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.

Almost Christmas!

Hello everyone,

   Well where to start. So much has been going on around here but never enough time to sit down and write. Unfortunately last week I dropped my laptop and broke it so I have been borrowing a school laptop to get me by until I get home for Christmas. Luckily I was planning on buying myself a new computer for Christmas but of course with my luck it couldn't of waited to break until after I got home.
   The mouse adventures continued as well. The little bugger came back and Danielle and I chased it around the school for a good half hour trying to capture it. Me, being the brave one that I am, took a tin can and tried to capture it. Unfortunately for our fury little friend I accidentally squashed it. He/she was very quick and I caught half of him under the can while the rest of him/she was hanging outside of it. Ooops! Anyway, after that we discovered it was a vole and I have seen quite a few outside since. There was one hanging out around my apartment and I am happy to report that it has not found a way inside or else I would not be happy.
   The students, as well as the teachers are getting a bit restless for the holidays to arrive. I am counting down the days till we leave the village. Tomorrow marks one week till we are to arrive in Anchorage. I am so excited. I miss civilization! We are planning on meeting up with other LPSD teachers for dinner on the 22nd. It will be nice to see everyone again and relax a bit before we have our very long flights home.
   I'm not sure if I will be able to jump on and make any more posts before I return home for the holidays but I just wanted everyone to know that everything is going well. I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and New Years! May the coming year be full of blessings for you and your family/friends. I can't wait to see you all!!
  Thanks for keeping up with my Alaska Adventure!

Much love,
Kaitlin

Hello December!

So another week has come and gone. In the beginning of the week it seemed to go by super slow but now that the week is over it seems to have gone by pretty fast. It’s funny how that works out.

I saw my first bunny yesterday evening on our way home from school. It was so beautiful. Its fur turns white in the winter to help hide it from predators. I’ve never seen anything like it. I finally found out the names of the fish we have in our fresh water lake here. The few that I know of so far are: Rainbow Trout, Grayling, and Salmon. Grayling supposedly tastes horrible but they still catch them often. Go online sometime and see what they look like. They have a dorsal fin which makes them unique out here because they’re the only ones that have it. In Lake Iliamna which we feed off of, they have the only fresh water seals. I hope one day I can go there and see a few.

There have been a few wolves spotted in the village over the past few weeks. From what I have heard through the grapevine they have caught one or two already. Yesterday morning as I was leaving my apartment at 6:30am (keeping in mind its pitch black out) I see what appears to be a wolf about 30 feet away from me staring at me from the shadows. I slightly panic thinking Oh crap! It moves forward a bit and I see that it is only my neighbor’s dog Yukon. I was very happy to realize that it was Yukon and not a wolf. I have not seen any wolves in the village; they stay just outside the houses in the woods and at the airport.

One of our kindergarten students, Tava, came into the classroom yesterday morning and went into the classroom library to find a book to read and came out holding a tiny mouse in her hand. At first I thought it was one of the puppets that the kids play with all the time. Danielle goes “is that real?” and Tava goes “uh huh”. Danielle jumps back a few feet and I tell Tava to put the dead mouse in the trash and wash her hands. Danielle brings the trashcan up to Ron’s room and asks him if he would like to use if for a science experiment and he willingly accepts. Then today Danielle and I come into the classroom, get all set up on our computers and I look over to where she’s sitting at her desk and see another tiny mouse or a vole as they call it, running underneath her feet. I say “oh my gosh!” and Danielle sees where I am looking and without a hesitation starts screaming and running to jump on a table several feet away. All of Danielle’s screaming alerted Regina upstairs that something was wrong so she comes downstairs to find Danielle on a table and me trying to see where the little guy ran off too. Regina and I start moving things around to find our fury little friend trying to make a fast getaway out the classroom door. We corner it in a hallway and let it go free outside. After all was said and done I couldn’t help but laugh seeing Danielle’s face and hearing her screams. It was hilarious!

The boy I work with gave us quite a scare on Wednesday morning. He came in fine but within minutes took a turn for the worse. He did not look good at all. He was sweating and looked like he was going to pass out. I was very worried because his sugars were dropping (he has diabetes). I gave him a juice box hoping that would help bring his sugars up a bit. He seemed ok for a few minutes until he threw up all the juice all over the table. Danielle stops what she’s doing to come over and help me with him. I get Regina to help out as well. We try giving him some sugars but he’s not keeping anything down. We called his mom to come in to school and she took him to the village clinic and then to rest at home. He luckily only had a little bug and after taking 2 days off was back to school and looking great today. I was very thankful that it all turned out ok. It can be very scary for me sometimes to have this little boy’s life in my hands. I just want him to live a long life and be able to experience everything it has to offer. He has captured my heart and I would do almost anything for him. He’s such a sweetheart.

Next year I will be moving in with Danielle in her apartment starting shortly after getting back in January. We have a male tutor coming out here to work with the students and he needs a place to stay. So, I will be moving out and he will be moving in. It should all work out ok. I’m hoping to get a phone line while I’m staying with Danielle so that people can call me. Danielle has much better internet in her place so that’ll be a big plus. Also, it will be nice to have the company. She has her little dog Rorie too so that’ll be nice to have a dog around again. I’ll have to make sure I have all my allergy meds with me when I get back since I am allergic to the little bugger.

The weather lately has been warming up. It’s been in the 30’s-40’s range during the day. I walk outside and I’m like wow its warm outside. Ha-ha! Crazy I know but it’s so much warmer then when we were in the negative numbers. I’m curious what my reaction will be when I get home and the weather will be warmer. The staff members here joke and say that they all go home and are in t-shirts and shorts while everyone else is in sweats. I doubt I’ll be in shorts but I’m sure I’ll be warmer then others.

Well other then that I can’t really think of anything else to report. We will be leaving the village in 21 days! I am so excited to get a taste of civilization again.

xoxo

Thanksgiving

Happy belated Thanksgiving everyone! I hope you all had a lovely day with your family and friends. I enjoyed my Thanksgiving with the staff. I started my morning with a workout over at Danielle’s place with Danielle and Nicole. We do a Jillian Michael’s workout dvd called Ripped in 30. It is an intense workout. The first week my body was so sore and everything hurt. Now going into the next week I am still a tad sore but not to the point where I can’t move. We get together almost everyday to workout now leaving a day off here or there when needed. Anyway, so we did our workout and then I went home to shower and start baking. I made sugar cookies, peanut butter cookies and Mississippi mud brownies (all from Betty Crocker). After all the baking was done I borrowed the truck and headed up to school for a few skype dates. First I called my Chicago family. They were all over at Aunt Dana and Uncle Kevin’s for dinner. It was great being able to see and talk to everyone. Then I was able to skype my Pittsburgh family. It was nice seeing everyone, made the holiday seem less lonely and far away from the family since I got to be apart of their day/evening. Dinner was schedule at Ed and Cal’s for 4pm. We had a wonderful meal with tons of food. Everyone brought something so that no one person was cooking all day. There was a nice big turkey, mashed potatoes, yams, creamed corn, rolls, baked ziti, green bean casserole, stuffing, a carrot salad, cranberries and I’m sure there’s more I’m forgetting. For dessert there were my cookies and brownies as well as pumpkin and apple pie. We were all stuffed and bloated. The meal was delicious though. We played Catch Phrase and Cranium. We shared a lot of laughs and some interesting stories about living in bush Alaska. It was nice and helped me not miss home too much. Around 10pm we all went home and I went straight to bed. I was exhausted.

Well if you can believe it we got the truck stuck again yesterday afternoon. We were getting ready to leave school for the day when Ron came in saying that the trucks front left tire was low and that we needed to take it around back to the shed where the air compressor was. Ron was looking at Danielle and me as if we knew what he was talking about but we had no idea. My excuse was that I’m still the newbie here and I have no idea where or how to do this. Ron looked like he really wanted to go home and that this was the last thing he wanted to do but he decided to show us how to do it so that next time we knew. Keep in mind that we have over 2 feet of snow on the ground right now and the road to the shed was not plowed. Danielle starts driving the truck around the school and towards the back where the shed was when the truck decides there is too much snow to continue. Ron had the look like “you have to be kidding me”, in a joking way of course. I was thinking “oh no, not again”. We all go into school looking for a shovel. Ron discovers one in the janitor closet and back outside we go. Ron’s shoveling and Danielle and I are pushing snow way with our hands and feet. Ron hops in the truck to try to get it out. He is able to get the truck out on the first try and then plows through the snow to the shed. Ron shows us how to fill up the tire with the air compressor and then we hop back in the truck to get out. Luckily we didn’t get stuck again. Poor Ron always has to help us poor females in distress.

I’ll be home in 26 days! I can’t wait. We only have 23 more days till school lets out. We are finished in the afternoon of the 22^nd. Our flights are scheduled to leave the village at 3pm with Iliamna Air. They will fly us into Anchorage where Danielle and I will stay until our flight on the 24^th. We are leaving the village early to get to Anchorage because if we get a storm, we could be trapped here and miss our flights home. So we leave the village as soon as possible and stay in Anchorage so that there is no way we can miss our flights back home. We are scheduled to leave around 2:30am from Anchorage, getting into Seattle around 6:30am. Then we board another plane around 9:30am and get into NJ around 5:15ish pm. 10 hours in a plane is going to be exhausting. I’m going to crash when I am home. I can’t wait though. I miss my family and friends!

We’re under a blizzard warning starting today. We are to expect high winds as much as 35mph with 1-3inches of snow causing visibility issues. I hope it’s not as bad as the weather people are calling for. I’ll keep you posted if any more interesting stories come about. 

Bonjour!

Hello from the North Pole,

            I woke up this morning to another 4-5 inches of snow on top of the already foot 1/2 of snow we’ve had from the past week. According to Danielle this is already more snow then they had last year. Joy! The snow is so fluffy. The only way I can really describe it is to say it’s like walking through Splenda sweetener.  I have more then enough of my fair share of snow and it’s only November.

            This past weekend, Danielle and I decided to go to school to watch our Friday shows. Every Friday, we go to school and watch Grey’s Anatomy and Private Practice. This particular Friday, we had a mini blizzard hit us (surprise surprise). We are driving to school and the wind is picking up, the snow is blowing everywhere, and it’s freezing outside. We arrive to school safely but Danielle is second guessing our decision since the storm was picking up and becoming a white out. We decide to try to get through Grey’s Anatomy before heading home. We were about 10 minutes into the show when we lost power. Danielle and use our computers as flashlights to pack up our stuff and head to the truck. Driving home was a bit scary since we couldn’t really see in front of the truck. Danielle had shared stories with me previously about people from the village who have died from being hit by atv’s and cars in the middle of white outs. Danielle was very worried because she did not want to hit anyone. I was doing my best to keep an eye out for any trouble ahead when I saw a small flashing light blinking at us about 20 feet ahead. I tell Danielle to be careful someone is up ahead. She slows down and sees that someone’s snow mobile had broken down. She gets out of the car to see if they need assistance. We find out that the person in trouble was Scott, one of the aides at our school. His fuel pump was flooded and he was trying to get off the road with his snow mobile. He said he was fine and not to worry. Luther, the town drunk, was also there making small talk with Danielle asking what her Christian name was. She had to explain to him that they had met several times and politely try to get out of conversation with him. Luther is a whole other story entirely. Anyway, Danielle and I get back on the road and get home safe. We decide to hang out at her place and watch one of her Netflix movies. We are very lucky because we are the only houses in the village to be hooked up to generators!! Yay!! Life is good.
            Now it’s Saturday. Danielle and I decide to try our shows again. We had a lot of snow come from the past few days and no one really plows up here because they all have snow mobiles except for Danielle and I. We’re driving to school and we’re going about 7mph in the snow and sliding a bit here and there. Danielle makes the big turn to head into the school and guess what?!?! She drives us right into a snow bank, in the bushes. Dun dun dun! She tries going forward and backward but there is no use… we’re stuck! Danielle and I laugh and exchange looks like “Ron” haha. She tries her computer to see if we are close enough to the school to get a signal but no. We get out of the truck and start walking to school in a foot of snow or more.  We get inside and call Ron on the school phone. Ron answers and Danielle says “Ronnn, I kinda got the truck stuck.” Ron’s response “how stuck?” Danielle “pretty stuck, I opened the car down and the snow is coming in the truck. Ron “I’ll come down with a shovel.” Danielle “Thanks Ron!!!” Danielle and I walk back to the truck and try pushing the snow away from the truck. Danielle gets on her knees and tries to pull the snow away with her hands as I try kicking it away with my boots. Ron shows up with a shovel and we start at it. After a couple minutes we get the snow enough away to try to get the truck to go. Ron gets in and gives it a try. However, the truck gets more stuck and the back right tire is now somewhat in the air. We get back under the truck pulling more snow away and then Ron tells Danielle and I to get in the back of the truck and put our weight on the back tire to get it to touch the ground. We do as he says and he tries again. No use. We pull more snow away, get back in the truck and try one more time. Danielle and I are holding onto the side of the truck, sitting in cold, wet snow. Danielle makes a comment which she may not appreciate me saying but I have to say it because it was so funny that when I laughed it hurt. Danielle giggles and says “I sure did pick a bad night not to wear underwear, I’m getting such a draft!” We laugh so hard because this night turned into quite an adventure. Ron finally gets the truck out of the snow drift. We cheer and hop in the truck as Ron hops back on his snow mobile. Ron is about to pull away when Danielle puts the truck in gear and guess what people? We go no where! We are stuck again! Danielle yells “Ron!!!” We start laughing so hard because we are in disbelief that we are stuck again. Ron comes back over and tries to tell Danielle to switch gears. She tries switching gears and nothing happens. Ron starts pushing the truck on the side of the car saying if you get it to go.. Just go! Nothing is happening, Danielle and I are still laughing and Ron is outside the truck in the cold pushing the truck. Finally, Ron’s in the back of the truck pushing saying “Goooo, gooo!!” The truck starts going and we can hear Ron as if he were a whisper saying “Just keep going”. We are driving home in first gear, 7 mph, swerving. The road we drive home has a somewhat steep slope on the one side. Driving home the slope was on my side and as Danielle was swerving, I told her to swerve towards the other side just incase. Finally, after what should have been a 5 minute drive or less, turned out to be 10-15 minutes, we are finally home. Danielle and I go inside to her apartment and relax for the night, trying to get warm and dry off. She makes us some hot cocoa and we settle in for the night. I could not believe what an adventure that turned out to be but I know that this adventure would only happen to me or Danielle. We are not too lucky when it comes to these sorts of things.

            Anyway, I slept on my arm wrong on Wednesday of last week and was in excruciating pain until Saturday. I stayed home from school on Thursday to try to rest my arm and get it better. I went to the clinic here in the village and they gave me a cheap sling to help keep my arm from further injuring myself. Come Friday I find myself in tears in front of my co-workers because the pain is more then I can handle. I was taking a ton of ibuprofen to help keep the pain down. By Friday night I sent my mom an email asking her to call a doctor and ask them what I should do. I was terrified I really hurt myself and would have to pay over $300 to get a flight into Anchorage to get checked out. I had barely gotten any sleep since Wednesday because the pain was too much to bear. I wake up Saturday morning to an email back from my mom saying to call my aunt Dana who is a massage therapist. I get on Skype and I am able to hold a signal long enough for her to tell me that my muscles had contracted and was up against my nerve causing me the pain. She walked me through how to do trigger point therapy on myself. After hanging up with her I spent the day working on my arm, massaging it and doing trigger point therapy. By the end of the night, I was feeling a lot better. Sunday comes around and I continue doing the therapy but this time I am stretching out the muscles giving myself 90 seconds for the brain to send the signals down my arm and into my muscles. Apparently it takes that long for the brain and the muscles to talk to one another. Now it’s Monday and I can move my arm again, there is no pain. The only pain I feel now is weakness pain as if I worked out too much. I am so thankful to have my arm back to almost normal and to have the pain gone. So thank you Aunt Dana!! You’re the best!!

            Other then that, I will be back home in Pennsylvania in 40 days! I can not wait to be back home with my friends and family. I miss you all so much that sometimes the days are long and lonely. I hope you are all well! I’ll see you in almost a month!

Xoxo

King Salmon

On Tuesday October 18^th at 2:30pm we boarded an Iliamna Air plane called a Pilatus and headed to King Salmon, AK. I was so excited that I could barely contain my anticipation. I was a little nervous about flying on the small Pilatus because in Alaska plane crashes are very common. Our pilot was a sweetheart and everyone on staff knew him which made me feel safer. Also, Ron sat in the co-pilot spot and he use to be a pilot so that made me feel better that if anything should happen Ron was there. When we boarded the plane, Richard, another teacher from the district was already on the plane. I had met Richard weeks back at the district cross country event. He is from Pittsburgh so we have a lot in common. We had one more stop to make before heading for King Salmon. We flew across the lake and over to Newhalen to pick up Derek. Derek is also from Pennsylvania. Side note: A lot of people from our District are either from Pennsylvania or Montana. Anyway, we picked up Derek and we were off to King Salmon. The ride was not too bad, a bit bumpy with turbulence but overall it was quick.

            We landed in King Salmon and a bus was there to pick us up and take us to our sleeping destinations. Originally we thought we would all be sleeping at the school but they put us up in a lodge and an old military dorm. We stopped at one of the stores on our way to pick up some things. I was looking around at the prices and was surprised but not shocked. A bag of Lays potato chips were over $8. I decided I did not need anything at that point in time and saved some money.

            We dropped off Derek and Richard at Savaoc (old military dorm) and then the rest of the Nondalton staff continued onto Bear Trail Lodge. This is one of the top Lodges in Alaska for fishing. Danielle and I stayed in one of the cabins with two other personnel from the district. We unpacked a bit and then headed over to the main building to mingle with the other staff members that were there. I got to meet tons of people from all over our district. They are an amazing group of people and they are all a close knit family. I am so lucky to be apart of this. As we mingled the Bear Trail Lodge staff let us have free reign over the bar since it was the end of the season and they were trying to get rid of everything. Needless to say, the alcohol didn’t last very long because there was not much left, which only meant the staff members were running out to the store picking up more alcohol. Now I know what you must be thinking. This is a professional development with the people you’re working with and you’re all drinking and having fun. Well the only thing I can say is that it is a different way of life up here. And we are all adults and the district respects us for what we do and understand that we are isolated out in our villages and need time to just have fun.

            Everyone from Savaoc got picked up on the bus and was brought over to Bear Trail for some dinner. We had some awesome Mexican food. The cook there made tacos, enchiladas, burritos, etc. It was delicious!  We all hung out for a bit before Savaoc people had to go home early because of the bus. The rest of us at Bear Trail stayed up till about 11pm talking, drinking and getting to know one another.

            The next morning came too soon, 6am my alarm went off so that I could jump in the shower and get my day started. The bus was there to pick us all up at 7am and took us over to the Bristol Bay School. It was about a 20 minute drive and we were all so tired. When we arrived at the school they had breakfast waiting for us. Nothing fancy, just yogurt, fruit, muffins, etc. Around 8:30am we all headed to the classrooms were we would have an hour and half sessions. The sessions were a variety of topics from learning about technology, to literacy in the classroom, science, social studies, you name it. We had two sessions in the morning then recreational time. During this time, you could do yoga, swimming, basketball, volleyball, etc. You could also use this time to walk down the road to the visit the store. At 12:15-1:15 the school supplied us with lunch. Day 1 we had some wonderful sandwiches with pasta salad and veggies. We all raided the veggies because it’s so hard to come by fresh veggies and fruit out in the villages because it doesn’t last long and it’s so expensive to fly it out. So overall, lunch was good. Then in the afternoon we attended two more sessions before calling it a day. By 5:15 the day was over and we were getting back on the buses to head to Bear Trail for dinner.

            Bear Trail that night was pretty much the same as the night before. This time we were served BBQ Chicken and ribs. It was very tasty. Once again we didn’t get to spend too much time with our Savaoc people because the bus came to pick them up shortly after dinner. Bear Trail people stayed up too late that night having beers and playing card games. It was a blast but getting into bed at 1am and getting up at 6am was not a good combination. The next day we were moving like glaciers but made it to the school and did the same routine as the day before.

            Thursday night instead of going back to Bear Trail for dinner we did a Memorial Fun Walk/Run on Naknek beach. This is the second or third Memorial run for someone that died in our district a few years back. She was young like me, practicing for a run she was going to be participating in during winter. She was running in the woods with her headphones in and didn’t notice a pack of wolves following her. Unfortunately she did not survive the attack so the district puts on this Memorial for her every year. Most of the people who were there were from our district, others were townspeople who came out to support and remember her. A bunch of us walked but a good amount ran too and competed for metals. It was so nice just walking along the beach. It’s so peaceful and calm. There were tons of jelly fish washed up on the shore but that’s normal to any beach. The thing that is different here is that beached walrus’ and whales are common to see. Bristol Bay runs right into the ocean. For those of you who watch Deadliest Catch, this is one of the places they are in and out of.

            After the walk/run we went over for a BBQ in one of the airplane hangers. This is where I got to try Moose and Salmon. The moose ribs were actually really tasty. It was chewy like jerky but very good. As most of you know, I am not a fish person. However, I am in Alaska and I have to try new things. I tried the Alaskan Salmon, while it was tasty and good, I still did not enjoy it. Sorry! You should be proud of me though for trying. After we were done eating we began planning how we were all going to get to go out for the evening to a local bar. It was difficult to plan because there are so many of us and only a few transportations available. Then there’s the issue that not all of us are staying at the same place. It was very complicated. However we were able to figure a plan out. We headed back to King Salmon and went to a bar called Eddies. It was small, dark, smokey, and everything you would think an old bar would look like. We had a few drinks there and then walked across the street to a bar called Kin Ko’s. Kin Ko’s was a newer bar, still smokey, but brighter and just looked like a new bar. The only difference here was they have what you call a crab pot. To me, they were cages. It was a small stage with poles that were covered in fish netting. Now, I walk in looking at these things and you can image what I’m thinking. The staff giggle and said “yepp, welcome to Alaska, how many more do you need before you jump in there?” I laugh and say absolutely not, no way. We all laugh it off and sit down with another drink. The bar started playing a trivia game asking a variety of questions so we got into teams and played. It was a lot of fun and since we were all teachers we knew almost every answer. It got to be midnight and so we called it a night and decided to go home because we still had one more day of sessions.

            Friday came and we were looking like zombies but we still pushed through the day with flying colors. When the sessions were over we were able to go shopping before heading back to Bear Trail for dinner. I picked up a few things at the grocery store but didn’t want to go overboard since it all needed to fit into my suitcase which space was limited. We got back to Bear Trail and had the best dinner I’ve had in awhile. They served us prime rib, potatoes, steamed broccoli, caesar salad, and rolls. To top it all off, for dessert we had chocolate brownie sundaes. It was heavenly. Just about everyone on staff decided that because it was our last night we were going to hit the bar one more time. Plus Kin Ko’s was having an end of the world party that night because it was there last night being open for the season. We loaded onto the buses and went into town. The bar had a few locals and then all us teachers. We danced and had a great time. Before we knew it there was a dance competition. The bar was going to give money away to the person who won the competition. Before I knew it a bunch of teachers were signed up to dance and even a few locals. Let me just say it was one of the funniest and shocking experiences in my life. Let’s just say the dancing happened in the crab pots and on the bar. There were pitchers of water being dumped on people. It was crazy!! Not at all what I was expected but we had a lot of fun. The older teachers went home around midnight while the rest of us young people stayed out till 2am. It was a blast. However, waking up the next morning was not fun. We were all not feeling well and had to pack and jump on our planes to head home. We had a quick breakfast with everyone then it was departure time.

            We got on the plane sometime after 10am and were home in a half hour. We had the same pilot that we had coming out. The flight was so smooth and peaceful. The views are amazing. I wish I had taken pictures but there just wasn’t enough time to do everything.

            Overall, it was an amazing week with lots going on. We barely had time to just relax. We were constantly moving but it was so nice. It feels weird to be home now, alone with nothing to do. For days we were constantly surrounded by people and now it just feels weird not having them around. They really are like my second family and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Everyone is just amazing and so sweet.

            Ps- It’s looking more and more like I am going to be staying next year too. I talked with the head of human resources while I was there and he said he would try to get me a job next year if there was an opening and if there wasn’t one in the district he has tons of connections elsewhere. So fingers crossed that I can stay! I love it here!!!

Anyway, I know this was a ton to read and obviously I left things out but you got the jist. xoxoxo

Hello October

Hello October!

            Hard to believe that October is here already. Time sure does fly when you are having fun. I found out this past week that I will be staying till the end of the school year. I am so excited that I get to stay and continue working here in Alaska. It is so amazing I would not mind working here again next year.

            In 18 days I will be getting out of the village for the first time since arriving here. The entire staff is going down to King Salmon for an in-service. We will be gone from the 18^th till the 22^nd. We will be meeting up with all the other staff and personnel from the district so I will get to see some of my new friends again and meet more new awesome people. We will be staying at the Bristol Bay school sleeping on air mattresses throughout the school. It’ll be just like camping lol. During the day we will be attending different sessions to help us in the classroom and then in the evenings we’ll be free to hang out with everyone. From what I understand this town has a general store so I am very excited to be able to go shopping! Also, they have a bar! So it’ll be nice to have a little taste of civilization again. I am very excited!

            The weather here has now officially changed to cold. In the mornings we have to defrost the cars because they are covered in icy frost. The sun is going down now around 8:30 and comes up around 7:30-8. It makes me sad that we are losing so much sunlight. When I first got here the sun did not go down until 11pm, quite the change from then.

            As far as I know the village has not seen any more bears but now we need to be on the look out for wolves as it is turning colder. Joy! The rabbits here are usually a beautiful brown color but with the weather turning, their coats are becoming a beautiful shade of white. It’s amazing! I absolutely love being surrounded by nature everyday. I would just rather not have to worry about animals attacking me.

            With my abc shows starting back up this month, Danielle and I have been going in on Friday nights and watching Greys Anatomy and Private Practice on the Smart Board. It is a lot of fun and we look forward to it every week. We go into Cam’s room because he has a couch and chair that we can cozy up in to relax and enjoy our shows. The school has better internet then we have at home so the shows download very quickly. It’s perfect.

            Yesterday, we had a school fundraiser where we made Indian tacos. It was quite the turn out; we had more people then we had food. We probably gave away about 85 tacos but for next time we’ll have to do 100. An Indian taco is like a regular taco but on a big piece of fry bread. There is taco meat, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, sour cream, cheese, and olives. They were delicious but extremely filling. It was nice though to do something for the community and work with some of the other students in the school.

            The northern lights can be seen over different parts of Alaska right now. It is a bit harder for us to see them from where we are but it is still possible to see them occasionally so I will be keeping my eyes open.

            Other then that everything is going well. I am looking forward to coming home for Christmas. I’ll need to start looking for plane tickets here pretty soon.

xoxo