I am a day later than I had wanted as far as updating my blog; I will try hard to do this on Sundays - BUT, yesterday was so busy getting a million last minute things together before the big day TODAY - the kids started school today and I met my students!

I'm ready for day one - bring it on!!

The first day of school was uneventful in a good way! I have 14 students instead of 13, but everyone was so good today and I am really excited to work with these kids this year - more on that next week though.

Last week, I went berry picking with a few fellow teachers and met an interesting local native Eskimo lady. She came down to pick with us for a short time and then asked us if we wanted to see the hats she made. WOW is all I can say - beautiful is an understatement. She spent about 45 minutes or so talking with us and sharing some of her stories. I felt like I was in another time of history. I asked her if I could take her picture, she put her head down and said she didn't have her teeth in - then just as quickly, raised her head up and gave the best smile ever!

The hat is made with spotted seal and the little feet are a local grouse called a ptarmigan. (from Wikipedia: The willow ptarmigan is the largest of three “Arctic grouse” found in Alaska, which also include the rock and the white-tailed ptarmigan. Ptarmigan are sociable in winter and usually feed and roost close together in the snow.)

The other day, I took Ginger around the back of the apartments and found this huge bone on the size of our apartment; I looked it up and it a walrus jaw. I can honestly say I've never seen a walrus jaw just lying around my yard before!

I am going to close for now and go to bed to read. Tomorrow comes early and I want to get to school a little earlier so I can do a few last minute things I didn't think of today but sure wish I had! Here are a few more photos of my home - enjoy! (The one with the bright sun was my walk to school one morning last week...)

Oh - before I really do close down for real! I want to share what I was given today by one of my first graders...

I am back from teacher in-service! Last week, I flew, via bush plane, to Dillingham, AK for new teacher training. I cannot even begin to share what I learned about the Yupik culture. My brain is still quite foggy with so much new and awesome information that organizing it may never happen. So, just understand when I am throw out random thoughts every now and then for the next 10+ years! :)

Some highlights of the trip:

Another bush plane trip! (Ginger does not like flying at ALL... she becomes very nervous)

Attending meetings in the district's board meeting - which is a mobile home!

Watching native Yupik women dance

Being taught my native Yupik women how to properly filet salmon and to use an ulu (An ulu is a rounded type of knife and only women can use them; men do not use an ulu)

Hearing and speaking various Yupik words and phrases (I will in time get some together on my blog along with my version of the pronunciation guide)

Attending the 1st annual Dillingham Salmon festival! This was held at the baseball field and it was a small-town carnival feel; the food was delicious and the atmosphere was vibrant!

Eating salmon eggs - right out of a freshly cut salmon! To me, the eggs have a grassy taste and they POP in your mouth!

Learning a Yupik dance and then performing for the whole district! (A total of 82 teachers in the whole district)

Learning the utmost importance of being a role model for my students and to keep their deep rich culture in mind at all times while teaching, speaking and living among them.

This coming week, I will be attending out site in-service here in Togiak. We will have 2 1/2 days of building meetings and then 2 1/2 days of being able to work in our classrooms to get ready for the big day!! August 22nd is the big day - the reason I am here - kids.

Speaking of getting the classroom ready.... well - let's not even talk about that right now.

Enjoy some photos!

See Chloe sitting in a friend's lap? And you can also tell we are sitting among cargo!

Ginger... sitting up on my shoulder in the plane.

This is where I stayed - the district bunkhouse

This is where we had 2 days of our meetings - the district boardroom

Akutaq - it is also called Eskimo ice cream - a mixture of an animal lard, sugar and berries

Another week of Alaska life!

Good morning! I really don't have much oohs and aahs to write about this week. All the other teachers have arrived (some new like me and some returning after summer vacation) and I am no longer living in complete solitude!

I have spent this past week working in my very well stocked classroom! I'm not complaining about ALL the stuff.... but....

I did go for a beautiful walk this week with a local native teacher - most of the scenery photos below were taken from that walk. The weather this week has been rain - a little rain - light rain - hard rain - then just wet rain! :)

I will have more to write about next week! Tomorrow, the teachers board a bush plane and fly out to the district office for a week of in-service. Let the fun begin!!!

It's already been a week!

I have been in my new home for one week now!

I stayed inside mostly the first 4 or 5 days and focused on unpacking and getting settled. I need organization in my life and felt the apartment was the most important priority before I could enjoy what faces me here in Alaska. After getting mostly settled, I was invited be my vice principal to go salmon fishing. He uses what are called gill nets and myself and another teacher and her daughter were the cleaners of the fish he caught. We spent about 3 hours on the Togiak Bay cleaning 31 salmon! My freezer is no longer empty :)

Dirty and tired, we decided to stop at the local little Alaska Commercial (AC) grocery store so I could get an idea what they had to offer and the prices... Sticker Shock! But, I do have to say that I ordered a pork/poultry package from them and am very pleased at the price and products! I bought 45 pounds of meat variety for $234 and it was delivered and brought right up to my freezer. I think the AC and I will have a love/hate relationship.

Togiak is a subsistence village, as is most of Alaskan villages - I decided today to join in on the fun and went berry picking. The tundra and open spaces are just indescribable! I can't wait to make blueberry muffins this winter with my pickings - I will also be picking more in the next few weeks :)

I finally made it to the school and saw my classroom too - I can't wait to get in there (probably today) and start getting organized!

The adventure has begun... I can't wait for it to continue :)

The lazy way to update a blog...

So - I am HERE!! Been unpacking a million boxes!

Anchorage - I arrived really late that night and stayed at an airBnB home; it was so nice to have a beautiful home in the rugged mountains to sleep and refresh to prepare for the next 2 flights to my final destination.

Finally! Togiak Bound!!!

Here is a video of the bush plane ride - that was SO FUN! I really enjoyed riding in that plane - the view was stunning and breathtaking the entire trip!

So, as the title of this post says - that was the lazy way to update things! It will probably be another week before I really have time to do much on here. I am unpacking, organizing, etc. my apartment and then I will head to the classroom and do the same. The dogs did GREAT; they were such troopers :)

See you in a week or so!!!

On my way!

I will update this post as the next few days progress... I left Wichita, KS yesterday and stayed at a hotel in Oklahoma City, OK for the night. Am now waiting at the airport in Oklahoma City for flight 1 of 4. The dogs are actually asleep in the stroller; I am happy to see them comfortable and not stressed at this point. I have 5 hours to kill at the airport - coffee, free WiFi, a comfortable table at the window, and my Kindle will keep me not stressed! My focus is just keeping my girls safe and stress-free for the next few days,

At the hotel... waiting for the airport shuttle - The girls in their stroller; this is the best thing ever and they're very comfortable in it... it keeps them safe and I don't have to worry about them getting away from me in crowds or unfamiliar places.

Next stop... flight 2 of 4 - Seattle to Anchorage for an overnight layover.

Baby Steps...

I will leave Kansas at noon today and head to Oklahoma City to stay overnight in a hotel with my pups. I decided to do this about a month ago in hopes that I can relax knowing I will not have any snafus come Monday when my flight leaves; I think it was a great decision! I plan on walking with the dogs a bit this evening (and tomorrow morning we can take a nice long walk to kill time), watch Netflix, relax, and breath...

I'm getting asked by a lot of folks if I'm nervous or excited - I'm SO EXCITED for this journey, for the job, for meeting my students, getting my classroom ready, checking out the curriculum, planning, meeting awesome folks, getting settled into my apartment, and being a speck on the huge state of Alaska! But - I am nervous about the actual events of getting there. I don't really like flying... it doesn't make sense to me that this huge ginormous piece of equipment can stay up in the air and all the added weight of passengers and baggage. I hate take off... I hate landing... and I am not too fond of the in-between either. Once I'm on the ground in Togiak, Alaska, THEN the excitement of what I'm actually doing can sink in!

The jist of my itinerary is as follows:

Sunday, 7/17: Leave Kansas at noon, check into hotel in Oklahoma City after lunch with Stephen

Monday, 7/18: Fly out of OKC to Seattle - Fly Seattle to Anchorage - grab a cab and crash at an airBnB home for the night

Tuesday, 7/19: Back to the airport in Anchorage - fly to Dillingham - then to Togiak on a bush plane - sleep until Wednesday, 7/20

Wednesday, 7/20: I have no clue! :)

Adios all! And - HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY KIDS!!! (Erin 7/16, Greg 7/17)