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.  

Hold On... He'll Break Open the Skies to Save Those Who Cry Out His Name....

Is it summer yet?  No.  Nope!  Not at all. 

Next week is SBA Testing Week.  It is also the week I plan on doing Easter activities.  Will my kiddos make it through the week alive?  Sure.  Will I?  That's debatable. 
So here's to hoping things will go well.

Recently the class as a whole has started to struggle with behavior again. :(   Fist fights, arguing, and stealing are popping back up.  So much I was actually dragged down the hallway by two students trying to pull them apart from one another.  That to me is the most frustrating thing that can happen.  I feel like I just spent most of the year getting them to the point they can work independently and cooperatively when working together.  Guess it's time for me to go back to the drawing board with behavior management  and class set up. 

On the a more positive note, tickets have been bought for my trip home.  I think I might start posting a list of things that I will want to do over the summer. The top of that list is wearing shorts and flip flops.  I have missed Indiana weather.  Especially the smell of the rain, the feel of the wind blowing in from my car window, and the sunshine hitting my face. 

Another awesome thing is I am getting ready for a week vacation in San Diego with my best friend and then a week on a mission trip with another friend in Mexico.  I am so stoked for June it's ridiculous!  Tickets have been bought.  Plans are underway.

And last but not least, I am almost done with my first year of teaching.  CRAZY RIGHT??!  I can hardly believe it!

One Day When The Sky Is Falling, I'll Be Standing Right Next to You

 

My mister was here only 2 weeks ago. 

He flew 4000 miles to stay with me for 6 days.

I literally was dancing around when I saw his plane land.  

I ran and jumped into his arms when he came into the airport.  

I couldn't believe he was really part of my world out here.  

I felt like laughing, crying, squealing, and dancing.

We snowmachined him around the big town of Bethel and all the way back to Atmautluak.

We spent a glorious week of pancake mornings, stir-fry dinners, and movie nights.  

He got to meet the village.

He got to see my class.

He read with some of my struggling readers.

He now really understands what I'm going through. 

A Spoonful of Sugar Makes the Akutaq Go Down...

In the past 3 days I have eaten more Native food than ever before.  Here in the village people throw parties for various reasons.  Birthdays, death anniversaries, and first kills.  During the summer and fall months they have the women come early and go to "Throwing Parties".  I think I've explained about these before, but if I haven't they are pretty self explanitory.  The person hosting the party buys tons and tons of items to give away, climbs to a high point on their property, and begins throwing these objects to the people on the ground.  Washcloths, socks, notebooks, bookbags, tupperware, candy... just about anything can be thrown.  After that comes the feast.

It's still winter here in Alaska, with some really terrible days of negative windchill.  But, people still have these parties.  Now, the village is invited to the house, given platefuls of food, and leave with presents.  You go into the person's house, find a place to sit, and wait for the family to come around and serve you.  Sometimes you end up in a persons room, other times in the living room, but hardly ever do you end up at a table.  That is reserved for the elders.  They get their food, drinks, and dessert first.  Then come the men, then the women, and children.
The feasts here usually consist of meat soups (moose, beaver, salmon, etc.), the occasional vegetables, and akutaq (crisco, sugar, and berries).  As you are eating the family members will come around with presents such as washcloths, shampoo, and tupperware.  The kids will usually get something to wash with, socks and gloves, and sometimes a toy and candy.  The end of the meal you are invited to sit at the table with the family. There is usally coffee and tea offered with cake, fried bread, or the occasional salted fish (still attached to the skin, bones, and eyes).

Personally I go because I know it's the best way for me to be involved with the community in a positive way, other than doing school activities.  Some meals are easier to swallow than others.  But, no matter how much sugar you add, akutaq is still hard to swallow.  I think it's the thought that I'm eating lard with sugar and berries.

Just now got the feeling that we're meeting for the first time...

One word, BASKETBALL.  Yes, basketball has got me up at this crazy hour.  Another word deserves to be highlighted.  Second word, CHAPERONE. 

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            Since the beginning of the school year I’ve been asked to chaperone/coach several sports.  First it was my own team, the cross-country middle school runners, then it was for the females on our school’s wrestling team, and now it has been for the high school basketball team.  Great kids, great experiences, and great opportunities to travel. 

            I should probably start by explaining how chaperoning works out here.  Because of our rural location, playing another school isn’t as easy as hopping on a bus and getting there in 30 mins.  It takes planning, lots of money, overnight stays, and the good graces of mother nature.  In the fall time most travel is done by bush plane to nearby villages and or the nearest town, Bethel.  In the winter we can still travel using plane, but the cheaper and therefore preferred method is snowmachine.  You heard me right, snowmachine!  When you stay over at another school, the team is led to a classroom to sleep and hangout in for the weekend.  Everyone sleeps on the floor, unless you were one of the smart ones to bring an air mattress.  Finally I say it takes the good graces of Mother  Nature.  I’ve been stuck twice now at other schools because of weather delays… one of which was because the windchill caused tempatures to be in the -50s!!!!

           Tonight was a moment that I won't forget, because I saw a glimpse of the culture that still resonates deep inside these kids.  All day I'd seen high school girls and boys running around texting, facebooking, and listening to music on ipods.  At the end of the night, after the gym was cleaned and the kids were supposed to be heading to bed we heard noises coming from the front of the school.  Boys from another school began singing and dancing the traditional Yup'ik story telling way.  It was so neat to see these young guys embracing their culture.