Thursday, July 18, 2013

Update :)

I just thought I'd update about my progress in this whole process! I got the job Monday and it is now almost the end of Thursday and I've already mailed out 7 totes. I have three more packed up and ready to go right now and I've made entirely too many trips to Walmart and the dollar store in one week! All part of the process though and at this moment, I'm thankful for the post office being so close and handy. :) 

There's the first five ready to go earlier this week! I've read somewhere to never move to the bush if you're broke and I can agree 100%! All this shopping, food shopping and shipping of totes is not a cheap process but I know it'll be worth it!


I also got my address for those of you that may be wondering. It's very similar to my previous address: 

My name
Manokotak School
PO Box 130
Manokotak AK 99628

That'll work! I also got a GCI cell phone so that way I have one that works while I'm there since my AT&T one will not. If you'd like that phone number you can e-mail me! 

Niederreitherm@gmail.com 

:) 

My next few weeks include some more shopping, packing and a trip to Arizona before I head out! It'll go quick, I have no doubts! 

I'm sure you'll be hearing from me soon! 

Monday, July 15, 2013

In the blink of an eye...

After a phone called and an interview last night and a job offer and a contract signing today, I will be officially heading back to the state that stole my heart to teach sixth grade! I'm really, really looking forward to this exciting new adventure! 

Unfortunately I couldn't go back to LPSD due to their positions already being filled and my previous decision that I talked about in my last post. BUT I think I found a great district that isn't far from LPSD at all. I'm very excited to be heading back to that state and to also be much closer to a few great friends. ;) 

I will be teaching 6-9 6th grade students in a village called Manokotak. It's just south of Dillingham.... the school has about 120 students from what I've been told. 

I leave around the 8th of August and so today started my shopping and packing! It'll be a busy few weeks with a short trip to Arizona to visit family thrown in there but It'll be worth it to be finally doing something that I love and spent so much time in school for! 

A huge, huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders and now it's all about getting ready to start this journey. 

Looks like it's Marisa's Alaskan Adventure: The Sequel ;)

Monday, July 8, 2013

Reuniting, reflecting and reading

The number of books on my "to read" list just keeps getting longer and longer. Since I've been home I've planned on crossing some of those books off my list, however, I haven't done that at all. I can say that I'm almost done reading one of them that I started last week (I'm not a big reader, so that's a big deal) and I absolutely love it. I got this book while in Alaska and wanted to read it for awhile. Again, it got put on my list but it was never read. I was telling my gram about this book and what it was about and she asked if she could read it... she read it within a few days and returned it to me and said how much she loved it. With that being said, I picked it up and started reading it while I was waiting at the airport for Kasie (which I'll tell you about soon) and I'm almost done with it. It's called The Kids from Nowhere: The story behind the arctic educational miracle. It's by George Guthridge for those of you who may be interested. I don't know if I find this book more interesting because I can relate to some parts of it or not, I think that has something to do with it but I also think as a teacher, it is really an inspiring story and it's an awesome read. Again, I haven't finished it yet so I can't tell you exactly how it ended or what I think of the whole thing but so far, so good. This is what the back of the book says just to give you an idea:
 
"They had been labeled 'uneducable'.
They were the children of whale and walrus hunters.
They lived on a blizzard-swept island in the Bering Sea.
Their troubled school was threatened with closure.
They had no computers and almost no books.
They spoke English as a second language.
They had little world knowledge.
Their teacher was ill."
 
I'd recommend reading it. :)
 
 
As I said in my last post and mentioned briefly up there, I picked Kasie up at the airport when she came to PA for a conference in Philly! After spending a total of about four hours in the baggage claim waiting for her delayed flight to come in, we were finally reunited! Cheesy, I know but it's tough having your best friend live across the country from you in a different time zone. Thank goodness for technology at least but it was good to see her in person. We hung out in Philly for the night and the next day until she had to start her conference and I made my way back home. We ate dinner at a nice restaurant in the city Saturday night that my brother recommended. We ate lunch and walked around the Reading Terminal Market the next day but it was rainy so we didn't do much exploring. It was nice to catch up and spend time visiting for a short time!
 
Heading into center city and I survived driving, woo!  
Lunch at the Reading Terminal Market at a stand called Tommy Dimics - really great food! 
:)
 
Still waiting for any news on the job search for anyone wondering. It's a nerve racking thing waiting to hear from jobs but I know it'll all work out. :)
 
As always, I've got Alaska on my mind...