It's the little things.

It's amazing how much living out here in the middle of nowhere in bush Alaska can change the way you think and the way you look at things. The past couple of weeks, the green grass has been poking it's way out of the tundra, the black sandy beaches and the dead grass. This weekend, we had one of the most gorgeous days thus far in my stay. Naturally, it was necessary that we take advantage of it as much as we could. A little vitamin D can go a long way when your skin doesn't see too much of it! It was a warm day, with very little breeze and there wasn't a cloud in the sky - it was almost like summer weather, for Alaska that is. After some repotting of plants outside, Kasie and I took a walk down to the old village as we usually do and then decided to keep going way on down to the point... needless to say, we ended up walking the beach for 2 hours or so. Along the way, it made me so happy to see the green grass growing taller and taller. The thought of a little patch of green making me that happy gets me thinking. Living here has really taught me a lot and it's really made me appreciate those little things... the simple things. A day full of sunshine, the sun on my cheeks that I now have and the tiny patches of green that I see scattered around, those things instantly bring me a smile.

 

We ran into a family from the village on our walk and they suggested we take their dog with us for some "protection" as we talked down the beach. The bears are back out and there was a wolf in the village a few days ago. Apollo walked along with us on our long journey... on our way back, a good amount of the village was at Goldfish Lake having a cookout so we stopped in for a visit. It was so much fun... the kids were in shorts and tshirts swimming and kayaking in the lake... running around in bare feet. All the dogs and the little puppies were out running around, too. A fire was going and hotdogs, marshmellows and burgers were being cooked - along with a Ptarmagin! For those of you who don't know what that is, it's the state bird. There's tons of them around but I'd never gotten the chance to try one before but now I can cross that off my bucket list. I can't explain how much I appreciate everyone in this village being so welcoming and nice. Being able to sit and hang out with them around the fire and talking was great!

 

This all followed a pretty great last weekend here in Port Heiden. It makes me really sad to think about leaving here in a few days and I've already cried a few times - those who know me won't be shocked by that, I'm sure. Friday after the mural reveal with the village, it was a mellow night spent with Kasie, Derek and Jeff... just talking and listening to music, unwinding from the last full week of school. Saturday was a work day so we were at school most of the day working - Kasie and I reorganized the entire office and rearranged. It looks pretty good if I do say so myself. ; ) I even got a little help from some of the kids that were there waiting for their parents during parent/teacher conferences... well, maybe not help but company for sure! Saturday ended up being not too bad of a night weather wise so we decided a fire on the beach would be perfect - after pizza night! The four of us had our fire on the beach and were joined by some of the people in the village, it was once again a good end to these past five months. After our day on Sunday, Kasie and I made roast beef, carrots and potatoes along with a salad and banana cream cake for dinner and dessert for the four of us!

 

The last three days of school started today... it's filled with cleaning out, cleaning up and odds and ends. The high schoolers have been working on a smoke house for awhile so they almost finished that today. Kasie and I made pizzas and delivered them up to the shop to the kids and the adults that were helping out! I'm excited to see it done.

 

Two more days left in school. I'm almost all packed up and ready to go... After school gets out half day on Wednesday, I'm looking forward to spending some more time with everyone and enjoying our last day and a half in town. Most of us are flying out on Friday which I think will help me some. Kasie and I will be flying to Anchorage and then spending a few days there, shopping and "girl stuff" before we visit some friends and I head on back to PA.

 

I've thought about it and this may be my last post from Alaska. The last couple days have been busy and I think that the next couple days will be no exception... I'm going to enjoy these days while I can. I never would have imagined leaving here would be this hard. At the beginning on this trip, I thought I'd come for three months and fly home, obviously having a good experience but not ever imagining that I'd want to stay longer. I was able to extend my stay by two months and so I put off this feeling of leaving but now there's no more extending it and it sucks to know that it'll end on Friday. I have no doubt that it'll be a hard good bye to all of these people, especially those who I've gotten really close with. But, I also have no doubt that I've made some lifelong friends on this trip and some people that I know I could always come back and visit. I fully plan on being back to visit this village and the great people that I've met here. It will always have a special place in my heart and I don't think I could ever thank anyone here enough for all that they've done for me and for all that I've learned. I think it's said a lot but in this case, it's 100% true, this has been the best time of my life.

 

Linda jumped in my picture : ) 

This mural was done by all of the students at school as well us all of us staff members. It'll be hung on the outside of the school. The top row has all the birds that are in Port Heiden, the sides are the land animals and the plants and the bottom has all of the sea/water animals. In each corner there is a type of machinary used here... the obvious little caravan plane, the honda, a boat and last but not least, a loader which is symbolic of the site here in the summer.  

I love these two! 

Little Tate man had a long night, it was time to cuddle : )

The Welcome to Port Heiden sign that will be hung out at the airport. The village painted this one during community paint night! 

Someone was being awfully quiet while I was doing reading group with the third graders :) 

 

 

 

I love these crazy kids and the fact that they always make their silly faces.

Prime spot on the beach for our fire! It was a cloudy night but the pink from the sunset behind the clouds, was shining down on the mountain range. 

Heido and his little twin, Buck... they look so much alike!  

GREEN! 

If you look close, you can see the shades of green appearing in the tundra! 

Veniaminof volcano was clear as day on Sunday... the perfect back drop for old village. 

Apollo

Perfect weather! 

Sitting around the fire - if you look, you can see the Ptarmagin on the stick cooking.

"You have to take a picture of that before you guys eat it!" Says one of the guys from the village : ) 

These were from a few weekends ago, I forgot to post them - I'm now a professional at shucking clams! 

So many of them 

I have to say, that is not one of the most appetizing jobs but they sure tasted amazing in the fritters Jeff made!

Pulling the bloody meat off - it wasn't quite cooked so needless to say, it was a little bloody. 

The verdict is that it's great! It tasted almost like roast beef ; )