Elementary for the week!

I think the last time I wrote, about the bear, I mentioned that it would be a crazy week due to only having Alecia, Jeff, Kasie & myself teaching throughout the day. So my schedule has been put on hold for these next couple days so that I can teach the elementary kids. Things have been running smoothly here and each morning I teach the 3rd graders their reading and then alternate in the same room between them and the kindergartener. I spend my mornings with them and then it's time for math with the first graders and the kindergartener who I alternate with again. Then I do get to go back in with the middle schoolers that are here (the entire group of high schoolers with the exception of 2, are away for a basketball tournament) and help them with math homework at my normal time. Then it's lunch time and after lunch it's pretty much a laid back afternoon helping the students and getting things done!

Kasie and I let our OCD get the best of us last night and we decided to do a project that was supposed to take an hour tops - well the start of a project - and it ended up taking us from after school until 7 - a quick break for dinner - and then back there til 9. The laminator was NOT our friend and it turned out to be a big ordeal that we have yet to finish. I think we're going to try to tackle that again today... we will see. :)

In between the laminating ordeal and school, we took a trip to the store because there was a load of fresh produce that came off the plane two days ago! We wanted to go take a look before it all sold out. I made a few purchases and paid my tab from the previous visit - $40 later and I got a $12 bag of grapes, $10 jar of pickles (I have been wanting them for so long that I finally broke down) and a few odds and ends. Alecia and Kasie who were both with me, said you don't even look at the price out here if it's something that you want and if it'll make you happy. And these grapes are definitly doing just that!

I'm at lunch right now so I had some time to catch up! With the bears being out and about, I'm very cautious about being outside while I'm walking to the truck, etc. so this morning instead of going out to start the truck to let it warm up and then go back inside, I started the truck and stayed in it. While I was sitting there, a truck with a huge spotlight pulled up behind me in the drive way... he'd be spotting all over the place - it was a spotlight on top of the truck that you can use a remote to move around, it seems pretty sweet! Anyways, he wanted to let me know that he was out looking for the bears because he had one try to break into his house! Needless to say, I was glad to be sitting in the truck at that moment & I'm also very grateful that Kasie lent me their bear spray to carry along with me. So now, not only do I wear my headlamp and my boots out in the mornings and evenings when I come home in the dark, we can add in there my bear spray. I'm sure I'm quite a sight to see with all that, haha :) Apparently there's two bears wondering around, a dark one and one that's a little bit lighter. I'm very happy that I got to see one and take pictures but now I'm okay with it going to hibernate!

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that my package from my parents comes today! The lady always tells my mom it'll be delivered Tuesday and the last one was delivered Thursday so I'm hoping that this Thursday is the lucky day as well. I'm very anxious for that :) It's like Christmas morning getting packages out here - I thought they were nice in college but this may just beat that!

Superbowl this weekend and unfortunately I have to watch the Ravens in it but I'll survive... I'll just be a 49ers fan for the day!


Well, it's almost 12:30 which means it's back to work for me... hope everyone's having a good day :)

There's all the elementary kids for you! The only little guy missing is the kindergartener. So this would be 1st grade through 3rd grade & there's no 4th graders.They make me laugh, they're all characters. :)

The Jungle Book

Today was full of first for me! It's 6:30 and I haven't been home yet or eaten dinner so this won't be a really long post. I'll catch you all up another night this week BUT it has been an exciting evening.

First I'll back track a little bit to this morning... I drove to school on a sheet of ice - no exaggeration there at all. On top of the sheet of ice that I was driving on, there were 40-50 mph winds. So put me in a pick up truck with a light back end, and I was all over the place! Needless to say, I don't need to experience that again but somehow I think I will! All apart of the adventure!

After school Kasie and I went to get gas in the truck because it was running low. The gas station - which is actually just one little pump - is only open from 4-5 pm Monday - Friday so we had to plan that trip for right after school. Gas was $6.50 a gallon... I don't feel the need to complain about gas at home anymore!

 

After getting gas and running to the post office to get the school mail, we made our way back to school to get some work done. That lasted about 5 minutes before someone came over the radio and said there was a bear down in new hud. So Alecia, Jerik, their new baby, Kasie and I loaded in the truck and went to see the bear. It was so neat, just as seeing the caribou was. We were also able to catch the sunset out there, too! I can't belive I was so close to this thing and normally, I wouldn't have seen one but it's really warm up here today and so he must be confused what time of the year it is!

 

& this one above was my FAVORITE of the day.

 

We were able to get really close to this guy... not as close as the caribou but pretty close. Amazing!

I promise I'll update more again soon. My internet at my house hasn't been cooperating so I'm trying to use the school internet as much as I can without spending 24/7 here... although I feel like it's pretty close. :)

 

 

Thankful

Over the past couple weeks, after school, dinners, get togethers and exploring, I've realized how lucky I am to have this experience and see this amazing place. Not to mention, be able to go through these experiences and witness things that I may have never been able to see or do otherwise. I get to do all that AND start my career doing something I love with some really great kids.

I'm VERY thankful to be here in Port Heiden. And I couldn't have asked for better people to be surrounded by and work with every day as well as to call my friends. I can't thank them enough for everything so far and I can't wait for the next two months. :)

And of course, I'm very thankful for my family and friends back home. Who I miss!

I've also started to do some art again. I'm working on an oil pastel picture right now and I'm so happy to get back into that. It's been since high school... Long over due!

I know this really didn't update you on anything but its just what I've been thinking lately so I wanted to share.

:)

From turkey to caribou...

This morning after we worked out at the school, we were able to watch a group of caribou walking near the school. This wasn't the first time that I've seen them from a distance  but it was the first time they were close enough that I could zoom with my camera and actually tell what they were instead of tiny specks. And of course I had my camera with me because I carry it everywhere I go up here!

So we watched them walk and they eventually got closer to the school. Then it was almost as if they were setting up a perfect picture for us. They slowly but surely made their way to the back of the school that just so happens to make a perfect back drop. Once they got close enough, Jeff, Kasie and I decided to head outside and try to sneak up on them to take pictures. Another piece of information for you: it's about 5-7 degrees today with 20 mph winds which means it's basically in the negatives here and oh my can you tell! Anyways, so we quietly and slowly went out the back door and stood on the steps and took pictures.  Then we were able to run to the side of the one shed and peak around it. They were just on the backside of that shed so we were SO close. It was unreal. There were two huge bucks which apparently are called bulls and then a few others.

I had to share these pictures with you because I'm so thankful that I had this experience! It's crazy that just last night I was looking at pictures of my backyard at home that was filled with turkeys and the occasional deer and I was showing them to Jeff and Kasie and today, I look outside here and there's at least 35 caribou outside my back window!

Hope you all like them as much as I do :)

& I didn't zoom on that one. I was THAT close to them. :)

Last but not least, my favorite picture of the day.... 

Now it's time to get see what/if anything is going on for tonight. :)

FRIDAY :)

This week went really fast to me, but no matter how fast and how well the weeks go, it's still nice to see Friday roll around. :)

I'm currently sitting in the library doing some odds and ends. Like I've said before, the students leave at 1:30 on Fridays but then the teachers have meetings and in service things to do, etc. We don't have any mandatory meetings today but they all have their own meetings or classes to take care of so I'm just hanging out here until it's time to work out!

Last night I came home from school and my house was freezing. I realized that it was so cold something had to be broken. I checked out both thermostates - one in the living area and the one in my bedroom and they both said 60 degrees. And being that it's only about 12-15 degrees outside, that was cold! Long story short, Michael - who is my neighbor and he's the husband of our substitute Elementary teacher (they leave on Tuesday, we'll miss them!) - came over and he fixed it for me. An inline fuze in the furnace broke and it was laying on the floor when he took the front off. So we got that all fixed up and I had heat again. Turns out that in the middle of the night, they ran out of fuel so they lost heat. We both got filled up today at our houses because mine was apparently really low, too. So hopefully that is the end of that but you never know, such is life in bush Alaska. :)

I just think this is really neat so this is where I'm going to leave it for today...

This is the old school that is down in the old village. It's really tiny and it's on the verge of disapearing!

There's the school, now! There's four classrooms, a library, office (not an ordinary school main office), two bathrooms, Kasie's room and a gym. My "office" is upstairs overlooking the gym along with Pat's (the principal) office. The teacher housing is in those buildings on the other side that you can start to see.

 

:)

Old Village

Here are the pictures that I promised I'd post of the old village. :)

 

 

 

 

It's hard to tell with the snow - I'll have to get another picture when the snow melts then - but that's the house that's hanging out over the "cliff". Right next to me there it drops off down to the beach.

 

 

It's just so intrigueing to me!

 

 

Anyways, that's all for today. Hope you like the pictures!

 

I'm very excited because I got a package from my parents today, which made me smile. :) I haven't gotten to open it yet because I'm still at school but I can't wait. THANK YOU guys!

Basketball night!

I'm taking some time tonight to write another post. I know I just wrote one last night but I want to tell everyone about my day/night!

As I've been writing these posts, I realize that I put so many little details in my stories that are probably really unnecessary, however, that's just how I tell stories. I'll bet if you ask my parents, they'd agree. :) So, I apologize if you don't like my detailed - sometimes pointless - stories!

Today was another normal day at school filled with reading, writing, math and some volleyball, along with laughs, as usual! After school Kasie and I took a trip to the store again. Neither of us really NEEDED anything but I was out of my mint cookies that taste just like thin mint girl scout cookies and they have become a necessity of mine... they're perfect in the freezer. ;) So after starting a tab at the store, and spending more than necessary, we were on our way.

We drove down to what's called "Old Meshik" or "Old Village" - I think I've heard both. Basically, it's the old village that is completely abandoned/condemned due to the Bering Sea moving in on it. Actually at one point, the road just drops off because the shore & the sea came in. It was one of the neatest things to see. You drive in between two bodies of water - a lake that's called "Goldfish Pond" and then the Bering Sea on the other side of you. You can imagine the views are amazing & my pictures just don't do it justice. It's pretty great! I can't wait to see it all when it's not covered in snow. The abandoned houses are so neat to look in and it's unreal to me to look into the houses up close or just driving by & see different colors on the walls and items still left in the house, knowing that at one point, those were people's homes and know they're being taken over by the Bering Sea. I loved seeing all of that and just thinking about it all. There was one house that was literally hanging over the cliff of the shore... it's just hanging there and I'm sure sometime soon, it'll come crashing down. My camera unfortunately died while we were out there so Kasie let me use hers and so I'll have to steal some of those from her at some point. Not that I don't see her or am hanging out at her house everyday, I'm sure I'll get those soon, :) We also took a trip to the post office so I could get stamps - which I paid $9.00 for a book of them. I've never bought stamps before so one, I thought a "book" meant a few pages worth and two, I think that's expensive but hey that could be what they cost at home - I just have the luxury of "borrowing" them from my mom while I'm home ;)

Here are some of the ones that I was able to take though:

& I had to do my signature pose for the trip... it just feels like it's needed when the views are this great. :)

Again, Kasie has some really good pictures on her camera so once I get those, I'll share some with you all. They're really neat to see! I especially liked looking at the old school, it's just crazy to me! 

After our little tour and our pictures, we had a basketball tournament at the school that I mentioned in last nights post. That was fun to get to meet members of the village. I ran the concession stand/student store! I had some help from one of the boys that I work with during the day who's in 6th grade so that made for an entertaining time! The games were really good and it seemed to be a successful night. I however, was successful on my own by spending $93. Yeah and it added up quickly! But, I wanted a Port Heiden Meshik School sweatshirt and then of course I had to get the Port Heiden sweatpants... along with a candy bar & I owed from a soda from the other day. So all in those four things - I spent almost $100. However, this could be the last time I'm here so I felt the need to splurge on them and if it's not the last time, I'll just have them to wear. :) 

Tomorrow it's school and after a day off from working out, we're back at it! The day off was necessary though so that I'm not too sore for tomorrows workout! 

I have one last picture that's for my dad because he specifically requested this picture a little while ago... hope it works for you dad. :) And I do have to clarify to everyone - I have not gained a lot of stomach weight although it appears that I have in the picture, I had two dinner rolls in my front pockets of my jacket, haha. If you're wondering why, they're left over from the school lunch and they're amazing so we had a few! That's all, haha! 

Talk to you all again, soon! 

The milk man came :)

I thought I would share the good news that my milk has arrived and I can now eat cereal with that instead of dry cereal. I can alternate between that and my waffles I make in the broiler or my bread. :)

Not only did my milk come today but it also started to snow this morning and has been going every since. It's really pretty out here when it snows! And from what I've heard, it's colder at home right now then it is out here. Today, at least. :) Once tomorrow rolls around, you never know what the weather could be!

After school I posed for a picture by one of our many mud puddles aka our "pool". While being up here, I've learned to wear my boots into school and take shoes to change into. It makes life much easier going to and from outside. I've also started to wear a head lamp going to school in the morning as well as going home if it's dark out when I get home. That, I will not post a picture of because no one needs to see that ;) But needless to say, after years of seeing my dad wear his and making fun of him - I'm sure - I can finally understand because it is the most useful thing. Hands free AND you can see!

There's the school! I know it's not the greatest picture of it (I promise I'll get good ones eventually) but it looked pretty with all of the snow coming down! I took this from Kasie, Derek & Jeff's front door to their apartments so you can see how close they are to the school. 

And this was my view on my ride home tonight. These "roads" don't get plowed up here so as much as I don't like driving in this type of thing - again, it's much less stressful up here! I'm also going to assume that this is nothing compared to what could be this time of year.

After school yesterday and today we worked out - we're really getting to be pro's at these workout DVDs, I'll tell ya. Today was yoga day and yoga is a new experience for me. I can't say I love it, however, it was a nice break from our hour long intense workout yesterday. Then after some organizing & getting things done at the school for tomorrow, it was dinner night at Kasie & Derek's with them and Jeff. Kasie made tortilla soup in the croc pot! And it was very good. I always have a good time hanging out with them! :)

Tomorrow evening there will be a basketball tournament where I'll get to meet a lot of the villagers. It's the villagers against the high school basketball team and from what I hear, things get pretty rowdy! I'll be running the student government concession stand. I'm looking forward to meeting some of the students' families and some of the other locals that will be coming out! 

Some of the boys where talking about how they went up to North River this past weekend, which I can't completely say where that is but I know it's a little ways farther than the Bering Sea. (I think?) They were up there and that's where you can find the glass floats that I've told many of you about and they told us that there were a lot and I also got to see some pictures they were able to take of a bear that was sleeping in a hole along the shore! That was really nice - something I'd be so scared to see but love it at the same time! Maybe I'll get the chance eventually, we'll see!

Well, it's already 9:40 here and for anyone that knows me, knows that it's pretty much past my bedtime. :)

Good night everyone, miss you all! 

Catch up

After thinking about it and being reminded, I realized that I never really said anything else about how the school is and what I do. I think the last thing I told you all was that we were working on my schedule? But then I just completely forgot to update about that! So since the weekend is coming to an end and I'm back in school mode, I'll update a little about the school!

Well, as I've said in my first (I think) post, the school doesn't necessarily go by grades. It kind of does, but there's not specific classes for 1st grade, 2nd grade, etc. This past week there was about 10-12 students in the school each day. That was a few less than usual apparently, because some students and their families were still in Anchorage from the break or where every they may have been and they just hadn't gotten to catch a plane to come back yet. So I'm sure this week will be a little different. Every morning we all gather in the gym and do a "morning message" and then say the pledge all together and then our day starts!

The school is sectioned into Elementary, Middle level and then High school. There's also a preschool which includes about 4 little ones! This week I got to meet two of them and spend some time with them and they're adorable. In the Elementary level - there's two teachers Paulene & Kitza - who is the sub right now - (Paulene does the preschool as well) and then there's a kindergartener, two second graders and two third graders in the "class". Now, again this was just this past week so there will be a few more students to add in there when all is said and done. Those kids are all in the same classroom, working on different things, with the exception of when they're pulled out for spelling or math practice on the computer. For as chaotic as that sounds, to have 5+ elementary students of different levels in the same room working on different things, it runs really smoothly in there and those kids know what they're supposed to be working on and when! Then there's the middle level which has one teacher, Derek. This week there was only one middle schooler and he's in 6th. I get the impression - or at least this is how it was this past week - that the middle level kids do a lot with the high schoolers. Then there is obviously the high schoolers with one teacher. This past week there was about 7-8 of them every day. They range between 10-12th grade and then a super senior which just means he's in his second senior year. Those "kids" - I feel like I can't call them that since they're not TOO much younger than me - are really great, I like working with them in that room.  The thing that I find really cool, is that with the older kids, they have online classes so at certain points in the day, they all log into a class on their computers - which they all have Macs through the school - and they listen to their teacher (from a different village) teach the level reading class they're in. Same with math! And the high school teacher, Jeff, here in PTH, teaches an online class for his level math to kids in other villages. Basically, it makes it much easier on the teachers so that they're only teaching math at one level to kids who are at that level instead of having 8 students on different math and reading levels and trying to teach them all individually... hopefully I explained that well enough to understand. The students work at their own paces and get things done at their time. They go by levels and standards and then they take tests to pass that level when all of the other requirements have been met.

On a daily basis, my schedule goes in 15 - 30 minute incrimints. Basically, throughout the day, I pull students in all of the "grades" and work with the ones that may need more help and/or more test prep. I work with the same kids every day and in some cases, I take the kids upstairs to my "office" and we sit at the table and do the work that needs to be done or the practice tests we need to do. A lot of my time with the older kids is spent in their classroom with them helping them with their writing or math, etc. It's just easier to sit down there with them and help them (& socialize, too ;)). The little kids that I take upstairs with me think it's so cool to come upstairs with me. It definitely takes some getting used to, being that I have on average 15 minutes to transition and work with the kids, but I like it. It makes my days go by quickly!

Everyday I go over to Kasie's apartment with her and have lunch before it's time to head back into the school to finish the day! That's a nice little break in the day and it's cool to get out of the school for some time. I'm sure that may not happen every day, and if that's the case - we can eat in the gym at lunch tables with the kids!

One of these days I'll take some pictures of the school and it's surroundings so that I can share those!
Hopefully the weather is decent this week so I can explore, the wind has been out of control, still...so I'm trying not to blow away ;)

Good night!

First Saturday.. a rainy one

Well, I've just been on a roll with posting stuff on here so I figured, why stop now? ;)

It's my first weekend here in Port Heiden. And it is a rainy, WINDY one. It is pretty warm out there - I think about 40 degrees! The wind is insane - I've never seen/felt/heard such wind. I really think the satellite dish on the side of the house is going to rip off, along with all of the siding. It's really loud which woke me up this morning at 7:30 but it's not too big of a deal because I got to skype with Megan and Margaux, my parents & my granny and pop-pop. So being up early was worth it to talk to all of them. It also gave me some time to just curl up on the couch and watch tv, just relax! So that was nice.

Oh, last night's pizza was REALLY good! I need to learn how to do that so when I come home I can whip up some homemade pizzas! The dough was nice and thick and soft & then the sauce and all the fresh toppings was so good. It was a fun night to all hang out and watch movies! :) Next time, I will take some pictures of the pizzas to see them!

I've been cleaning a little bit this morning to prepare for my visitors. :) I had to make a quick run over to Kasie and Derek's for my food that I left there last night that I needed to make brownies and taco dip for today! Then I made my second trip to the store - I wasn't thinking when I was in there yesterday. Apparently I was too absorbed in all the good food that they have that I completely forgot about tortilla chips for the taco dip... so I headed back in. Same friendly faces!

The weather is not ideal to drive in but it's so much less stressful driving in this here, than it is at home. I guess because I'm the only one on the dirt "road" aside from a car or two here or there. Whenever anyone passes me on the "road" they all wave... so nice! I'm sure the roads will be all sorts of muddy by the time this is over!

I figured I would write a post quick to update you all while I had time. I've got to finish cleaning and make my food! Then shower and all of that good stuff. However, since the dish is losing signal left and right because of the wind, I turned off the tv & have some music playing on my iPad - country, of course - and I'm actually enjoying just sitting here listening to that (and the crazy wind!)

Guess I'll get motivated here soon... that's it for now :)

Pizza party

Well, my first week of school in the village is over! I must say, it was a pretty good week. I don't have to reiterate how the people here are, since I say it in every single post, haha. But that has helped! Today was a very laid back day. As I said last night, school ended early today - as it does every Friday. I found out that we start five minutes early every day so that we can take that time and leave early on Fridays. However, I actually left later today than I have all week, I think, haha. After the kids left at 1:30, we had intervention meetings and professional developments, etc. In those meetings though, the long term sub and her husband who's been working at the school too (they're actually my neighbors - nice people!) brought moose sausage, cheese, crackers and dried, smoked salmon to snack on. This was my first experience with both the sausage and the dried salmon. The sausage was great, I really liked that with a cracker and cheese - or even by it's self! It was really good. The dried salmon, I ate it and I would maybe eat it again but I can't say I loved it like everyone else did. I'm really glad that I tried it though. I know my dad's jealous :) So needless to say, I ate quite a bit of moose sausage while sitting there during these meetings.

After the meeting, Kasie and I ran out of the school to try to make it to Jack's before it closed. Jack's is the convienent store in the village. I actually pass it on my way to and from school every single day and wouldn't of had any idea. For anyone that knows what the little store in Goldsboro looks like, it's identical to that! I loved it. And maybe that's why? Because it reminds me of home. Who knows! So I bought eggs, cream cheese, a drink, brownies to make, mint cookies that Paulene recommended that taste like thin mints, an almond joy bar, ritz and I think that may be it... you know, all really healthy things ;) So my bill was $28 which for a tiny store in a village in Alaska, I didn't think that was too bad. Now, there were a few things I looked at - pickles for instance - that were $10 and I declined those on this trip at least. But it was a friendly place and the cook at the school was working so it was nice to see a face I know and also nice to meet others! Even ran into two of the little boys from school there, getting some soda!

Tonight, as I think I said in last night's post, we are making homemade pizza! Well, Kasie, Derek and Jeff usually do that and I'm along for the ride now! I even contributed pepperoni. So I'm looking forward to that tonight.

Tomorrow, we are having a get together with the staff, so when I say staff, I mean Kasie, Derek, Jeff, Pat, Paulene and their daughters and Kitza & Mike (the subs) and we're having it at my place! So needless to say, I have to do some picking up tomorrow, haha. But I'm excited to have everyone over! I'm going to make some taco dip & brownies - hence my trip to the store. Everyone will bring stuff over. So it'll be nice to have some company at my place for the evening ;)

I think tomorrow my plan is to sleep in. My sleeping in skills don't really work anymore so I'm hoping I at least don't see the clock until 8! I've been going to bed by 9 every night and passing out, so maybe tonight if I'm up later, that'll help! I can't tell if I'm just that exhausted or if the time change is still catching up with me... who knows! I'll probably get used to it just in time for me to leave!

Kasie took a picture of me the other day while on the shore at the Bering sea and I was able to get it from her so here that is for you. I'm not looking my best but it's the memory that counts :)

Well, that's it for now! We're taking a break from excersizing today, which is probably good since I can't move already, and going to leave the school soon to go hang out for awhile. It's been chilly & windy up here but it looks like tomorrow should be a little warmer. We shall see :)

Totes are here

So today, all four of my totes, plus my case of soda came in the mail!!! So happy that I can finally eat something other than hot pockets and bologna sandwiches. Although I like both, eating them everyday is not ideal!

Plus, my tote full of some clothes and random stuff came, too! They joke and say its like Christmas morning, and it is! I'm so happy it's all here :)

Both yesterday and today, Kasie and I did some Jillian Michaels DVDs after school in her classroom. I could barely walk up the stairs to my office today and then needless to say, after this workout tomorrow is going to be tough, too!! But I'm enjoying the exercise time with Kasie!

After our workout today, we hung around and talked to Pat and Paulene (my principal and his wife who is the elementary teacher) and chatted for awhile and then we shifted into a different room on our way out and talked with Jeff and Derek for awhile! Jeff made tuna casserole for dinner and so we all went over and ate that. It was my first time eating tuna casserole (that I remember) but it was really good! Kasie and I joked that Alaska is life changing because I usually don't like tuna or peppers and there was a lot of both and I like it!! It was nice to all eat together.

Apparently, new news to me, every Friday, we get out early! Good news! At like 1:30 instead of the kids leaving at 3:15. It sounds like the six of is will have some meetings afterwards but still, a nice change!

Then every weekend almost, Kasie, Derek and Jeff all make homemade pizza and hang out and so tomorrow I get to experience that! Very excited :) I love hanging out with all of them.

Well, time to unpack my totes and find all the stuff I bought! Then shower and bed... My first full week is almost over!

Miss everyone :)



Ps, looking back at this, I see that my grammar and everything is not really great. However, I, too lazy right now to go back and fix it! Just a heads up ;)

Bering Sea

I wanted to share really quick what I just got home from doing!! After school, two of the teachers (who are now my friends) Jeff and Kasie, took me out on the four wheelers through the village and the tundra out to the Bering Sea. Man was that gorgeous... the ride was so fun, as well. We saw caribou on the way out there and then as we were walking on the shore, we found a star fish. It was alive though so Jeff threw it back in! Apparently the tide was really high at one point recently so it brought a ton of ice chunks all over the shore so we weren't able to drive down the beach but the walk was nice! Jeff's dog, Heiden, went with us as well and he was so funny. You know I love dogs, so I loved having him around. It took us a decent amount of time to get out there and then we walked the beach for awhile until it got darker out and it was time to get back in. We missed Derek (Kasie's boyfriend, another teacher) though! I'm sure this was the first of many trips!

I just ate some waffles which I made in the oven because my house doesn't have a toaster, haha. And it's time to shower and look over my schedule because tomorrow I start my busy schedule, pulling kids & helping out in particular areas. It'll be a busy day but I'm very anxious to get started. Plus, I have to read the book "The Grapes of Wrath" because one of my students is reading/writing about it so I have to know what I'm talking about.

I think after my shower I'll curl up on this comfy couch and read until bed. :) 

Oh, ps - here's my house and my "new" pick up truck! 

First day of school in my village

Hi everyone! So I finally have some down time that I can sit and write an entry that is actually worth reading. :) I can't remember exactly where I left off in my posts, other than the one that told you all that I made it safe and sound so I will try not to leave anything out for you!

Saturday night we all finished our packing and everything then headed out to dinner but before we could actually make it out to dinner we had to make it out of the drive way! Now, the drive way to the house was a downward slop and it had been sleeting and around 32 degrees all day so the drive way was literally, I mean literally, a sheet of ice. We had three mini vans rented and needless to say, they were not the greatest in the snow and ice so after 20 minutes of trying and my friend Brittany and I getting out and pushing the one van up the drive way - well funny story - we TRIED to push the van, but our feet slipped and Brittany went down and I went down prior to that and so we were both soaked going to dinner, haha. It was actually very, very funny but one of those moments you had to be there! But we eventually got out and had dinner all together one last night before we leaded out to our villages. I really had a great time with everyone!

Sunday we all packed up and headed out to the airport which was a tiny building basically and after some confusion because there seems to be a lot of that and mixs ups up here - you just have to go with the flow and be patient :) - we got on our plane to head south. The people that were going to the north villages had to wait for their plane for a while. We flew in a plane that held 7 of us plus two people up front down to the village of Igigic (I don't know if I spelled that right :/) and dropped off the tutor from there and then I actually got to ride in the co pilot seat to my village... that was really a neat opportunity! One that I will probably not get to do again!

With some of the weather and wind issues, there were three people that weren't able to get to their villages so they were "weathered" (no one says stuck, they say weathered) in Port Heiden with us. Amber who is a teacher in another village and her husband, as well as another tutor like myself. Jen, the other tutor stayed with me for the night so it was nice to have company on my first night. Before we came back to my place for the night, we had dinner at the principals house with him and his wife (who is the elementary teacher) and the other staff members and the people that were "weathered". It was a really good meal of chili and cornbread! :)

My house is VERY nice! I completely forget that I'm in a remote village in the middle of Bush Alaska when I'm sitting in this house. It's very comfortable and the teachers have already told me that they will be over to hang out/watch football/tv/shower/do laundry, etc... haha whatever it is, I'll take it to have some visitors. :)

My living room... more pictures of the house will be posted later!

Today was the first day of school! It went really well, I was given a OLD GMC suburban to drive in last night, which by the way is being driven on mud/dirt "roads". It is definitely different but I actually enjoy driving that big thing on those dirt roads! I drove into school this morning by 8 and had a very laid back day with only 9 kids in the school. I got to meet all of them and work with some of them and hang out and talk with the older kids a lot. It was a really good day and it made me even more excited about this experience. After school we stayed and had a meeting with all 6 of us and set out my schedule as to what I'll be doing all day, when and with what students in what levels, etc. So I will have busy days but am really excited to get started!

This is outback of the school, the only picture I was able to get so far. (The way the ground looks is how the "roads" I drive on, look, too!)

Some of the kids are really funny - the older kids are so great to talk to and the younger ones just make me laugh as usual. For instance, the one kindergarten in the elementary class shouted out today while Paulene was reading a story - "I think someone flatulated" hahaha, needless to say, I had to laugh and couldn't help it. Kids always can put a smile on my face.

For tonight I put some pictures on my computer and got myself organized in that sense and will look over my schedule and check things out.

Hope you all enjoyed this!

Here

Just letting everyone know quickly that I made it to my village, safely and am in my house! I am not roughing it by any means!

Pictures to follow as well as a longer blog with all the details but for right now, it's time to get myself settled, showered and in bed because school starts tomorrow!

Good night, everyone :)

Down time

Just a little down time before dinner that I figured I would take advantage of. Even since I've posted this morning, a lot has happened. Seems like three days since I posted just this morning. We did some last minute shopping and all that type of thing and then spent the day packing. I have some pictures of that process but I'll have to wait until I'm on my computer and not my iPad, to upload them. After that we went and mailed our totes at the post office... That was an adventure. Everything went smoothly, minus a brief mishap with my paying process because my bank restricted my card, (long, annoying story) and luckily I had some cash on me. After borrowing some from a friend, I was able to pay. $141 later and my food and clothes will be on its way, soon! Thank goodness...

Then it was time to pack our freezer stuff in our suitcases and weigh those to get them under 50 lbs and that was a very strenuous process that didn't have me in the best mood. However, everyone is so helpful, like I've said before, and both Jeff and Kasie (both people from Port Heiden) let me put some of my stuff in their bags/totes. Very thankful for that.

We did have some excitement earlier when we were driving on the way back from the post office so after taking pictures with the "moose crossing" sign, we were driving down the road and saw a moose! It was so neat! I'll attach a few pictures for you :)

Leaving for dinner in 10! Tomorrow morning we're leaving for our villages so if I get lucky/ have time, I'll let you know how my village looks and maybe even post pictures, tomorrow. If not tomorrow, one day this week! After that I will have a better schedule and be able to Skype and all of that!

:)

Packing, packing, packing...

So up until this point, I've had mixed feelings about this packing food for three months thing. Well yesterday we went shopping all day, literally ALL day and after spending $520, which is really good, I was actually really happy and thinking that I'd be okay to pack all this food and ship it to the village. Well that stopped quickly last night, haha. After dinner it was about 10 pm here and we had been on the go since 7:30 yesterday morning and we had to pack our totes. Or I would call them rubbermade containers for those of you who don't know what I mean about totes. Anyways, we had to pack them but not just anyway we want. Theres a tote that has all your freeze and chill stuff in it - so your stuff that is frozen and then stuff like cheese and sour cream that just needs to be kept cold. All that is in one tote and we have that sitting outside over nights. Then two other totes (or three or four, depending on how much you bought) are filled with the dry stuff, cans and all that. BUT those won't get here for about 1-2 weeks, so you have to take stuff out of that stash and stuff it in your suitcases so you have enough to eat for those 1-2 weeks before your totes arrive. Stressful... AND on top of that, all the frozen and chill stuff that is in the tote outside, has to be taken out of that tote and put into your suitcases to take with you on the plane. So basically, if that was hard to follow - because it has been for me, I had to buy a huge rubbermade bin and fill it with clothes and shoes that I took out of my suitcases to make room for food in my suitcases. That huge bin with my clothes and everything will be shipped to my house as well but won't get there for 1-2 weeks (hopefully). Then I will have three normal size totes that are filled with dry food and three suitcases full of frozen/cold food, some dry food, and clothes. AND on top of that, there's weight limits on the totes and on the bags so they have to be under a certain weight and the packing has to be strategic. It's just a very lengthy, overwelming process that would take some getting used to.

Luckily, everyone here that is helping us is so great. And we're having a lot of fun. We are staying in this huge house - very pretty - that we all fit in. We are having a lot of fun, too! Like I said in my previous post, almost every staff from my village is here with us so I've gotten to meet them all and hang out with them and they are all amazing so it's making me very excited.

Tomorrow is the big day to leave for our village. Last minute shopping today for a few things - including jelly because mine disappeared yesterday? Then it's shipping of our totes and a nice relaxing last night in civilization. :)

Feel free to send me any supplies at any point while I'm gone. Not that I didn't buy enough of my own ;) But, I hear flat rate boxes are like Christmas morning up there!

Talk to everyone soon, miss you all!

Adventures

This place is gorgeous... Yesterday a few of us went cross country skiing and needless to say, I suck. I was on the ground more than I was up! We spent about an hour up there and I got mad and took my skis off and walked a bit, haha.... Plus, I was hurting! So today, I'm very sore! But I'm very glad I can say I went now. :)

During the days we've had inservice and meetings to get ready. Those get long but lots of good information and food! And I got lucky that all of the teachers I will be working with, are here! So I've gotten to hang out with them all day and they're all awesome! I'm very excited to go!

Yesterday we ate reindeer sausage, elk sliders and salmon potatoes, all of which I loved! But any of you that know me, know I enjoy food like that. :) Then they took some of us out to this pizza bar place and we had a good time! Everyone is so great, I love it!!

Tomorrow we leave in the morning to go to Anchorage to stay in a huge house for two days to do all of our shopping. That'll be fun and exciting but also nerve racking as well. The food situation is a tricky one. That's a little stressful.

Then Sunday its off to my village! Sorry this is so short and I haven't gotten to Skype. My days are so filled while I'm here. When I'm in my village I'll have much more time!

Off to dinner with some people! Here are some pictures for you :)

The one is a picture of all the yummy food for lunch. The other is our resort from out back and then the other is me in front of the trail leading to Moose Meadow!

SKYPE

First, it's beautiful here! Second, my Skype name is Marisa Niederreither.... Skype me, please! :)

I'll just leave you with the view from my room.....