Hello all! This will be my last post of the year, seeing as how a week from today I will be heading to the lower 48 to visit my lovely family for the holiday season. There isn't a whole lot to blog about this week. I think everyone is getting very anxious for break time. We did, however get to go and have another tour of the new school. It was a lot of fun and they have done a lot of progress since Labor Day, which is the last time we went to check it out. There were a few new things that we noticed now that they are actually getting walls up.
Time Out Rooms: There will be two very small rooms with windows into the principal and assistant principal's offices that will be very helpful. A lot of the time kids may need to just get away and out of the room for a while and these are perfect little rooms for that.
Library and Computer Room: From the looks of things, the library will be nice and big! It will give us a lot of room to move around and fit classes into.
A view from the top looking down at the gym
Teacher Break Room: Since our current facility is so close to teacher housing, having a break room wasn't necessary. But now the school is a lot farther away, which means we can't just walk home for lunch. Because of this, we will have a break room. I think this will be very interesting and I'm excited to get to use it.
Gym: Above the gym will be a little open area where people can stand and watch games and things. After seeing the NYO events here last week, this seems like a really smart idea because more people will be able to watch our events.
One thing that happened this week was that the heat went out in our classroom. Fortunately, it was found before everything frozen and it was just for my classroom since it's out in a portable building. My kids and I had class in the library in the morning and then worked with the other classes during the afternoon. By 3:30 the room was all heated up again and the next morning the smell was gone too, so it only lasted one day like that, thankfully. Our maintenance guys did an awesome job of getting out there quickly and fixing the problem for us. I appreciated it a lot.
Well, that's it for this semester. Next time I write it will be a New Year. Hopefully next year will be just as amazing as this year has been. Have a wonderful Christmas and a prosperous New Year.
Here is the library and computer rooms
P.S. If anyone would like to see more pictures of the new school, feel free to check out some of the other teachers' blogs: http://sammyjotakesalaska.blogspot.com
Every two years I watch the Olympics on television. It's amazing to watch so many talented people do what they are so great at. In the Winter Games, you have people who have mastered the ski slopes, or can spin a million times in a minute while balancing on a small blade and manage not to fall on the ice and break their faces. In the Summer Games you have athletes who are masters of the pool, or do tons of hops, skips, and flips, landing perfectly in a small amount of space. So much talent in one place is inspiring. Well, if you enjoy watching the Olympics, then I strongly encourage you to look into the Native Youth Olympics (NYO). In my village, we have gathered all of our school district's downriver NYO competitors for a three day competition not only of the body, but also the mind. Six schools, fourth through eighth grades, all competing for the glory. Students competed against each other on an intellectual level, testing what they had learned about each of the school's core subjects as well as their knowledge of their own culture. They also competed on a physical level doing events that have been in their culture for centuries. It was said that these events were done during fierce winter storms to help the hunters keep in shape and keeping their abilities that would be used during hunts sharp. These events were mind blowing to watch, some of them I even think could give our World Olympics a run for their money.
Stick Pull
Since most of my readers are interested in the culture of the people out here, the focus of this blog is to tell you of the awesome and unique events these children have competed in the past few days. For the safety of the children in photos, names and villages will be left out. There will be eight athletic events that I will try to explain to you in this blog. I must warn you that these are dangerous and I suggest that you do not try them on your own without some sort of guidance.
Seal Hop: Unfortunately I wasn't able to get any pictures of this event because I was judging at another thing during the same time. My students, however, have described for me how it works. Each competitor starts out at the top of a push up. Then, thrusting themselves forward with their feet, they begin hopping down the court, racing against the other students and trying to be the first one across the finish line. This exercises arm strength and balance.
One Arm Reach
Stick Pull: In this event, two students sit across from each other with the bottom of their feet touching each other. Then a stick is held in the middle. A coin toss determines which competitor gets to have their hands in the middle of the stick and which competitor has their hands on the outside of the stick. They are given a countdown and each competitor begins to try to pull the stick away from the person on the other end. The compete three times, whoever wins two rounds is the winner of the match. To make sure it is fair, the competitors switch hand placement each round.
Kneel Jump: Competitors sit on their knees with the tops of their feet flat on the ground. From here, the competitor uses as much strength as they can to heave their body up and land on their feet. Once here, the judges measure how far from the beginning position to the landing position. Whoever jumps the farthest, wins. I wasn't able to get a picture of this event either.
One Arm Reach: This one is one of my favorites and very impressive. There is a ball hanging from a mechanism in front of each competitor. The better they do, the higher it goes. Putting all their body weight on one hand, with the elbow of that hand in their stomach, the competitor attempts to touch a ball in the air with their free hand. This takes a lot of strength and balance and is very dangerous looking. The competitor who can touch the ball higher than the others, is the winner.
Scissor Broad Jump: In this jump, a competitor starts with their weaker foot and steps forward. Then, like scissors, the competitor swings their other foot behind that leg. The competitor then steps forward with the same foot they began with. They kick their other foot in front and then begin their final jump as far as they can forward. Here, their jump is measured and the person who jumps the farthest after three attempts... well, you get the idea. This is very similar to the long jump we all know so well. I have included a video of this jump, seeing as how you need to see it to understand a little better.
Two Foot High Kick
Two Foot High Kick: A ball is hung from a string in this event much like in the One Arm Reach. Then, the competitor attempts to jump up and kick the ball with both feet. I missed most of this competition, but I think this picture captures the essence of the event. The competitor who can kick the ball with both feet at the highest point is the winner.
One Foot High Kick
Alaskan High Kick: I very much wish I could have watched this event. Each competitor, again, has a ball hanging from a mechanism in front of them. The competitor then grabs their less dominant ankle in their hand. Putting all their weight on the hand that aligned with their less dominant foot holds all the body weight as they kick up with their dominant foot and kick the ball. The leg that is being held up cannot touch the ground until the judge says so. The competitor who kicks the ball at the highest point, wins. This is hard to describe. For example. If I am kicking with my right foot, I would hold my left ankle in my right hand. This cannot be let go until the judge says I have succeeded. Then, I will put all of my bodyweight on my left hand and attempt to kick the ball with my right hand. Hopefully that makes sense, because I didn't get any pictures of this event either.
One Foot High Kick: This event was very similar to the Two Foot High Kick. The same ball is hanging again as before. This time, however, the competitor only kicks with one foot. Their other foot has to be suspended in air. The competitor may take a running start if they need to. They must kick with one foot and land on that same foot. I have not only a picture of students doing this, but I also have a video of the highest kick from the competition. This young man was able to kick the ball at 92 inches, which is just four short inches away from nine feet tall! Like before, the competitor who kicks the highest ball, wins.
I thoroughly enjoyed all of these events. It was amazing to get to see so many students enjoying themselves, getting to know other people their age from different villages, and being in touch with their heritage. If it were up to me, I think we would do this a lot more often. I loved the atmosphere and the entertainment value of it all. I hope you all enjoy looking at pictures and videos and really do get an idea of how impressive this culture is. Their activities and athleticism is outstanding. These kids really are talented.
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.
We finally got some snow here! It came down all day and by the time it stopped, we had some snow drifts that were close to four feet tall! Of course, other places hardly had any snow on the ground, it's kind of funny like that. The wind blowing and the snow piling made it quite a funny picture out there. I guess I thought that when it finally snowed it would be an even mound all along everything, but I was very much wrong.
Yukon Cafe sign buried in snow
There was enough snow that finally everyone could get their snow machines out again. It seems like all I ever here now is people riding by on their skidoos. I like the sound of them. Some of the other teachers got their machines out and decided that a trip to the cafe was just what we needed. As our food cook, we drove the skidoos out to the airport to see more of the snow drifts, but then on our way we began to notice how the road out there hadn't been covered by snow at all. We decided the best thing would be to get off the road so that the machine wouldn't get hurt. That was our mistake. We ended up getting the snow machine stuck in the snow because of how deep it was on the sides. The hills of the road were too steep as well to get it out. It took a lot of work, but the three teachers who had experience with this kind of thing dug the machine out. One of the other new teachers out here and I weren't exactly sure how to help, so we stood by and watched. Unfortunately, our journey was not over. After we had an amazing meal at the cafe, we went out to find that one of the two skidoos we had wouldn't start. We weren't exactly sure what was wrong with it, but since there were five of us, we needed to come up with a plan. Since one teacher had ridden in a sled on the back of the working skidoo to the restaurant without any problems, we decided to have three of us try and hop on the sled, while two people rode the actual snow machine. It was actually really fun. The sun had completely set, so all the stars were shining magnificently and even though it was cold we thoroughly enjoyed the beauty of the night sky.
skidoos!
One other fun event that happened this week was a birthday party for one of my students. She turned fourteen and had a big celebration at her house. It was a really good time. One of my coworkers and I sat for quite a while talking to the student's mother about a lot of things going on in the village. There house was so welcoming and beautiful and inviting. It felt like being at family's house. When we departed to go back home, we had to give our machine a little time to warm up, which gave us time to have a small snowball fight with a bunch of the children from the village. It was so much fun, it was all of them against us! We were outnumbered and inexperienced, but it was definitely a fun night!
Icy afternoon
Of all the experiences I've had, places I've been, things I've seen, I don't think anything compares to this place when the snow finally comes. People's eyes light up more. Unlike other places in the world, there are more things to do when the snow comes than when there is no snow. They all are so much more used to the snow that it's like they feel complete. I love this village and its snow.
I tried to capture the sparkling sun on this, but didn't quite get it
I've said before that I love this village, but now there is snow on the ground. Snow on the ground! It's not going anywhere for at least 6 months, and it makes me so happy! You know what snow means: hot cocoa, warm layers, snowball fights and snow angels. What a wonderful time of the year in the Great White North. Everything is so pure and clean and white. Even the air smells and feels fresh and clean and cold. The snow being here changes so very much.
It changes the kids. Now they can do more and play more, which is kind of funny, because anywhere else I've been the colder it gets outside the less time you spend outdoors. However, here the colder it gets means there are more opportunities to do different things.
It changes travel through the villages. I had a few students who were supposed to go to a wrestling tournament in another village, but because of the snow falling they were unable to do so. This is the time of year you can literally begin to feel trapped like you can't escape, because the weather will trap you here.
It changes our mailing system. Two days without getting any mail, not because nothing was being sent, but because the planes couldn't bring in the plane due to the weather. Now is when you really have to worry about how long things are going to take to arrive at our site.
It changes my mood. I've always loved snow, despite the popular opinion amongst my family that snow = awfulness. However I love cold, crisp air. It gets under my skin and makes me want to dance. I can't help it. When the weather is cold, I just smile. I love the cold weather. I always have.
Beauty that is ice
The last thing the weather changes is the functions within our houses. Now that the weather is cold, it is more likely that we will lose water or have power outages. Fortunately we have ways of keeping the school up and running, but I have heard of several instances throughout the villages of school being cancelled due to no water or electricity. hopefully, we won't have many problems like that.
I love the snow, the cold, and the people and feel of this village. I can't help but feel at home here, like I've been trying to make it here for years and have finally succeeded. I'm thankful for this wonderful place I can call home, and although I don't think I will stay here forever, I know that this is the place I want to be right now.
I think it is officially beginning to feel like winter here. The river is freezing over quite nicely. The temperatures hover right around 32 (for now). The sun doesn't rise until close to 10 am or later. Yup, feels like winter is coming on.
I was afraid I wouldn't have anything really interesting to write about this week, but then I realized my birthday and parent-teacher conferences were both this week along with the village Halloween Carnival at the school. It was a very fun week with lots of successful events, I would say.
Our packed gym
Parent-Teacher conferences: In an earlier blog, I told you that expectations are different for parents here than they are in the lower 48. School is not seen as important here and therefore parents don't necessarily NEED to come to things like parent-teacher conferences. Normally, half or less of the student's parents show up. For my very first parent-teacher conferences, eight of my ten students had a parent show up to discuss their students progress! I was amazed, astonished, and stoked that so many came out. I even had one suggesting ways they could help their child improve at home! It was amazing and I was so happy with the results. Since the beginning of the semester I have believed that I have the best group of students in the school, and because so many of their parents showed up, I was able to brag to almost all of their parents about how great their students are. As a first year teacher to have so much success, that was definitely a self-esteem booster as well.
box full of birthday goodies!
Birthday: I loved getting packages from home for my birthday. They were awesome. It was also really neat to celebrate my birthday in such a small place. Literally everyone knew I was turning twenty-three. Every single kid came up to me at school and told me happy birthday. It made the day even a little bit more special because so many people cared. Not only that, but all of the teachers become like a second family out here. Our bush family celebrated my birthday with cake and a movie. It was just a little simple get together at a teacher's house. But to me, it was perfect. We couldn't go out to the mall, or to a restaurant, or do anything you may have done living with the normal conveniences of civilizational surroundings, but we had each other and it made my birthday the most perfect day this year.
Escaping the Haunted House at the back
Halloween Carnival: Last night was the Halloween Carnival held at the school. They had booths for games set up all around the gym, a prize room for winners, and even a haunted house in the hallways of the school. When things like that are open to the community, everyone in the village comes out to celebrate. The gym was PACKED with people! There was no entry fee, just a sweet little ticket booth selling tickets to win prizes with. I worked the free throw shot. Students would pay two tickets to get four shots on the free throw line. If they made a shot, they won a prize ticket. I picked this event because basketball is a big deal here. I figured a lot of the students would enjoy this game. I was right. Especially one of the seventh graders who isn't in my class. He kept coming back over and over again. He wasn't bad, either. Several times he made all four shots. I was impressed.
Pond frozen over
It has been a great week, but it isn't quite over. Today we are celebrating a two year old's birthday. Then, next week is Halloween. That is a big deal around here. I would appreciate prayers for next week because Wednesday and Thursday will be pretty crazy days because of Halloween. I am excited to celebrate my first holiday with these people in this village that I love so very much.
Last week was a dreadful week! Being a teacher is hardest just a few times a year, and when report cards are due is one of those times. Fortunately, I finished all of my grading and what not, but it is a lot of extra stress and worry for one solid week.
It started snowing!
On top of that, there was a volleyball tournament hosted here this weekend. It was a lot of fun, but the teachers have to do a lot of work for these things such as line judging and officiating, and score keeping. I like doing score keeping, so I did that for all the games. By yesterday afternoon when I came home I just passed out for a while, because I was so exhausted.
Ice floating down the river
I woke up from my nap and decided to go get some things from my classroom so I could get some stuff done and ran into two of the other teachers heading to the store. I caught a ride with them since it seemed like the thing to do. On our way we drove down beside the slough, and looked over to see ice chunks heading down the slough. It was beautiful. It was the real first sign of winter coming. Soon the river will be frozen over, snow will completely cover the ground, and everyone will get their snowmobiles out to play.
Soon it will be completely frozen over
I'm looking forward to it because there are many other things to do once the snow settles in. It opens a whole new world of adventures for me.
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Sorry that this post isn't very long, like I said it was a very busy week. If I wasn't in my classroom, I was in my bed asleep! Hope you enjoy seeing the fun pictures from a great weekend!
Time Out Rooms: There will be two very small rooms with windows into the principal and assistant principal's offices that will be very helpful. A lot of the time kids may need to just get away and out of the room for a while and these are perfect little rooms for that.
One thing that happened this week was that the heat went out in our classroom. Fortunately, it was found before everything frozen and it was just for my classroom since it's out in a portable building. My kids and I had class in the library in the morning and then worked with the other classes during the afternoon. By 3:30 the room was all heated up again and the next morning the smell was gone too, so it only lasted one day like that, thankfully. Our maintenance guys did an awesome job of getting out there quickly and fixing the problem for us. I appreciated it a lot.
