Just FYI!

Just for those of you wondering...

I'm not sure where I got Mayor from however, it's actually the Governor that is coming to graduation.  Big, big difference. Just wanted to clarify that for those of you reading. ;)

Almost that time again.

14 days of school left and a month until I'm home? Where in the world is the time going? Before I know it, it'll be that time again that I dread and that never gets easier. The having to say "good bye".  The time is flying by and the countdown is getting shorter and shorter but my to do list keeps growing longer and longer. Between school and home, I've got a lot to be doing and this is the last free weekend I have for the rest of the year. I'm proud to say that so far, it's been productive like I'd hoped. Last night was the last "little kid" basketball tournament. Like the other basketball games, I kept the score book for all of their games as well. They are comical, that's for sure. It's grades 3-6 and there are some definite future stars in the group! We were at the school pretty late for that and then after a long, long week, I was ready for bed! Today consisted of cleaning, laundry, packing more totes, taking down my curtains and stuff on the walls, cooking meals for lunches for the week and making fried bread. I made one of my favorite meals, sweet and sour chicken with fried rice. It is so yummy, takes a long time to make but worth the wait and the time. AND I am obsessed with fried bread so it'll be some nice breakfast for the week. 

My travel plans are coming together. A few more flights to book and then I'll be all set. I've got 2 1/2 of my flights from here to Port Heiden booked and then 1/2 my flights from Port Heiden to Anchorage booked and then ALL of my flights from Anchorage home booked.... so much goes into scheduling travel around here, especially with a dog because now I have to figure out where to get a health certificate for Macy before she can fly from Anchorage to PA. It's exhausting, but I'm getting there! 

Next weekend we have a Volleyball tournament on Friday, yard sale that most of the teachers are putting together on Saturday and then a baby shower on Sunday for one of the teachers' wives. The weekend after that calls for Graduation on Friday night and Prom on Saturday night - both of which I'll be helping with and decorating for. The mayor is coming down for Graduation so there is a lot to get accomplished before that weekend. Not to mention the testing we have going on right now, all the other placement tests that need to be done by the end of this year, for next year and all the projects and grades that need done. Phew.... what a crazy few weeks this will be. After Prom & Graduation, there's just one more weekend left and I'm not quite positive but I think there's something going on that weekend as well, if not, it'll be spent last minute packing and getting things done as well as enjoying this amazing place I've called home for the last school year with the people that have become my far away family. Boy, I can't even explain how thankful I am for some of these people and some of my coworkers who have gotten me through some pretty tough times this year and that have also been here to make this year so much fun! I hope that I've made some forever friends that I will always keep in touch with and can always visit and vice versa. 

Their have been visitors in and out of the school and so I've gotten to talk to people from around the state. The road crew is also back in town so there's a lot more commotion around, more trucks driving around and a lot more construction equipment. They were here when we first got here for the school year. They're working on the road between the school and town and they spent a lot of time on it but now they're back for this summer to finish up. Some of them live in the vacant apartment up here in teacher housing so like I said, there's a lot more going on and more people around. 

The temperatures have been pretty warm! 40s I believe. On Easter, I didn't even need a coat - a sweatshirt was perfect and the sun gave off some great heat. As the end of the year approaches, it's always harder to get out of the bed in the morning and I really cherish those mornings that I get to sleep in but the sun has been helping. It's usually light now when I roll out of bed. Alarm goes off at 6:15 and it's just starting to rise but until I actually stop hitting the snooze and drag my butt out of bed to let Macy out, it's about 6:45 and it's light - makes it just a tad easier to get up. ;) Along with the light in the morning, it's staying light out until almost 11 pm now. I know that some people don't enjoy that because they can't sleep with the light but I love this time of year. I love going to bed when it's light out and waking up when it's light. Funny, considering how much I love the stars and how obsessed with them I am, you'd think I'd miss the dark but for these few months, I don't. I'm one of the few that don't put garbage bags or tin foil on their windows or use dark curtains to keep the light out at night, I really enjoy it. A downfall is that I lose complete track of time and before I know it, it's 10 pm. Luckily, I love my sleep and am pretty good at being in bed by 9 when I'm at my apartment, but if we're getting things done at school or out on a walk, we're all up a little later than we'd like to be - including the kids, trust me, I can tell. 

 "I found an Easter egg!"

 The boys are too cool for us. 

 Macy hanging out with Ryan and watching the Easter egg hunt. 

 Susana helping her little sister, Chloe look for eggs! 

 Two pretty blue eyed girls! 

 Tiny little Moose.

 Run, Moose, run! 

My kids and I. A lot of times we'll all sit on the floor and read together. Right now we're reading a book about a 12 year old boy who falls in love with three girls in his class... very funny book and a nice relaxing time for us all to read together. My mentor, Liz, took this for us on her last visit to KMO. 

I'll be back on the East coast before I know it. A few more weeks here in KMO, a week back in Port Heiden to visit the first place in Alaska that I called home and then a long weekend spent in Anchorage with a good friend and her daughter.... then Macy and I are homebound. I can not wait and am entirely too long overdue for bonfires and those perfect cool summer evenings! Not to mention being out on the river - my dad's getting that boat ready for me, I know it ;) and being home to enjoy my family!! I miss them a whole awful lot and can't wait to see them all. I'm still searching for a job back on the East coast and am praying that something will come up here soon.... Alaska hires a while before some of the lower 48 does so I know I need to trust God's plan for me and be patient. :)

I've been battling a cold and a sore throat so it's off to bed for me, soon. Hoping for another productive day tomorrow. Good night, all <3

NYO: Native Youth Olympics

I've heard about NYO and how talented these athletes are but when I got the opportunity to watch them, I found myself saying "wow" over and over again. These kids are so amazing at these events and I'm amazed at their skills. I'm so glad that NYO was held in Manokotak this year so I could have the chance to watch it and get some pictures. Definitely a memory I won't forget. It was a lot of fun! 

Kids from all over the district come to do these events. I took A LOT of pictures through out the weekend and will do my best to describe each event in the pictures. I'm learning, too! 

The different events that both boys and girls do. 

 One arm reach. The athletes hold themselves up with one arm, keeps their balance and reaches for the ball that is hanging from the basketball hoop. After each set of athletes go, the ball is raised up. 

 Two foot kick. Standing on the ground, they jump up using both feet to touch the ball that is again hanging from the basketball net. Again raising the ball higher when the athletes have gone through. 

 Eskimo stick pull. Sitting feet to feet, two people compete against each other to pull the stick away. It's best out of three. You can see their are spotters on both sides with their feet on the girls to keep them in place while they pull. If I was listening correctly, this was used as practice for pulling seals out of the water. 

 Another two foot high kick picture. They can jump up SO high. Very impressive! I don't remember the measurements though. 

 I'm honestly not sure what this is, haha. But it was impressive none the less. 

 Making sure to measure the ball each time it needed raised. 

 Boys Eskimo stick pull. You can see that the boys have two rows of spotters. 

 Boys' Alaska High Kick above and Girls' below. Starting on the ground holding one foot, they jump up to kick the ball with one foot. And it's done just like the others are done, raising the ball each round. For all of these kicking events, they get 2 or 3 attempts at that height. 

 This coach was demonstrating how the "old school" way was to do the Alaska High Kick.... he pulled his body up there so slowly and hit the ball perfectly before coming down. Impressive!! 

 One foot kick - she can't reach the ball but she can jump up to kick it. She was the district champ & reached almost 88 inches I believe. 

 Wrist carry is the event that I was most excited to watch. It blows my mind that they can hold their whole body weight with their wrist around this pole while two people carry them around. There's a starting point and the carriers start running while the athlete holds on with only their wrist. It takes incredible body strength. A lot of athletes got a few feet out (farther than I could ever get for sure) but the farthest guy was Travis from KMO (in the blue shorts) and he got a a lap and a half around the gym. And the farthest for the girls was about a half a lap. This event not only relies on the athlete holding on but also on the carriers. If they aren't running at the same speed or if they're bumping up and down or even accidently hit the person hanging, it could really throw someone off. I was told (and now that I've seen it, I completely agree) that the wrist carry and the seal hop are the toughest two events. 

Just to give you a better view of how they hold on. 

 These next pictures are from the seal hop. The girls do it in a push up position but the boys are only on their knuckles and the tips of their toes. They hop as far down the gym as they can. There is a judge that walks along with them and taps them as a warning if they start to get too bouncy or if they start to arch their back too much. I can't even imagine their knuckles after this event. The farthest boy got about half way down the gym. 

 Indian stick pull involves a tappered stick that is greased with crisco. The two athletes stand with their feet together and try to grab the stick out of each others hands first after the judge places the stick. It's again, best out of three and they just keep going until their is one winner. 

There was one event that I didn't get to see because I was working the door but that was the kneel jump. They start out in a kneeling position and then jump up and see how far they can jump out. All of these events left me thinking about how I don't know that I could do any of them, haha. But, it made me want to try it when no one else was around. ; )

 The athletes that are going to states in Anchorage! 

The whole district team - all the kids from the different villages! 

Something that made me almost cry a few times during this event was the sportsmanship that these kids have. For much of the time there was two different events going on at once on either side of the gym, or the same event but boys on one side and girls on the other. There was a couple times where it would come down to an athletes last attempt at a certain height and the whole gym would start a slow clap and the other events would stop and clap with us and soon, all eyes were on that one competitor while they did their last attempt. It was just awesome to see them cheering each other on, stopping their competition and even giving each other advice. They were competing against each other but that didn't mean they didn't help one another either. It was just a really, really awesome event and I wish that it'd happen next weekend, too! I loved being a part of it and watching it. 

Now for some little cuties that came to watch. : )

And Gayle doing her kick! ; )

And my awesome principal, Deb! 

Love these kids! Now it's off to tackle some of my to do list that keeps growing... cleaning and packing today! I'm hoping to get most of my apartment cleaned and packed up so I can get that out of the way. We'll see how much it happens because it's already almost noon and I haven't done any of it yet. Oh well, I got another blog post written which is important, too. : )

Not too much longer until I'm home! 

My First Maqii and a very special gift.

I was really lucky and got invited by one of my kid's grandmas (Nellie) to go to her house to maqii. A maqii is Yupik and otherwise known as a steam bath. I've posted some pictures that I was able to take but it gets WAY too hot and it's pretty impossible to take pictures while it's happening. A lot of times this maqii is used instead of a shower. LeEsia and I went down and met Nellie in the maqii. She had already lit the steam and it was getting hot. You go into the "cool down" room and undress. Yes, you do this naked - which for me was probably the part I was most nervous about. I'm not one that is usually up for just hanging out naked in front of others but this is a native thing and I know no one really cares at all so I sucked it up and you know, it turned out to be not too big of a deal. I can't say that I was completely comfortable the whole time doing it but after a few hours - you kind of just get over it. :) Anyways, you go into the cool down room and undress - kicking off the boots and the snow gear from the 4 wheeler ride down there and get ready to go into the room where the stove is. It's a wood burning stove with rocks on top of it.  Generally, you sit on a hand towl when you go into the room with the stove. The whole building is just basically ply wood and it's very small. There were three of us and it was pretty cozy. We took our hand towl in and laid it down on the wood floor that was raised a little ways off the ground and sat there in front of the stove. As soon as the door is opened to the stove room, you can feel the heat coming out and it's overwhelming. It took my breath away - hard to describe almost. Nellie said it was probably about 300 degrees. As soon as we got in there, we each had a large (what looked like a salad bowl) infront of us and we had our wash clothes. Instantly I felt the need to take my washcloth and cover myself in the cool water that was in a big tub next to the stove. Nellie filled that big tub with water before we came in by using individual buckets because there's no running water in this little building. I was so thankful for that water! Right away you wet yourself off and get your hair wet! Then you sit..... and sweat. My kids had told me that I was probably going to burn and they were right. The under side of my nose is super red and burnt, it was a sharp pain feeling as soon as I hit the heat. My skin and body is not used to it, clearly! I didn't last too long before I had to crawl (yes, crawl on my hands and knees because she told me not to stand up since I'd been sitting in the heat) back out to the cool off room. We did this over a few series until it was time to wash. Keep in mind, this process took a little over 3 hours. Sometimes it doesn't take that long - I guess it just depends on how much you just enjoy the steam and how many times you rinse off. We took our shampoo, conditiioner and body wash in and used our bowl of water to wash our hair and our body. Washing of my hair proved to be challenging because those of you that know me, know I have a lot of hair and right now it's pretty long so washing it in a bowl of water wasn't easy but I tried! We washed and rinsed and then it was time to go cool off again. Then we went to rinse again and etc. Almost every time that we went to cool off, we propted open the outside door to get the breeze coming in. It was pretty neat when it started to rain.... you could hear the rain coming down and it was hitting off of the roof and it was one of those moments that I was like wow! I'm sitting in a maqii in Alaska listening to the rain! Who would have thought? We left then and took our four wheel ride back home. My skin was bright red and almost looked like it had scales.... it was really creepy looking! My kids did warn me about that but I didn't realize how intense it would be! After our 3+ hour maqii, I was exhausted. Everyone told me I'd sleep well and I did. My arms were a bit achy but I think that's because I was crawling around on the ground and I'm out of shape, haha! 

The maqii from the back.... up there is where you walk into the main door for the cool down room. 

The tub of water and the "pourers" that we used that were made out of tin cans screwed onto poles! A splash of that water on the hot rocks really makes the room hotter. Nellie was doing that right before she came out to cool down so that the whole stove would cool down quicker. It was around 200 degrees I believe when we started to wash. It made a big difference but it was still really hot.  

The stove is where the rocks are. The three of us sat on our hand towls right there on the wooden floor. This is taken from the cool down room looking through the door when we were all done. That silver bowl there by the stove is filled with water and a certain type of tundra flower that is used to make it smell really well and it's used as a medicine! A splash of that on the stove really gets the steam smelling awesome. 

This is how we drove home..... I did not wear my towel home because I had a hat on, haha. We, or she, got some stares, I'm sure. : )

I'm really thankful for Nellie inviting me down to steam with her! Another Alaska experience crossed off my list!!

I'm sure there's stuff I left out about my experience with the maqii but I can't remember right now.

Celebrating Easter today with my kids and then it's NYO (native youth olympics) here in Manokotak this weekend so I'm very excited for that! Pictures to come...... : )

PS. Today during school I had a parent visitor. Wasn't completely random today because since we're having a party and celebrating Easter, some of the kids had their parents bring up some food for them! But this parent visit wasn't for food for the party! One of my kid's moms brought me one of the best gifts I've ever gotten that brought tears to my eyes. 

An ivory ring with a butterfly on one side and a heart on the other side and then an ivory bracelet. The ivory bracelet has animals like polar bears, walrus - tusks and all (you can see them in the picture), seals and whales! To my surprise, the brown squares are not wood, they're fossilized ivory! Amazing! I'm one lucky teacher and I'll say it again, I'm beyond thankful for this experience & these people.