Wind Day!?!!?

Where on Earth would you find a school that closes due to wind? In the tundra, of course. Today we have a late start and possibly a no-kids days due to excessive wind. I say no-kids day because the teachers are still required to be at school. It's kind of a nice break to just be at school and to get all caught up on work. Not much time for it usually. The wind is pretty incredible. I was lying in bed last night and could feel the whole house shake from the power of it. While I was walking to work, it hardly took any effort to move because the wind was pushing me so hard.

The whole reason why the wind is such a big deal is that all the students need to walk to school and some live on the very edges of the village. We don't have a bus currently since we have no driver. There always seems to be things that pop up that keep reminding me of where I am.

First basketball game of the season

Friday and Saturday were the first games of the season for both girl's and boy's basketball. Sports up on the slope are quite the event. It requires a chartered flight, lots of food preparation, trying to sort out where people will sleep, and also the typically assistance of staff members to make everything go smoothly. Because of each village's location, there is a lot of effort involved. When an opposing team comes for a game, it turns into a weekend long event. They will play until they leave the next day. This is a great opportunity for the kids and it really makes them work even harder so they can participate. Those who are eligible to play must have a C average through all of their classes and grade checks are done religiously.

These kids can play ball. I've never seen anything like it. I'm not just talking about in games either. During our gym time, kids will play Bump and be making these wild shots like it was nothing. When you don't have much else to do, it makes total sense that they can play the way they do.

I've spent my last weekend up here in the arctic baking cookies like a fiend and attempting to clean out my fridge. I'm now just down to condiments and have been making up some wacky concoctions for dinners. Nothing better than cheese, crackers, muffins, and scrambled eggs. I did attempt to have some of my students over for a baking party but no one showed so I ended up baking by myself. Now that the kitchen table is hidden I can finally take a break. Only 6 more days and I'll be on a plane!!!!

3 Weeks To Go!

For Thanksgiving this year, I was able to escape for a much needed break. Neal, my boyfriend who lives in Minnesota, flew up to meet me in Anchorage. It was wonderful. We traveled up to Wasilla from Anchorage in a rental car. No, Sarah was not home, but we had just as much fun eating out and shopping at Target without a Palin sighting. I even was able to go to a movie at a theater for the first time in months. It was fantastic.

The weather was beautiful. On Friday, we drove up a mountain towards some ski resort and on the way we pulled over to take pictures of Mount McKinnley. The sun was shining perfectly on it. It was definitely worth the little drive and scary ascent up the side of an icy mountain. The descent was much scarier though.

After our travels, we went out to eat a pretty upscale restaurant in Anchorage, called Simon and Seafort's. This was probably the best food I've had in a really long time. The bill was $70 for the both of us, but worth every penny.

The weekend was great, but like all things good, went way too fast. It also made me experience the thrills of traveling in the great North. The plane both ways was over an hour late, also experiencing mechanical difficulties, and addition to that fun, I traveled over most of Alaska for all the stops it made. I did make it home safe and sound and I'm thankful for that. 3 more weeks until Christmas!

Lots of changes

This week was quite eventful. I can truthfully say that the entire mood of the school changed. My roommate, Jennifer, was asked to resign and leave her position as the 1st/2nd grade teacher at our school. Sometimes a person's mouth can get them in plenty of trouble. We are now back to scrambling to find people to cover her classes. It's definitely hectic.

We also had a death in the community last weekend. He was an elder and one of my student's aapa (grandfather). It is really interesting to attend an Inupiat funeral. When there is a funeral in the community, the school is used instead of the church. People come from all over and the gym was full of people. School was dismissed at noon and there was a visitation from noon to 1:00. After that, the funeral begins. Anyone who wants to speak or sing is allowed to. They also have singing groups that go up to the front and sing in Inupiat. I couldn't believe the amount of emotion. It was such a wonderful, unsanitized grieving process. Funerals in the lower 48 always seem so regimented, whereas this was more of a celebration and a community event. All of the family contributes to burying their loved one. The sons and grandsons all work together to dig the grave, which isn't easy in the middle of winter. Everyone comes together in a massive effort of support. It was such a wonderful thing to be a part of.

Tundra Attire

This weekend I was put in charge of watching my rooommate's dog, Oakley. This includes taking him for walks and letting him take over my bed. This morning I took Oakley for his daily walk. It never ceases to amaze me how long it takes to get ready to make even the smallest trip across the village. Usually in the morning it requires an additional five minutes to get dressed in the appropriate outer gear. On days when you're going to be out longer, you can probably double that. For my adventure this morning, I wore: fleece pants, a sweatshirt, wool socks, snowpants, my heavy coat, 2 hats, snowmobiling mittens that go half way up to my elbow, a scarf, and my "good to -100 degrees" boots. All for a 20 minute walk around town. I was exhausted just dressing myself.

What cracks me up even more is that once I got outside and looked around, there were kids running around in little Chuck Taylor Converses (no socks either) and capris. Not a jacket in sight. It completely blows my mind. These kids can't even feel the cold.

Two weeks ago, we actually had school cancelled. It was so cold and so windy (42 mph) that our principal cancelled school. Teachers still needed to attend so that we wouldn't have to make it up at the end of the year, but we went out for a walk to get the mail and kids were still running around and playing outside. Nothing can stop this kids. They are all way too tough for me.

Happy Halloween!

Well, it has been a very busy month. School has completed the first quarter, we all survived Halloween, and only a few more weeks until we get a break. I have found myself buried under piles of paperwork, trying to get a hold on things before I get too far behind. Last Tuesday, we held parent teacher conferences. Our conferences here run much the same as those in the lower 48, but fewer parents seem to come. Of my six students, I talked to four of their parents. Ouch! I just wish I could see more support for the students coming from the parents side. Jenny, my roommate, had asked a parent what their belief on discipline is, and received the reply, "We let them learn from their own mistakes." In other words, there is no discipline or any sort of repercussion for acting out in school and getting bad grades. Bummer.

Yesterday, we had a big Halloween carnival in school. Janey and I were in charge of the Spooky House, and I had a wonderful time scaring the pants of kids. It seemed to go very well. After the carnival, students went around the village to trick or treat. At 6:00, the community put on a celebration called "Puuqtaluk." This activity is where community members dress up to hide their identity. They stuff their clothes, wear two different shoes, walk funny, and basically do anything they can so they can't not be recognized. Not everyone participates in this, but most of the people show up to watch. Each age has a different category, so only the little kids compete against each other and adults compete against each other. Once the age category is called and all the contestants have a number, they must do a dance. Once as a whole group and then again individually. Winners are determined by a panel of judges and they win huge cash prizes. First place was $250 and each place after that got less money, all the way up to 4th place. This activity was so much fun! Jenny and I sat through the whole thing and tried to guess who was who. We really had a great time.

Back to the grind...

I returned last Monday from my break away in Fairbanks. The class that I'm taking is amazing and I can't wait to start working with my kids with all the new things I learned. The class is all about teaching civics and it has some really great ideas for projects the kids can do. I ended up spending $75 at Barnes and Nobles and almost having a panic attack from the amount of people in Wal-Mart. There were more people standing in check out lines than I normally see in an entire day. Scary!

The Center for Civic Education is sponsoring this class and it's an awesome opportunity. Not only do I go to class to learn how to incorporate new ideas into my classroom, but they also provide class sets of all the materials, pay for travel and lodging, award 3 credits at the completion of the class, and also a $1,000 stipend, all for a $90 entrance fee. Pretty sweet deal if you ask me.

We have an insane amount of snow here right now. Since last week, we've received about six inches. Every morning I look outside to more snow. It's crazy! Most people are raking leaves this time of year and I'm out shoveling off the steps.

Friday marked the first dance/student council sponsored event of the school year. I ran myself ragged trying to get everything pulled together for it and it went over well with the students. It became more of an activity night than anything else, but the students all seemed to enjoy it. Kaktovik school was also here this weekend, so we had a few more kids to spice things up a bit. We ended up making $90 to help benefit the students going to AFN, a convention for the Alaskan Federation of Natives, where we send students to participate in every year.

This week is the end of the first quarter and the kids could care less. I've been trying to motivate them to step up a little and take some pride in their work. It's almost pointless. The culture here seems to encourage students not to rise above their current position in life. Drop out and make babies. That's the way it's done out here. I'm not the least bit concerned about angry parents since every phone call home seems to fall on deaf ears. At least that's a bit of a relief to not worry about being attacked during conferences.