wanted to get this interview but wasn't to sure about getting on a plane that day. Ron said "If it was me, I would not be getting on a plane today." I thought about and decided, you only live once and got on the plane. The pilot warned us it would be a bumpy flight and boy was he right. Shortly after takeoff our heads were hitting the top of the aircraft. I was holding onto my seatbelt with one hand and holding the ceiling with the other so not to hit my head. The pilots head was hitting the ceiling a bit and it looked like it hurt a bit with his headset and all. I was very nervous and kept hoping and praying that the Lord would protect us. The flight got smoother after 10ish minutes but then was swaying back and forth quite a bit. I just kept telling myself I was a baby in a crib rocking back and forth.. no big deal lol. Since I first got to bush Alaska all I heard from everyone were their terrifying flight stories and I finally got to experience mine.
So far there have been a lot of budget cuts and teachers losing their jobs so it's not looking too promising for me to be coming back next year as a classroom teacher. The offer is still on the table for me to stay as an aide with the same student but I would really like to become a teacher and run a classroom of my own. I plan to move back home at the end of the year and start looking for a job back east. Hopefully everything will work out and I'll find something.
Anyway, That's all for now. I hope you all are well!
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
January
Hard to believe that January is over already! Last week was brutal. It was so cold out here. We were in the -20's with -50 windchill. It was so cold the truck wouldn't start. The one morning we woke up and tried to start it and it started sparking. It was out of commission for a couple days until we could get some parts in to get it up and running again. Danielle and I walked to school for a couple days all bundled up. The only thing we had uncovered were our eyes. It's so dark in the morning but yet so peaceful. As we were walking my eyelashes kept getting stuck and I couldn't figure out why. When we got to school I went into the bathroom to check and found that my eyelashes had formed ice crystals all along the edges which is why they kept getting stuck together. Once we were inside the ice started to melt and I had mascara running down my face. Lesson learned, apply mascara after we get to school haha. I also got my first Honda ride (aka ATV) to school and back the one day the truck didn't start. Regina was nice enough to take us to school. That was fun.
As of yesterday the truck is up and running again. The temperature today is 35 degrees. Yay! I love warmer weather. We are getting more sun everyday. The sun is going down about 6 o'clock and coming up around 9:30. I was told that at this time of year we are getting about 3 minutes of daylight back each day. Pretty cool! Once we hit spring we will gain even more.
I am officially moved in to Danielle's place, which is now our place as of January 21. I must say it's a lot nicer and more comfortable. Last weekend Danielle was away at a conference in Anchorage so it was just me and Rorie (her pup) at the house. Rorie is nice to have around. She's a bit annoying half the time but when she wants to be all cute and cuddly I enjoy having her around.
Yesterday was my birthday. I was surprised to see how much the school went out of their way to make my birthday special. The kids came in and immediately came up to me wishing me a happy birthday. Some of the students even were racing to be the first one to wish me a happy birthday. Danielle made cookies for the kids to have for snack in honor of my birthday so the class all sang to me. Then at lunch we had a school pizza party that was paid for by the district for having an awesome attendance for the last quarter. The pizza's were flown in from Anchorage. There were a total of 15 pizzas. Some of the community members who are heavily involved in school affairs also attended. As lunch was finishing up, I thought I was in the clear. But no. Ed (our principal) came in with the birthday hat and the school/community sang to me. I turned a lovely shade of red as I usually do when people sing me happy birthday because I always find it very awkward. Everyone is staring at you and you just have to stand there and smile for 30 seconds. Haha. Anyway, the kids all got a good laugh out of me wearing the hat and shortly after the pizza party was over we dismissed the kids for a half day. I went home around 1:10pm and took a nap from about 2 until about 4 o'clock. Danielle had the staff over for a nice dinner. We had chicken cutlets, ziti and salad, then Ron brought over rolls, Regina brought a fruit smoothy drink, Cam/Nicole brought rice pudding and a fruit/veggie salad. Oh, and I can't forget the cake that Danielle picked up for me while she was in Anchorage last weekend. It got a tad smooched on the plane but it was still delicious. It was a very nice meal with good people. Our new tutor arrived yesterday and came over for dinner as well. He seems like a very nice man who will be a good fit for our staff here at Nondalton. I look forward to seeing what he brings to the table.
Anyway, other then that, I think that's about it for January. I'll keep you posted as things progress.
As of yesterday the truck is up and running again. The temperature today is 35 degrees. Yay! I love warmer weather. We are getting more sun everyday. The sun is going down about 6 o'clock and coming up around 9:30. I was told that at this time of year we are getting about 3 minutes of daylight back each day. Pretty cool! Once we hit spring we will gain even more.
I am officially moved in to Danielle's place, which is now our place as of January 21. I must say it's a lot nicer and more comfortable. Last weekend Danielle was away at a conference in Anchorage so it was just me and Rorie (her pup) at the house. Rorie is nice to have around. She's a bit annoying half the time but when she wants to be all cute and cuddly I enjoy having her around.
Yesterday was my birthday. I was surprised to see how much the school went out of their way to make my birthday special. The kids came in and immediately came up to me wishing me a happy birthday. Some of the students even were racing to be the first one to wish me a happy birthday. Danielle made cookies for the kids to have for snack in honor of my birthday so the class all sang to me. Then at lunch we had a school pizza party that was paid for by the district for having an awesome attendance for the last quarter. The pizza's were flown in from Anchorage. There were a total of 15 pizzas. Some of the community members who are heavily involved in school affairs also attended. As lunch was finishing up, I thought I was in the clear. But no. Ed (our principal) came in with the birthday hat and the school/community sang to me. I turned a lovely shade of red as I usually do when people sing me happy birthday because I always find it very awkward. Everyone is staring at you and you just have to stand there and smile for 30 seconds. Haha. Anyway, the kids all got a good laugh out of me wearing the hat and shortly after the pizza party was over we dismissed the kids for a half day. I went home around 1:10pm and took a nap from about 2 until about 4 o'clock. Danielle had the staff over for a nice dinner. We had chicken cutlets, ziti and salad, then Ron brought over rolls, Regina brought a fruit smoothy drink, Cam/Nicole brought rice pudding and a fruit/veggie salad. Oh, and I can't forget the cake that Danielle picked up for me while she was in Anchorage last weekend. It got a tad smooched on the plane but it was still delicious. It was a very nice meal with good people. Our new tutor arrived yesterday and came over for dinner as well. He seems like a very nice man who will be a good fit for our staff here at Nondalton. I look forward to seeing what he brings to the table.
Anyway, other then that, I think that's about it for January. I'll keep you posted as things progress.
Sunday, January 22, 2012
1st week back
Hello Everyone,
Hard to believe that a week has already gone by. I was very eager to get back to school Monday morning and see the kids. I missed them so much over break and wondered how they were all doing. It was nice to see their bright smiling faces on Monday morning. The little kids seemed happy to be back and ready to learn. They came up and gave a lot of hugs. Karina, my little shadow spent the morning hanging all over me. If I were to have a daughter, I would want her to be just like Karina. She is smart, funny, adorable, just everything I would want my daughter to be. Anyway, I was very happy to see my little Jalen come in. He was happy to see me too and gave me a big hug. His twin sisters were also eager to give hugs. I think it was safe to say they all missed us. I was worried that with 3 weeks off, Jalen would come in and not be ready to work and it would be like starting back at square one. I was blown away though to see that he not only came in with a great attitude but he also remembered everything I taught him, if not more since we last saw each other. I was speechless. We had such a wonderful day. I was extremely happy. He has not had a day like that ever. Usually he gets an attitude and ends up spending some time during the day in time out. This was the first day, that I can remember, where he did not go to time out or need to be corrected on anything. I was so very proud of him.
The week continued on well. Jalen missed 2 out of the 5 days being sick so I had a chance to work with the other students. I always enjoy getting to work more with other students and I think they enjoy working with me too. When Jalen was at school he did hit a few speed bumps along the way but I have been trying a new approach with him and it seems to be working pretty well. I hope the rest of the year continues like this week has.
The village has no gas. The plane that usually delivers to us here has not been able to fly in. We're not sure if it's because its soooo cold or if it's the winds or what. We luckily have a village that is not terribly far from here (It's probably about an hour by four-wheeler) so one of the villagers went to New Halen and picked up some gas for our school vehicles so that we can get around for the next week. I'm not sure what the rest of village is doing for gas but hopefully they will be flying in some gas soon because it is way too cold to be walking everywhere. We have been in the negative numbers since I returned. It's so cold that when you go outside you can literally feel the stuff in your nose freeze. Gross picture, I know, but just so you get the visualization.
We had a lovely staff dinner tonight at Ron and Linda's. Linda made an amazing chicken marsala with noodles, salad, homemade bread (their bread is absolutely amazing), green beans with pieces of bacon in it. For dessert we had homemade apple pie and a strawberry cheesecake. Now I don't normally like cheesecake but this was wonderful. It was nice to get together and visit for a bit and catch up. These are all wonderful people I work with and I consider myself to be incredibly blessed to have been able to have this opportunity and met these people. This has been one heck of an adventure.
Last night I got all packed up and did some laundry. Today I finished the laundry, packing and cleaning as I moved out of my apartment and into Danielle's apartment. She and I will be living together while the male tutor is here. He will be coming in next weekend and starting work on the 30th. He will be working more with the upper grade students but it will be nice to have another pair of hands around. His purpose is to come in and help the students who struggle with state testing and help better prepare them for the upcoming tests in April. I wish him the best of luck.
Anyway, the truck would not start this morning and luckily one of our district maintenance guys, Tim, just happened to be visiting the village and was able to take a look at it. Ron and Tim did their best working on the truck for several hours, trying to warm up the engine. I'm still not 100% clear on what is/was wrong with the truck but I know that it is being stored in the generator building for a day to keep it out of the cold. I'm hoping that it will be good enough so that we don't have to walk to school in the negative 22 degree weather. BRRR!!
OH, how could I forget. On our first night back in the village we lost power. Luckily, we have generators for the teacher housing and school so it's not a terrible thing for us but it still a bit of an inconvenience. We are supplied our electricity from a place in New Halen I believe. It powers both that village and ours. There supposedly was a break in the line which runs underground. They were talking about there not being power for up to a week but luckily the power people found the break in a quickly fashion and we were only without power for a little over a day. Phew! Haha Nothing like saying welcome back to the village was all I could think.
Well I believe that about sums up my week. I hope you all are having a lovely weekend!
xoxo
Hard to believe that a week has already gone by. I was very eager to get back to school Monday morning and see the kids. I missed them so much over break and wondered how they were all doing. It was nice to see their bright smiling faces on Monday morning. The little kids seemed happy to be back and ready to learn. They came up and gave a lot of hugs. Karina, my little shadow spent the morning hanging all over me. If I were to have a daughter, I would want her to be just like Karina. She is smart, funny, adorable, just everything I would want my daughter to be. Anyway, I was very happy to see my little Jalen come in. He was happy to see me too and gave me a big hug. His twin sisters were also eager to give hugs. I think it was safe to say they all missed us. I was worried that with 3 weeks off, Jalen would come in and not be ready to work and it would be like starting back at square one. I was blown away though to see that he not only came in with a great attitude but he also remembered everything I taught him, if not more since we last saw each other. I was speechless. We had such a wonderful day. I was extremely happy. He has not had a day like that ever. Usually he gets an attitude and ends up spending some time during the day in time out. This was the first day, that I can remember, where he did not go to time out or need to be corrected on anything. I was so very proud of him.
The week continued on well. Jalen missed 2 out of the 5 days being sick so I had a chance to work with the other students. I always enjoy getting to work more with other students and I think they enjoy working with me too. When Jalen was at school he did hit a few speed bumps along the way but I have been trying a new approach with him and it seems to be working pretty well. I hope the rest of the year continues like this week has.
The village has no gas. The plane that usually delivers to us here has not been able to fly in. We're not sure if it's because its soooo cold or if it's the winds or what. We luckily have a village that is not terribly far from here (It's probably about an hour by four-wheeler) so one of the villagers went to New Halen and picked up some gas for our school vehicles so that we can get around for the next week. I'm not sure what the rest of village is doing for gas but hopefully they will be flying in some gas soon because it is way too cold to be walking everywhere. We have been in the negative numbers since I returned. It's so cold that when you go outside you can literally feel the stuff in your nose freeze. Gross picture, I know, but just so you get the visualization.
We had a lovely staff dinner tonight at Ron and Linda's. Linda made an amazing chicken marsala with noodles, salad, homemade bread (their bread is absolutely amazing), green beans with pieces of bacon in it. For dessert we had homemade apple pie and a strawberry cheesecake. Now I don't normally like cheesecake but this was wonderful. It was nice to get together and visit for a bit and catch up. These are all wonderful people I work with and I consider myself to be incredibly blessed to have been able to have this opportunity and met these people. This has been one heck of an adventure.
Last night I got all packed up and did some laundry. Today I finished the laundry, packing and cleaning as I moved out of my apartment and into Danielle's apartment. She and I will be living together while the male tutor is here. He will be coming in next weekend and starting work on the 30th. He will be working more with the upper grade students but it will be nice to have another pair of hands around. His purpose is to come in and help the students who struggle with state testing and help better prepare them for the upcoming tests in April. I wish him the best of luck.
Anyway, the truck would not start this morning and luckily one of our district maintenance guys, Tim, just happened to be visiting the village and was able to take a look at it. Ron and Tim did their best working on the truck for several hours, trying to warm up the engine. I'm still not 100% clear on what is/was wrong with the truck but I know that it is being stored in the generator building for a day to keep it out of the cold. I'm hoping that it will be good enough so that we don't have to walk to school in the negative 22 degree weather. BRRR!!
OH, how could I forget. On our first night back in the village we lost power. Luckily, we have generators for the teacher housing and school so it's not a terrible thing for us but it still a bit of an inconvenience. We are supplied our electricity from a place in New Halen I believe. It powers both that village and ours. There supposedly was a break in the line which runs underground. They were talking about there not being power for up to a week but luckily the power people found the break in a quickly fashion and we were only without power for a little over a day. Phew! Haha Nothing like saying welcome back to the village was all I could think.
Well I believe that about sums up my week. I hope you all are having a lovely weekend!
xoxo
Friday, January 13, 2012
Happy New Year
Hello Everyone!
It's been too long since I last wrote you all. I arrived home safely on December 24th. Mom was anxiously awaiting my arrival at Newark Airport. I was not moving fast enough to get to her and she was going "come on Katie, come on" haha. She's too cute. I enjoyed my break immensely. It went by way to fast and there wasn't enough time to do everything that I wanted to do but hopefully this summer I'll get more in.
I am now back in Anchorage. I arrived a few hours ago. I am exhausted from all the traveling. I went to bed at 1am and had to be up and ready to go at 3am. I arrived at the airport around 5:30 and was on the plane by 6:30. I arrived in Seattle on time at 10:00am and was off to Anchorage at 1pm. I arrived in Anchorage at 3:30pm. It was a very long day of traveling and a bit stressful but I handled it very well.
Tomorrow I will do some shopping in Anchorage to get some groceries and then on Sunday I'm off to Nondalton. I'll be back in the Anchorage area at the end of February for inservice at Alyeska Ski Resort. A bunch of teachers and myself are getting a house which should be a blast.
I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and is having a great New Year so far!
I'll make sure I'll write some more interesting fun stories as they occur.
It's been too long since I last wrote you all. I arrived home safely on December 24th. Mom was anxiously awaiting my arrival at Newark Airport. I was not moving fast enough to get to her and she was going "come on Katie, come on" haha. She's too cute. I enjoyed my break immensely. It went by way to fast and there wasn't enough time to do everything that I wanted to do but hopefully this summer I'll get more in.
I am now back in Anchorage. I arrived a few hours ago. I am exhausted from all the traveling. I went to bed at 1am and had to be up and ready to go at 3am. I arrived at the airport around 5:30 and was on the plane by 6:30. I arrived in Seattle on time at 10:00am and was off to Anchorage at 1pm. I arrived in Anchorage at 3:30pm. It was a very long day of traveling and a bit stressful but I handled it very well.
Tomorrow I will do some shopping in Anchorage to get some groceries and then on Sunday I'm off to Nondalton. I'll be back in the Anchorage area at the end of February for inservice at Alyeska Ski Resort. A bunch of teachers and myself are getting a house which should be a blast.
I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and is having a great New Year so far!
I'll make sure I'll write some more interesting fun stories as they occur.
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