Hi there, everyone! Just wanted to get this blog up and running before I start my journey to Alaska. :) I figured I would give everyone a little bit of information about where I'll be going. For those of you that I haven't had the chance to talk to much about it!

 

My village is called Port Heiden. It's on the southern peninsula of Alaska, right on the Baring Sea - which for those of you who are like me, watch The Deadliest Catch, that's taking place in the Baring Sea a lot of times.

 

My village has approximatley 100 people in it and there are about 20 kids in the school. And for those of you who are wondering, I will have running water and electricity! There are actually some villages that do not - I got lucky. ;)

 

At school, I will be an Intervention Specialist (or tutor) for the students. Which means that I will be working with individuals or small groups that are struggling and may need some extra help. I'm really looking forward to this and being able to work along with the teachers that are there. In the schools, they do not have grades like we have. Their students work at their own pace and when a student meets the requirements for the "grade" they're in, they will move on to the next grade. A student could graduate at 16 or even 24, depending on the speed they work at. With that being said, it makes teaching there, a little more difficult because you have a wide range of students to reach. I have been told that the student to teacher ratio is 7:1, which I really enjoy!

 

Now, obviously I have not been there - yet - so I don't have too much information as far as how the rest of my time will go but from what I hear, it is going to be an amazing experience! I think that I will be able to do things that I will never have the chance to do again.

 

I'm hoping that every couple days I will be able to write a post and post some pictures so that you all can see what I'm up to! It's still up in the air if my phone will work or not. I will have to wait and see what happens. So if you want to get ahold of me, the best bet is to e-mail me and for those of you who do not have my e-mail, it's not the gmail one that is listed on this blog. I'm still using my Kutztown one - mnied654@live.kutztown.edu . That would be the best way to get ahold of me, or facebook. :)

 

I leave on Tuesday the 8th and then from there I will spend four days in Anchorage for training and grocery shopping. I'll be at the Alyeska resort, you should look it up, it looks amazing!

 

 

I hope this blog works and that every one gets to see what I'm up to while I'm in Alaska. It's almost time for the journey to start. :)