Barefoot, Blue Jeans, Snow?

For those of you who really know me... you know I hate shoes.  Given the choice between walking in shoes, flip flops (technically not shoes if you ask me), and bare feet  I will always pick the barefoot option.  I think it has something to do with how I grew up walking everywhere without my shoes, on a rock tarred road, gravel driveway, and grass.  That bare foot walking has had to take a back seat this year since I've been living in rural Alaska.  During the summer months the ground was tundra and boardwalk which didn't bother me, but the blizzards and ice don't make friends with bare toes regularly.

Except for today.  Today is One Day Without Shoes.  Check out the mission explained better here. ONE DAY










So, I decorated my feet this morning and walked from my house to the school without shoes.  Much to many people's dismay the walk wasn't bad until I had to walk up and down the metal grate stairs for the school.  A fellow teacher took pictures and will help me take some more at the end of the day.  Hope those of you reading this become intrigued and find out more about the cause.  Because "One Day Kids Won't Have To Go Without Shoes" until then I'm going One Day Without Shoes.

Between test tantrums and teacher exhaustion

In the midst of testing a glimmer of hope comes from my students.  No, not from their mathematical, writing, or reading prowess but from the bottom of their hearts.  My kids, despite how frustrating these tests are for them, have all been showing up to school on time and ready to test.  And a tiny miracle may have happened between a child and I today.  A student that struggles with academics as well as behavior came in today early and brought me a brand new bar of soap from his house.  I know that's a big deal because his family doesn't have all the money in the world so I thanked him and told him I have some soap at home.  He told me to keep it for the classroom, since I said that we were running low yesterday.  Kindness and generosity from a child that doesn't know much of that at home.  It made me smile from ear to ear and warmed my heart.

Hey I Heard You Were A Wild One... Show Me How You Do. I Wanna Shut Down the Club With You

All of that is made from animal hide/fur

Handwoven basket

I was able to go snowmachine in to Bethel for Camaii.  Camaii (pronounced JUH-MY) is a great gathering of different villages for a celebration of the Yupik culture.  The district I work for spends a bit of money to send out the First Year Teachers to be part of the neat experience.  Seeing the first years one last time was great.  Some will be coming back next year for yet another adventure in the Alaskan Bush, but others will unfortunately not.  The latter makes me quite sad, but I know that those people not coming back will have great luck and experience wherever they end up teaching, and I'm glad I was able to be part of their experience here.

Handwoven Basket

Whale or Seal Gut Coat

Traditional Yupik Dancing

My friend Patrick making fun of my seal skin owl.

This is the woman who made my seal skin owl.

At Camaii, There was so much to look at, buy, try, and see that I don't think I could accurately account for everything. I can tell you that I saw beautiful quaspaqs (pronounced kuspuks), hand-weaved baskets, dance fans, and headdresses.  I purchased some dolls, an owl made of seal fur, and earrings to remember the trip by.