Wednesday

I've been staving off a wicked nasty head cold for the past few days and have been trying to heal without the use of medication because I have this belief that if I don't take medicine (e.g. Ibuprofen, cough syrup, Aspirin) then my body will heal itself, which it normally does without additional medical intervention. However, at this point in my sickness, I feel like throwing myself in front of moving traffic in order to cease the congestion and irritability, which in Koyuk is rather difficult to do since the largest vehicles on the road are fourwheelers. Maybe if I wait until there are two fourwheelers driving by....and a dog or two...

Yesterday was pretty cool. I learned a lot about education in the village which really helped me to understand education in larger communities like Fairbanks. According to the teachers with whom I've spoken regarding this topic, as well as through my observations, it appears as though there is very little motivation and ambition on the part of the majority of the students. I reckon it's hard to want to do well in school when you can't imagine the worth of the final pay-off of a diploma. Hopefully this will help me to encourage the kiddos in Fairbanks (I'm talkin' to you, sophomores! And Zahn) to want to do good for themselves by valuing the opportunity to earn a strong education to succeed in life.

On a less cranky and preachy note, on Wednesday we attended a Koyuk staff meeting. Kids were released early from school (2:00 instead of 3:30) and the meeting was held in one of the teacher's classrooms. The snacks (which they never normally have) were provided by Lynnae and myself. I believe that the teachers were incredibly grateful for the treats. To save on silverware, we were each given a disposable glove to pick up our food and fill our plates.

Mary, next year's new principal, leads the meeting.

Ain't no party like a sanitary party.

Yesterday Lynnae and I (mostly Lynnae because I'm diseased) helped the after-school tutoring kiddos (strictly
 volunteer basis, with the primary motive to learn life skills and do cool stuff) make homemade crackers (crackers - I know, right? I hadn't even thought to make these myself) and do an art project.

Lynnae said that she will come in sometime this month to have the sophomores do the art project, but first I need to figure out how I can justify it within my lesson plans. We went outside with the kids and had them hold still for 10 minutes whilst surrounded by playground equipment - what a challenge! We lead the kids in a round of Row-Row-Row-Your-Boat, but I think really it was just Lynnae, Robin (the art teacher), and I singing.

Lessons in the Bush 2

1. Never leave your iPhone within the reach of a 7-year old's grimy hands - they will find it and they will not give it back willingly.

2. Always remember to smile...unless, of course, no one around you is smiling and it is against the cultural norm to smile all the bloody time because then you look like more of a freak than you already do.

3. Classroom management is a skill as well as an art. (I already knew this, for which I am very glad, but was reminded of its importance many times today).

4. Never find yourself within the reach of a 7-year old's grimy hands - especially when you're normally a high school teacher - because anything shorter than hip-height is terrifying and noisy. (Even more so than my sophomores).

5. All principals throughout every district in Alaska should disperse candy bars at the end of the school day. There is very little that a Nutrageous Bar cannot cure. (Except obesity and the diabeetus, of course). 

I'm a Big Kid Now

Currently, it is 12:26 AM and there is still plenty of light outside. Outside my window, I hear the occasional fourwheeler driving around and the constant BUMP BUMP BUMP of a basketball on the wooden court, about 20 feet from my window. As a result, I am conflicted by two thoughts:

1. "Wow, how cool is it that we live in a state with nearly perpetual sunlight and warm temperatures in the Spring and Summer months? I love that this community is so small and comfortable that it is late at night and kids are still allowed to drive around and play sports - hooray for spending time outdoors!"

2. "OH MY GOSH IT IS 12:26 AM WHY ARE THESE KIDS OUTSIDE? DON'T THEY KNOW THAT THEY HAVE SCHOOL TOMORROW? I SWEAR, IF THIS IS WHAT MY SOPHOMORES DO EVERY NIGHT BEFORE SCHOOL AND THIS IS WHY THEY SHOW UP TO SCHOOL AND COMPLAIN ABOUT HOW TIRED THEY ARE, THEN I AM GOING TO CRACK! HEY! YOU! WHERE ARE YOUR PARENTS? GET BACK HERE WHEN I'M TALKIN' TO YOU!"

Lessons in the Bush

Lynnae and I finally made it to Koyuk this evening! We departed Anchorage at about 2:15, arrived in Unalakleet around 3:45, then Koyuk around 5:00. I've started a photo album on Google+ and the link should be able to take you straight to it.

Koyuk Web Album

 Below are the lessons that I have learned (so far) from our journey:

1. Checking bags early is totally not necessary on a bush flight. Your plane boards at 2:00 and departs at 1:40? Pfft, no worries. Show up at 1:00 to check your bags (although really, this is still a bit early) and don't expect to even think about boarding until at least 2:00.

2. The complimentary sugar cookies (made with 50% Splenda and 50% granulated sugar) on Hageland flights are delicious.

3. Alaskan scenery is unbelievable and indescribable. Truly. (This one I already knew, but I like the frequent reminders while being in an airplane).

4. Unalakleet ain't half-bad! It has a lovely beach (with sweet rocks) and a nice view.

5. No matter how much of a rugged, lifelong, non-materialistic/anti-reality TV show Alaskan I may consider myself, I still got pretty giddy when Ariel Tweto was our pilot - and I flew in the copilot seat. (However, I didn't take a picture because I don't want to support her unnecessary popularity from being portrayed as a ditzy, but admittedly cute, Alaskan chick. Really, I think I'm just jealous that she's cooler than me because she can fly a plane and her Carhartt's weren't holey like mine. Reckon I oughta work on that).

6. Koyuk ain't half-bad! Lynnae and I have it pretty good. We are set up in the school (video tour forthcoming) and are sleeping on real mattresses. (I can hear the mass of gasps from here). However, the mattresses are in random classrooms and we have to pick them up every day, but whatever, it's better than nothing, especially since I decided to opt out of bringing a sleeping pad.

7. It doesn't feel very "rural" when I have the ability to text, make phone calls, and update my blog/website from anywhere in the community. This place has better service than my house for goodness sake!

8. Koyukians (Koyukins? Koyans? Whatever) DO NOT need gifts of food or school supplies. Lynnae and I both felt like turds when we were escorted (by two kids we met on the road) to the grocery store which held, more or less, anything anyone could need. It wasn't like a Fred Meyer, but was more stocked than Chena Hot Springs Gas (minus the booze, of course - dry community and all) or a Gasline store, at least in terms of variety. I'm so glad that I carried a bag of strawberries and grapes around with me for 4 days, only to see them on a shelf at the local grocer.

9. Most of the kids want to know your name, but other than that, don't really care to a) give you their name or b) say anything more. Many of the kids I met while wandering about by myself did this, while a few others carried on conversations. Two of the girls loved the concept that Lynnae and I are sleeping in their classrooms. One girl said she was going to wake me up in the morning and steal my phone. Note to self: Hide phone...and don't sleep in.

10. It's kind of cool and kind of spooky to hang out in an empty school at night. Lynnae and I have a key to open every room in the place, which is sort of empowering, but I feel sort of guilty wandering about the place. However, I am looking forward to breaking into the gym later and running lines (thanks Sean for inadvertently reminding me to bring my running shoes!)

AIA Part 3

Just as we were about to board our flight to Unalakleet (with connecting flights from Shaktoolik to Koyuk), our Gate Agent got on the intercom and announced that our connecting flight was cancelled due to inclement weather (pssh, yeah, "inclement weather," my foot! I bet our pilot just wasn't awake yet) We could have boarded the flight and risked the chance of flying on to Shaktoolik, but that would have meant we would be stranded in Unalakleet, so instead, we decided to stay in Anchorage and harass my aunt for a few days. The next flight is scheduled to leave on Monday (!), so that's a bit of a bummer. I sent the following email to my UAF Supervisors to notify them of our delay:

Larry,

Lynnae and I decided that we like Anchorage SO MUCH that we are going to stay here for a few more days. I think we are going to fly out to Koyuk on Monday, if we feel like it, but who knows really! :)

Thanks for the opportunity for us to get out of town for a little while...we hadn't realized how desperate we were for the big city life! And oh, the shopping down here is FANTASTIC! I love how accessible everything is - we each bought some of the cutest dresses! I think we'll hit up Chilkoot Charlie's tonight and see what the bar scene is like...it must be nice since people aren't allowed to smoke in public places anymore.

Anyway, thanks again!

All the best,
Julie





 




Just kidding. Our flight from Shaktoolik was cancelled due to
inclement weather. We will fly out on Monday, same time as today.


I think that Larry had a mini-heart attack when he read it. Unfortunately, just like my sophomores, he doesn't seem to appreciate my witty humor.

However, Karma did seek revenge on me for my poor taste in trickery - my bags were never pulled from the plane and they traveled to Unalakleet without me! Somehow the crew managed to pull Lynnae's bags (standard, black, hard-to-find-in-a-baggage-claim-carousel-because-everyone's-bloody-bag-looks-just-like-it-so-why-do-you-people-keep-insisting-on-buying-those-uncreative-bags), but somehow lacked the ability to pull the bright pink duffel. Touche, Karma...touche.

AIA Part 2

ME: So what kind of food are you bringing for everyone?

LYNNAE: I have a bag of clementines and homemade cookies to give to the teachers...and I'm bringing apples, but I kind of want to keep them to myself and not share.

ME: Oh my gosh, me too! I have strawberries and I was thinking about just hoarding them in my bag.

LYNNAE: But when are we supposed to eat them?

ME: We'll just hide in our sleeping bags and snarf 'em when no one is around. 


Later on...


ME: So what are we doing when we're there? Are we supposed to teach something or what?

LYNNAE: I don't know. Let's just hide in the back of the classroom and eat our fruit.

Anchorage International Airport (AIA) Part 1

Fro-Yo!

Lynnae and I sat in the terminal patiently awaiting our departure (she had enjoyed a nom-nom Cinnabon purchase while I was enjoying fro-yo with accessories) when we overheard the radio communication between the Frontier Gate Agent and Ramp Crew:

GATE AGENT: Hey, are you guys ready for us to board?

RAMP CREW: Yeah, the pilot just woke up and he said he's ready when you are.

LYNNAE: Oh, sweet, it's time to go. (pause) Wait, what?