Thanksgiving with my Alaska Family

Some of the food

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! Sorry I'm a little bit late on posting this week, but it was a crazy week! Three days of school, a nice holiday with friends, my brother visiting, and another old friend in town. I had an excellent week!

My brother and I at Thanksgiving lunch

It all started on Monday when my little brother flew into town. He got into Anchorage on Sunday evening and called me to tell me he had landed and he had seen a moose already! I've lived here for three months now and haven't seen any moose, but he was here for an hour and saw his first one. I was a bit jealous at that point.

When my brother got into the village, his first order of business was to challenge one of my very talented students to a basketball game. He barely beat him and if I hadn't known any better, I would have thought he was going to die! The air is a bit thinner and different up here, which he wasn't used to, so when he was playing ball he wasn't getting as much oxygen as his body wanted. We did many fun things such as eat at the cafe, go down to the docks, have a movie night and game night, go to an Eskimo dance, and, of course, eat Thanksgiving lunch with the other teachers-my Bush family.

Sunset at the dock

Our Thanksgiving lunch was a lot of fun. Most of the teachers who had stayed in town came over to the school, where we all brought a potluck dish. We had turkey and stuffing and green bean casserole and cornbread pudding and pumpkin pie and many other dishes that all tasted delicious. After eating, we all enjoyed playing basketball with the babies or watching those who were playing. We hung out for a while before everyone began heading home for their Thanksgiving naps. It was a very successful day, I would say, for it being my first Thanksgiving away from home. I'm very thankful for my brother being up here with me so I had a little part of home.

Hanging out at the Eskimo Dance on Thanksgiving night

Another wonderful thing that happened was a friend from another village coming into town to spend time with us. We had a great time playing Settlers of Catan, watching football, and just hanging out eating so much food we couldn't stand up! She was another teacher, so we were able to discuss differences in the villages we lived in. I liked that because this place is still new to me and to hear about things in other villages is very interesting because even though we all live close together, we are all very different.

Rub a dub dub, three women in a tub-- with our friend from another village

My Alaska family is wonderful. We have many fascinating stories together, fun memories together, and I believe, no matter what, we will always be family. Years from now, when some of us have left and others have replaced them, they will always have a special place in our hearts. We are a family, and just like any other family, moving away doesn't mean you aren't one of us anymore, you just live in a new place now. If you need something, we will be there for each other. Always. I am thankful for my family back home. I am thankful for my class of wonderful students. I am thankful for my Alaska family. Forever and always, my first Thanksgiving out here will be one I remember.