I never drink water because of the disgusting things that fish do in it. W. C. Fields

Apparently some of my friends are having a hard time picturing mud in water that comes out of the tap!  It doesn't really look muddy, per se, but just shows up as a nasty shade of yellow.  But, I definitely see mud inside the water distiller when it's finished.  Pretty yukky.  I have a water distiller that converts water to steam, and then back to water. All the sediment is left in the bottom of the distiller.  I use distilled water for final rinses of dishes and my hair.  I wish I could use it for washing my clothing and turn all my whites back to white from their current shade of yellow.

For drinking, I have a nifty water filter that looks like a water cooler.  I have one at home and in my classroom at school.  It works really well, compare the water in the top to the water in the bottom that has been filtered!  To give you some perspective, if the containers were empty, the plastic is exactly the same color on the top and the bottom.

I am thankful to have running water in my house.  There are teacher houses in this district that don't!

Last, But Definitely Not Least!

By popular demand: a picture of the "Loo".  I didn't think I could get a good shot of it since it is so small and there is a wall opposite the door, preventing me from backing up very far.  But, it worked out fine!

Notice the fancy tiers of flooring... I was quite certain that I would injure myself in the middle of the night, but I've adapted quite well.  The jug in the picture contained water that I've distilled and use to brush my teeth and a final hair rinse.  There is running water, but it is full of mud and iron.  I'll write about the water here another day, it's a whole topic in and of itself!

I believe that only the school and teacher housing have flush toilets here, the rest of the village is on a honey bucket system.  Honey buckets are basically buckets with toilet seats.  I'm thankful for this level of convenience, no wonder my young friends always ask if they can use my bathroom when they visit!

My House, Part Deux

Here's the kitchen, not big, but it works!

My bedroom has the funky lighting in this shot because of the funky thick fabric that serves as a room darkening agent.  The days are getting quite long now, sunset is well after 11 pm.

Even funkier lighting in the second bedroom resulted from the red school paper I duct taped over the window as a quick privacy covering when Anna came to visit...

Oh, and by the way, that guest room is available if anyone wants to visit in the next three weeks!

My House

For those who have wondered about my living quarters, here ya go!

The teacher housing here is Atmau is well appointed, at least compared to some other sites.  I have running water, a flush toilet, and a partially functional washing machine. (Yay!)

I share an arctic entryway with the original school building.  Only one class is currently housed over here, the Kindergarten.  The rest is used for storage.  Here's what it looks like from the outside, the corner of the newer school building is on the left.

I have to unlock 2 steel doors to access my house, the third door has a broken lock.  You enter directly into my living room, which also houses a kitchen table. View from the doorway as you enter:

View of the entry, which is the open door to the far right.  The door to the left is the furnace room. Notice the reading poster that I scavenged and hung up for some brightness and to cover some of the paneling that had been cut out and patched back in. 

The kitchen is to the left of the kitchen table:

This is the first time in history that I've had a bookless bookshelf!
More of the tour to come...

Meanwhile, it is winter in Narnia, and it has been for ever so long

...and we both shall catch cold if we stand here talking in the snow."  --Tumnus

After spending the weekend in Bethel, where it was in the 40's and the snow is melting into lakes and mud abounds,  I'm hopeful we'll soon see some signs of spring upriver!

Easter in Bethel

I enjoyed the sweet fellowship of Anna's local church today!  Here are some highlights:

Anna's good friend helped with a sign language accompaniment to a song.

Happy Easter!

Conversation with a Pilot

An air taxi ride to Bethel was Friday afternoon's agenda!

I got a ride to the airstrip on the agent's snowmachine.  We pulled a wooden sled that bumped along behind us with a person bound for the airstrip and the agent's children.

The plane was waiting for us on the airstrip.  The pilot hopped out, threw a padded blanket over the front of the plane, began chatting and unloading the supplies he had
brought.

I picked up a few interesting tidbits:

• The pilot sees himself a vital part of the villages he serves.  He talked about being the one who brings babies to meet their village for the first time, sees them grow over the years, and eventually is the one who transports their caskets. 
• The blanket he threw over the front of the plane has an important function, he wasn't just getting it out of the way.  It keeps the engine is to keep it warm between short flights.  If the engine gets too cold, it is not a good thing.
• Weight has to be evenly distributed in the small planes. 

I sat in the copilots seat since I was only only passenger to get on.   Here was my view:

Here's Atmau from a birdeye's view...

We took a quick 5 minute flight down the river to the village of Nunapichuck and picked up a couple of dentists.  Dental care is provided in villages by teams that fly in and fly out.  

Then, we were Bethel-bound.  There are very few landmarks on the tundra to give pilots visual cues as to their whereabouts.  My pilot pointed out a curious tower on the tundra, known as "White Alice".  It was an early warning communication system put in during the cold war.  It is obsolete, but still stands as a landmark for bush pilots.  

So, I'm enjoying a couple of days with Anna.  Last night we had a delicious meal with Anna's roommate and a principal from the district.  Good company, good food, good times!

Blood & Guts

Those of you who know me well and were proud of me for *tasting* ptarmigan yesterday, hang onto your hats!

I told the 5th graders today about the junior high teacher killing her first ptarmigan, and how I had eaten it for the first time and liked it.  So, guess what showed up at my door after school...

Two brave young hunters had shot 6 ptarmigan for me!   And, the huntress/teacher came over to view that bounty:

We set up a cleaning area in my living room, and the huntress showed us her technique...

And then, we all started plucking.  At first, I wasn't sure I was going to be able to do it.  The bird was still WARM!  But, I persevered, and was able to make a reasonable attempt at bird cleaning.  But, the kids were experts, deftly plucking, trimming and cutting.  The ensuing carnage was quite disconcerting.  

I've never seen so many feathers in my life!  They are everywhere.

The kids were quite surprised to learn that I had never hunted nor cleaned a bird before.  They were quite shocked to find out that my father had never hunted, either.  I tried to explain to them how limited the hunting was in NYC and Chicago. 

As the kids finished up the last of the birds, I made some rice, cooked up some ptarmigan breast, started a soup with the various and sundry bird pieces, and threw together a batch of cookies. 

We feasted.  What an evening!  

That soup freaks me out, though.  It's those bird heads with beaks and eyes staring up at me...

...Tastes Like Chicken

Actually, it tasted a lot like steak!

Tonight, our before-Survivor feast featured birds shot by one of the teachers!  Ptarmigan, to be exact.  She hunted Ptarmigan with a friend for the very first time and got 5 of them.  I was impressed!

It was delicious, and if I hadn't been told it was a bird, I would have thought it was beef.  Very lean and not gamey as I was expecting.

Adventures in dining... who woulda thunk?  This picky eater has come a long way!

Skip: v. skipped, skip·ping, skips v.intr. 1. a. To move by hopping on one foot and then the other. b. To leap lightly about.

When the head of the math dept was here yesterday, I took the opportunity to pick her brain a little.  I've been working with some kids who are having trouble with the concepts of LCM & GCF.  They can't seem to keep factors and multiples straight, so of course they'll struggle with LCM/GCF.  

Carmen told me that she teaches the concept of multiples with the idea of skip counting... so today, this elementary-school-teacher-turned-secondary made her class skip (literally) while chanting "multiples, skip counting, 2-4-6-8".  

Okay, so I couldn't get everyone up & skipping, but the ones who did it had fun, and even the ones who were too shy or self conscious still remembered what multiples were when we did our follow up activity.  I'm calling it a success.

Yeah, I made them skip.

"Wherever you are - be all there." Jim Elliot

Good ole Jim, what a wise word!

Today we didn't have students, but spent the day training and then scoring writing assessments.  I was pretty nervous about the task, and was relieved to find out that 2 teachers score each assessment separately, and then confer on any scores that differ.  I was surprised to find that there were only a couple of scores that we differed on, so I guess I was on track!

A highlight was that the district office person that was assigned to come for this inservice was Anna's roommate.  I really enjoyed having her visit, plus a bonus; she brought me some groceries from Anna to bolster my food supply.

It was also fun to get a box from Jonathan today, full of treats and luxuries:  I now have a proper mixing bowl and a whisk... no more mixing in the 13x9 with my hand!

Red & Yellow, Black & White

I'm struck this morning with the reality of how the Lord transcends barriers like culture, language & customs when the focus is on Him and the simple Truth of the gospel.

Sudoku & A Dog

Relaxing Saturday morning... an early walk with my charge for the weekend, Allie the poodle, and  now she's napping next to me as I work on a Sudoku and contemplate the past week.  I've been here 4 weeks... in some ways it seems like I just got here, and in other way that I've been here a long time.

This afternoon I will head over to school and correct tests, lesson plan, and work with my Senior girls that are hoping to graduate.  Here are a couple of my hard workers... not sure if they are working on Geometry or taking a facebook break here!

Talent

I thought you'd enjoy this photo of a couple of my students smack dab in the middle of their creative process:

That duck started out as a blank sheet of paper, I wish you could see the details she painstakingly drew and colored with watercolors. These girls crave to draw & paint.  Math is simply no competition for these talented artists.

Warning Pop Ups

I got this warning from my computer recently that demanded my immediate attention:

Wouldn't it be nice if life gave you popup warnings like this?  I mean, in-your-face warnings that you cannot ignore, with clear instructions on what needs to happen immediately, along with the consequences of not heeding that caution. 

How often do I run on reserve battery power and forget to plug into my Power Source and recharge?  How about you?

A Few Trappings of Civilization

"And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.  We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates & perfects our faith." Heb12

After a day of great highs and lows, I find myself grateful that I don't have to be strong enough or fast enough to run the race, but that the Lord Himself is my champion who equips and enables me.

The state of Alaska has mentoring program for 1st and 2nd year teachers. Each new teacher is assigned a mentor who visits them throughout the school year. What an amazing program!

The mentor for my young friends was here today, and brought some comforts of home from civilization (i.e. Anchorage!), along with mounds of encouragement. I feel like the Lord provided an evening of refreshment after a particularly tough day: friendship, kind words, fresh salad, Papa Murphy's pizza, Great Harvest Bread, Survivor, and a reminder to keep running the race and focus on the One who brought me here.

Washable?

If you give a marker labeled "washable" to a 4th grader, he's going to take that as a challenge.

I'm just sayin'.

Pilot Bread

A staple food around here is an item that boasts a 25 year shelf life called "Pilot Bread".  To be brand specific, "Sailor Boy Pilot Bread".  It is basically a very sturdy cracker about the size of a dvd, with no salt on the tops.  

They are quite literally the bread of life here; eaten with peanut butter, topped with Crisco (not kidding), and fish.  They travel well and virtually never go bad.  

Ah, the simple beauty of a versatile cracker!

   

The Path is Sure

After the blizzard a couple of days ago, my path to church was once again marked with uncertainty.  As I gingerly picked my way across the frozen snow, I noticed 2 things.  

First, there were cracks and indentations in that crusty top layer... after it snowed, the temperature rose above freezing for a day.  I surmised that although the top had refrozen, the under layer might not be reliable.

The second thing I noticed was that what I had assumed was tundra grass sticking out of the snow weren't really blades of grass... but were actually little sticks!  Yep, upon close inspection I realized that those were the tops of small trees buried under the snow with tiny branches poking out...  an indication of how deep the snow layer actually is.

Those newly acquired observations convinced me to hightail it over to the partially uncovered boardwalk as soon as I spotted it.  Once my feet hit the boardwalk, my stride became sure and purposeful.  I realized that when I walked on the prepared path, I could take steps without doubting whether or not it would give way under me.  Even when treading over the parts of the boardwalk obscured from my sight by snow, I could confidently step, knowing that the foundation was sure.

As I pray for the Lord to show me my next steps in my life,  I find this simple walk to church encouraging.  The Lord has prepared a path for me to walk that is secure and trustworthy.  He will show me the way, even my that path is hidden.  I'm grateful for His loving guidance!

"I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, 

along unfamiliar paths I will guide them;

I will turn the darkness into light before them 

and make the rough places smooth.

These are the things I will do;

I will not forsake them." Isaiah 42:16 

Humpty Dumpty turned Dutch

I brought a cooler along with me, filled with cold food items.  One of those items was a double layer tray of 5 dozen fresh eggs from Costco.

They didn't fare very well... more than half of them were either smashed or cracked.

Usually I'd make scrambled eggs, bake with them, or go for some Dutch Babies, but lacking the supplies I'd shipped,  I found myself wondering what to do with all my cracked up eggs.

I purposed to make a Dutch Baby before Anna left the village.  Although I couldn't get to the store while it was open, the school cook kindly let me pilfer some milk and butter from her cache.

The Dutch Baby turned out well... my village version of making lemonade out of lemons.

The Banana Splits

We offered an incentive this week to entice the kids to attend every day and cooperate during the testing this week.  For those who faithfully endured this grueling week of testing, ICE CREAM and FRESH BANANAS were imported for a Banana Split party!

It's snowing and windy again, so I think a special snowgo dispatch was sent to Bethel to obtain the prize ingredients.  What a fun treat for the people of this village!  So many happy faces, enjoying the creamy goodness and not minding for a minute that the bananas were on the slimy side after suffering a mild case of frostbite!

Here's a view of what I looked at this week, monitoring the student trying to meet the testing standards to graduate high school.  

I so hope that he makes the grade!

Stranded

High winds of around 75 mph and a couple feet of snow yesterday put a kink in the plans of Career team that come out to talk to our high schoolers yesterday.  Unaccustomed to village travel, they weren't prepared to wait out the storm until it was safe to travel.

I fortunately have an extra bed & futon, so I invited the girls to stay with me.  I already had a chicken roasting in the oven for the watching of Survivor, so they joined in with us last night, and between us all, we had them covered for pillows and bedding.

The drifting snow was so deep that we had to wade through thigh high snow, it was quite the effort to get home from just a short distance away!

We had a blast!  This morning they were told no planes were going to be able to land until tomorrow at the earliest, but it was likely they would be here over the weekend.  I was glad for them when they got word this afternoon that someone had found a snowmachine ride for them back to Bethel, but was sad to see them go!

We somehow figured out that we have an indirect connection:  their boss has a nephew that was friends with Anna in college in Minnesota, and Anna used to stay with him and his family whenever she passed through Bethel.   It is a small world.

I Sat in the Principal's Chair Today

"There are many people who want to be matadors, only to find themselves in the ring with 2,000 pounds of bull bearing down on them, and then discover that what they really wanted was to wear tight pants and hear the crowd roar."  --Steve Farber

Standardized testing is consuming this week.  Every nook in the school, including storage rooms, was commandeered for testing purposes.  I was assigned a single student, so ended up in the principal's office, while he took a group to another building altogether.

This left me sitting in the hot seat!  Funny how people assumed that since I was sitting in his desk, I must have his answers...  I was glad to handle the few issues that came up, and it was a real reminder of how much "bull" the leader of a school faces on a daily basis.

I've never cared for the tight pants nor a cheering crowd, either!

It's gotten even colder, and is still snowing here.  I thought might enjoy my view, first thing this morning: