Teaching In Alaska

Its a late Saturday night–the Saturday before my first day back to school, just hours away–and I’m rounding on midnight here in my 4th grade classroom.  Today has been delightfully active.  We had a teacher work day that was broken up in the middle by a community welcome-back-to-school assembly.  Some adults and many kids clambered into the gym bleachers: the kids running around excited to see one another and be in the gym, the adults sitting among the young, some welcoming me to the community.  Some of the children that knew my name already called out their hellos.  Dan began the assembly by welcoming everyone back for a new year and then introducing us new staff members.  The crowd found it quite a kick to learn that Dan had actually taught me at one point when I was in high school.   Carolyn and a games committee had arranged some competitions and prizes, so adults and children alike were brought forth for different challenges.  We ended the event by pulling out the lunch tables and eating some grub of hot dogs, potato salad, and baked beans.

After school we cleaned up shop and I hustled to finish as many little tasks as possible before being “picked up” by Charlie and Bobby to go berry picking.  Bobby is a teacher’s aid for Jodi (down the hall in special ed) who was a saint yesterday and not only helped me with my classroom, but did a boring, tedious task.  She also stops by every once in awhile just to say hello and chat.  Charlie is Bobby’s younger sister who was just hired to take the 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders for their PE period, among other assignments.  Bobby’s daughter and niece came with us berry picking across the tundra and we had a marvelous time breathing in the tundra fragrances beneath the high sun.  Even a slight breeze worked in our favor to brush off any pesky bugs.

When I came home I made myself some dinner and was just in the middle of washing my mess when there was a knock at the door.  Aaron, on of the boys that will be in my class on Monday, came to see if Austin had been around.  I recruited him to rinse off the suds as I finished scrubbing the last few dishes and then gave him a slice of the sourdough bread I had made late last night before heading out the door with him in search of Austin.  When we found Austin we made our way back to my home so that Austin could try some bread too, played a couple of games of cards and then tossed a frisbee outside.  Lots of boys came to join us for something resembling 500 without the points and I recognized a few more faces of boys who would be in my class.  After a half hour or longer I bid my farewell with the frisbee and headed over here to put in some much needed work.  The classroom is coming together, but there is still much to be done.

All this to be said, even though I am putting in late nights at “the office,” I am having much too much fun to be accused of being a workaholic.

Hello family!

So much has been happening, it’s hard to know quite where to begin. The transition from home to Anchorage to Saint Michael was a mess: another reminder of how greatly I dislike packing. Somehow items and articles fell into their places within boxes and bags and found their way into the car and to the post office just in time for our late morning departure around the mountains to Anchorage, where we met up with Chris and Robin.

Lacey and Me motering to Stebbins

The picture above is of my new roommate, Lacey, and myself high jacking Dan’s four wheeler for the 11 mile ride to Stebbins.  This is a pretty good representation of the beautiful weather we have been having here on the island; it actually feels like summer!  Stebbins has been a pretty hot spot to visit for us the past couple weeks.  Aside from the sweet staff, there is a net tied off shore that we help pull in for our split of salmon.  We untangle the fish, wash them off in the salty sea water, and then haul them in a bin up by the school to slime up our hands even more and fillet the fish to freeze for winter.  It is a fun time together, working steadily, blood and guts up to your elbows, teasing and telling jokes to the kids who sit on the railings nearby or play games to catch your attention.

Like a Pro

Brian has this down.

Shawn, the first picture after me cutting up the fish, is also a new teacher to the district.  He is pretty tight, so I am excited he is so close over in Stebbins.  The next photo is of Brian.  Brian is one of the cool new teachers that came to Saint Michael with me.  Venturing north from Baltimore, Brian has been chomping at the bit for his bike pump to come in so that he can take his wheels out on the prairie.  I have never seen bike tires as large as the tires he has on this bike.  They are pretty monstrous.  Brian is really funny, laid back… reminds me a lot of Brad Page, actually.

So that is a little bit about Brian.  Let me tell you about the other awesome guys that came in new to Saint Michael with me.  Jeff and Paul are from Wisconsin.  Paul is Jeff’s dad.  They are both so funny.  Paul has the most subtle and comical sense of humor.  He is easy to talk to and fun to hang out with.  Jeff is also extremely funny, and he is really good at card tricks.  They are probably some of the best card tricks I have seen.  The kids love him already.  Paul will be our elementary counselor and Jeff is teaching 1st grade right next door to me.  His classroom already looks perfect (he has a magnificent para).  This is a picture of Jeff, Paul and me walking down by the beach in search of beach glass.

The next staff member picture requires a little bit of explanation.  Two Sundays ago now, we were about to head down the road over to Stebbins to pull in the net when Robin, a woman who lives here in town and works somehow with the schools, showed up at our door welcoming us to come check out two balugas that had been pulled up to shore.  By the time we pulled up one whale was already in the process of being cut up, while the other laid nearby.  There was a small gathering of children and men and women.  Our flock of new teachers were all very excited, taking photos.  We were offered some muctuc, the thick white layer of baluga skin to chew on and test out.  It was crunchy and rubbery at the same time.  Here is a photo of Trevor grinding away at his piece of muctuc, and me doing the same in the photo after.

Trevor chewing on Muctuc.

Not exactly flattering, but a wonderful adventure.

I don’t have a good picture of Scotty yet, but he is just as awesome as the rest of the group.  I cannot say enough how much I enjoy these five guys who I have the opportunity to work with.  They are all so funny and willing to try new things and laid back.  I could go on and on about each of them.

I need to run, but here are a couple of other cool pictures of this majestic place I get to call home.

Down by the North Glass Beach

I know this was long in coming, but I have truly been jumping from one great activity to the next, as you can see from the pictures and the stories.  I do intend to write more!  Lots of love to each of you!

On March 26, 2008 I was officially offered and accepted my first teaching contract while sitting in my South Hall apartment at Pacific Lutheran University. The contract was promptly emailed to my current email account and I was able to have a brief conversation about logistics before being interrupted by a piercing alarm and a smog of smoke. The saying stands true, where there’s smoke, there’s fire and in my case the microwave was taking a beating. Fortunately for me my contract was already agreed upon. No turning back for either party.

The contract (above)…. followed by smoldering excitement (below). Six firemen joined in the fun.

All said and done, this next year I am planning on embarking on an incredible adventure of challenge and growth and learning in a small village known as St. Michael on an island up north in the Bering Straight of Alaska.

Just look for the yellow tack. That is my soon-to-be home. I’ll put up a better photo later in life.