Short week, Spring Break, and a Seven hour board game

This past week really flew by, because we only had school for 2 1/2 days. Then again, this entire internship has flown by! It's hard to believe that I've been gone from home since the end of January, harder still to believe that I'll be homeward bound in 3 weeks *cue Simon and Garfunkle*. 

The school days were relatively usual, a few little things here and there, but overall the same as the past couple weeks. I'm still learning, that's for sure. This week also brought the end of the Iditarod, so a lot of the kids were talking about who they had picked to win, and who actually did win. Apparently she came out of nowhere and clinched the win. We had initially hoped to be in Nome for the race, but it's a large sum of money to go see, and you have to book far in advance. 

Wednesday we had a special awards ceremony to end out the half day and usher in spring break. A lot of the kids got awards for most improvement, highest attendance, GPA, etc. it's always nice to let students know that we recognize their efforts. In order to celebrate spring break, myself along with the other teachers, ordered Chinese food from Nome, which is delivered by plane. It was really cool, and interesting to have 'delivery', but it's also fairly expensive. They also forgot our food in the airport, so we had to weight longer. Overall though, a fun experience. 

Thursday and Friday were spent relaxing and enjoying the time off from break. It might not be a paid vacation, but it was relieving to just hang out, sleep in, and enjoy ourselves. Thursday some of us came together for dinner and The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. I bought a ton of spaghetti because I have way to much sauce, and not enough time to eat it all. Friday, we played a game of tennis (which hasn't happened in forever), and then got together for some board games. One game called 'Legendary' is a strategy based card game using the Marvel universe. It's a very fun game, and I won the night, setting a new record (which makes it sweeter). 

Saturday, we played a different game called 'Twilight Emperiom', which is a whole lot like Risk, but with much more girth. Lots of different parts, and rules, and cards and effects. It took us 7 hours to play all the way through, which was an insane amount of time, but it wasn't a bad game. 

Also on Saturday, a few new faces came back home for their own spring break. Brian and Ginger's two boys, Nelson and Carl came home to spend their breaks in Brevig (which is actually their home). It was cool to meet them and talk about their college experience so far, as well as my intern experience so far. 

Today is the realization that break is over and tomorrow we go back to school and back to work. It's going to be really hard to come back from break. This upcoming week should be interesting, but I'm also looking forward to the trip we've planned for Nome this weekend, and then the week in Anchorage helping at the test prep workshop. 

Now is as good a time as ever to ask for prayer requests. This internship was created by the district to bring people in to feel out what it's like to live and teach in Bush Alaska, and the intent is to hire us for jobs in the upcoming year (unless we either don't want to come back, or can't come back). In fact, one of my intern buddies Eric, stopped his internship early to be hired for the rest of the year in a different village because they needed a teacher immediately. 

I've enjoyed my time here. It's a whole lot different from home, but that's not a bad thing. It's new and exciting, and a great experience, especially considering I've just gotten out of school. It's nothing like Rochester, and Rochester will always be home for me (I think). But so far, the teachers and students, and members of the community, have all be very hospitable, and quite warm. At the very least, no one hates me or refuses to look my way haha. 

So far, I've fit in quite well, well enough that there is a chance for me to come back next year as the 7-8 grade teacher. There's still a lot for me to consider, and a lot more to take in, but I'm having a tough time figuring out what's best for me. I'm not yet sure which way is the right way for me right now, and I've only got so much time to work things out. I have an interview this upcoming week, which will at the very least show a finality as to whether or not a job will be offered to me. 

Needless to say, prayers are greatly appreciated as I try to figure all of this out! Facebook me for more details (in case I missed anything). 

Can't wait to see you all in April!!

- Sean

Two weeks: Subbing, Basketball, and why DST is the dumbest thing ever.

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of 2 weeks ago, I got to be a social studies teacher while Angie was in Anchorage for a workshop. It was nice considering most of my non-aid experience/subbing has been in other content areas. My days each consisted of 3 sections of World History, 1 section of US History, 1 section of corrective reading, and a section for reading and vocabulary skills. It was a lot of fun to get back into a classroom and be teaching classes for the entire day. It's also always fun to teach a class up here, as I get to practice my own teaching skills, as well as the new strategies I've been learning from the program that the school uses. It was fun to get back into the full swing of things and be planning out lessons, even if only for half a week. I also enjoyed getting to interact with some students that I don't normally see because of my own schedule. I'm reminded that I've still got a lot to learn, and that I still can learn new things. Part of subbing includes testing and refining my own teaching style, so opportunities to test out 'my way' or new things that I don't have experience with, are always good for me.


Thursday nights have been meetings for a book that a handful of us are reading, called “The Art and Science of Teaching”, by Marzano. 2 weeks ago, John and Misty offered to make chili for the reading group, and I thought that it would be an equally awesome idea to make bread to eat with the chili. Besides a bread maker, I've never made bread on my own (because it's so cheap and accessible back home). It flopped horribly. First, I didn't give myself enough time to let the dough rise, or bake in the oven. So it was really dense to begin with. Next, in order to speed things up, I kept increasing the oven temperature, which I later found out only succeeds in baking the outside of the bread quicker than the inside. All of this makes total sense now, but then, nothing was clicking. I ended up picking off pieces of the crust and eating it that way, and baking the insides a second time. I'll have to keep trying to make bread.


Friday the 28^th was the last girls home game here at Brevig, so I worked concessions making pizzas, pretzels, and nacho chips. I also got to make and buy my own pizza, which covered a couple lunches and dinners in the week following. This last home game also signified the ending of the season, and on Monday, the boys and girls teams traveled to Unalakleet to compete against each of the other schools for a chance to go on to the State sectionals in Anchorage.


The teams leaving on Monday (the 3^rd) was interesting because the high school side of the school was suddenly much less populated than before. A lot of the kids are on the teams, and they worked hard to keep their grades up to be eligible to travel and play. Some kids also went to Unalakleet with their families to support brothers and sisters playing, as well as friends. Back here, we kept track as best we could of the standings and brackets. Because so many of the students were gone this week, most class time was spent helping students to catch up on late work, or reiterate content, to help make sense of anything that might have been misinterpreted. Tuesday and Wednesday, we actually watched the boys and girls games on the smart boards in the rooms, which was awesome because on Tuesday our boys team pulled a solid win over Golovin, one of the other schools. The girls team also played really hard, but couldn't pass the other team because of an injured player. Unfortunately, both teams lost their second games, which puts them out of the sectional standings, but they played hard and should definitely be proud.


Friday of this past week, I got to sub for one of our para-pros, spending all day working with kids of all ages, with credit recovery. It was definitely a whirlwind of a day, trying to keep track of a new schedule and make sure I was doing what needed to be done for a day. Lets just say, I was glad when the day was over. After school, I was talking with one of the native employees, Bid, who teaches the bilingual/cultural class here, and his mom came in with a piece of art to sell. I hadn't bought anything yet, and figured I might as well if I like it. I bought a whale vertebrae with ivory and baleen inlays, that's carved to look like a dancer on one half, and the spirit of the dancer on the other side. I also later learned that the dancer is doing the walrus dance. It's a really cool piece, and I'm really glad I got to get something I really like. I desperately want a scrimshawed walrus tusk (where a carved image is filled in with ink to give it color), but that's slightly out of my price range at the moment. Eventually I'll get one!


Saturday was a paid in service day at the school, mostly a utility for teachers to finalize quarter grades and papers. I would be doing odd jobs here and there when I could, and then work more on the behavioral management strategies that the school uses. I planned to work the full day, in order to be as productive as possible....until I slept in till 11:15 in the morning. I was still able to work an almost full day, and got a lot of work done in the school.


Daylight savings is one of the dumbest things still practiced in the USA, especially here. Alaska is too big for one timezone as it is, let alone this seemingly arbitrary game of pretend time travel, in order to save a few bucks on our light and gas bills (which it actually doesn't anymore). Today, Sunday, it was still bright as noon here at 8:45, and wasn't totally dark until 9:30. In the summer time, there are 4 hours of 'night' at it's darkest, but even then it's more of a continual dusk. It would really be exciting to see a day and night like that.


Hopefully I'll be able to see this blog through in a timely manner. I keep forgetting and use my free time to relax and be unproductive. I also can't believe that it's already March 10^th! This internship has flown by so quickly, I can't believe it's been almost a month and a half already! Can't wait to see everyone when I get back!

-Sean

New Math, Northern Lights, and Tea Time at Two

So I'm still not blogging consistently, and I still haven't done a picture post. Sorry for the delays everybody, when I have some time to sit down and work at this, I will! What an eventful week!


Monday rolls around like every other Monday. Everyone is groggy and still coming down off the weekend (and wishing for one more day). Needless to say I was among this group. But the fun didn't stop there. I walked into the office and break room to take off my gear and grab my first cup of coffee. Ginger walked in and asked if I was OK with whatever was on the bulletin board at the desk in the office, and I sleepily replied that I was, before saying “Wait, what?”. I came out of the room to find that the high school side's math teacher was out sick for the day, and I was first in line to sub for him. Now, I'm a secondary social studies teacher, and besides being a teaching aide in a bunch of different (and non-social studies) classes, as well as a sub for science classes 2 days, I thought why not? No, I'll never be a math teacher, but I won't pass up this opportunity either. So my Monday changed from a teacher's aide to a math sub, and it was fun. Every teacher here develops a weekly 'sub folder' just in case they're sick or out for whatever reason, so that the kids still get some form of instruction for the day. I spent the day working through the packets with each of the classes, which was fun in some ways because I actually remembered a bit more than I thought I knew from high school. It was quite the adventure of a day.


Tuesday I got to return to my regular schedule during the day, but in that schedule, I got to learn a bit more about Inupiaq culture. In one of my sections of the day, the kids got to sit and see a video made in one of the other villages, Koyuk, about their culture and heritage, interviewing elders from the villages for first hand information about the traditional ways of life, and how their living arrangements have changed. One thing that is really cool is that this culture has survived for more than 1,000 years living off of the land and the sea, migrating around the peninsula, but still surviving year round. A lot of the skills and techniques and even some technologies that they employ in their day to day lives has been honed and perfected over centuries of use. It was also really interesting because the elders that were interviewed for the movie were alive and attending school during some pivotal moments in their history. For example, many of them grew up in a time when whites were still only just coming to Alaska, so they remember the school houses where they learned English and other foreign ideas. A very sad byproduct of this however, is that some do not remember parts of their own language because teachers in that day forbade the use of it. Still, it's a culture that is alive and still thriving, and it's always fun to learn about things that are totally new to me. Another cool thing was that one of the aides, who I know as 'Bid', showed me a short book that is a collection of native stories and legends that was compiled by one of the former teachers here. Basically, this teacher went around and listened to oral interpretations of these stories, and tried to put them to paper, in order to preserve them in some way. It was really cool to read some of the stories, and I'm hoping to finish the book at some point.


Tuesday night was one of the greatest nights so far, because of one event. THE. NORTHERN. LIGHTS. Oh man it was excellent. Tuesday nights are guys game nights, so Steve, John, Greg and I were setting up a game waiting for Andy to get to the house. Andy busted down the door and says “Guys! The northern lights are out tonight!!” I quickly scrambled to my feet, because I've never seen these before, and this was the perfect opportunity. Angie, Steve's wife, grabbed her camera and followed us out. Now, a few things. First, light pollution here is actually worse than I thought it would be. I thought that it would be quite minimal, but the street and house lights are just enough to hinder star gazing. Second, ice covers all walkable ground. It might be this way every year, but because of the polar vortex a lot of snow melted and then froze again, so the ground can be hazardous to walk on. Angie, Andy, and I set out to find an area where the lights wouldn't ruin our eyes for looking at the Auroras. Angie joked that Andy and I had better be careful because neither of us have insurance under the school because we're only interns, to which we laughed. No sooner had she finished her sentence that I heard a “wuuhhhh” *thump*, and Angie was on the ground. Luckily she caught herself with her elbow and wasn't badly hurt, so we continued on. The northern lights is one of the coolest things I've ever seen. What happens is the Sun shoots off Solar flares into space, and those collide with the Earth, and get broken up in the Earth's electromagnetic field. Depending on what gasses are present in the atmosphere at the time, the colors can change, but that night it was a solid green color. I took some great pictures (I think), and it was truly mesmerizing to see the lights shift and move, ebb and flow from one direction to another, the waves and the spires moving around slowly. It's definitely a highlight of my experience here (get it? High-light. Sorry, I'm done).


Wednesday was another special day, because I actually got to be a Social Studies teacher! So Angie's fall while looking at the northern lights left her in worse shape than she thought. She hit her elbow hard, but the morning after, she felt it in her shoulder, back, and neck as well. The pain was pretty bad, so she took the day and handed the reins to me. This was also a good experience because the following Monday through Wednesday I'll be her sub while she goes to Anchorage for a workshop. It was a fun and exciting day, learning each of the different classes I'd soon be teaching, and seeing where they were at in History. The World History classes were watching a video on the Atomic Bomb (which is one of my favorite things ever), so it was fun to watch with them, and interject where I knew some extra information. I will say that it's hard to plan for a day, because it's unlike anything down in the lower 48. The content is about the same here, but the pacing is different, mainly because classes only last an hour, so figuring out which topics and content to group together for each day, can really be challenging. Thursday was similar to Wednesday except that Angie made it back to school, so I got to observe her teaching each class, picking up on her strategies and methods for instruction. The special thing about Thursday was that it was Friday last week. Friday was a day off, and an extra day to relax and enjoy a weekend, which was spectacular.


Saturday I got to go to a tea party. Let me elaborate. Zoey is the daughter of Liz and Nathan, two employees of the school here. She actually made invitations for tea time at two on Saturday, for tea and cookies. Have you ever seen the poster on the internet that says “No matter how tough you are, when a 3 year old hands you a toy phone, you answer it”? Yeah, same scenario. It doesn't matter who you are, when a little girl invites you to tea, you'd best plan to be there 5 minutes early. It was actually really fun because Zoey also invited a couple of the other teachers, and Angie and Steve's daughter Kaitlyn, and we all got to drink tea, eat cookies, and just hang out and have fun. It was definitely nice to just relax that way on Saturday. That and I'm always up for tea and cookies. But mostly cookies.


Sunday was yet another day of taking it easy and enjoying the relaxation of the weekend. One fun thing that we did was Breakfast for Dinner. Nathan and Liz invited a handful of us over for dinner, and we had waffles, pancakes, homemade maple syrup, skillet potatoes, and of course, Tang. It was delicious, and a nice mix up from my oatmeal and granola bar breakfasts. Again, I can't stress enough how great the teaching staff comradery is here. It's great that people want to get together after school and hang out, or do things like group dinners, or board games, or whatever. It definitely makes it a fun time. I'd have to say that if I was offered a job in the district this upcoming year, it'd need to be in Brevig, because I've be spoiled here. I'm sure the other schools also have warm and inviting teachers, but I've come to know this group, which has been a very fun experience.

Ice Fishing, Substitute Karma, and how Rock Band rekindled a love for old school Rock & Roll

This whole past week as been really cold! With the wind chill, it usually feels like -30 to even -40 degrees each day, usually being around -18 or so for the real temperature. Also, winds here are blowing at 30 mph, which, without trees and taller buildings, rips across the landscape with a great force. I hear it howling against the house and windows, and definitely have to fight it during my walks to the school each morning. I enjoy listening to the sound as I go to sleep.

Multiple nights this week, myself along with many of the other teachers got together for group nights of playing Rock Band, which was a whole lot of fun. We had guitars for bass and lead guitar, drums, a mike, and even a Yamaha keyboard for songs that offered that option. It was a pretty big setup and a huge success in my opinion. It was a whole lot of fun to play the different instruments (except singing, because if you know me, I don't sing in public), and we had a really fun time jamming out to a whole bunch of different songs. I totally didn't realize some songs and artists that I've known for years, but never really listened to. I grew up with a lot of my parents music, and so I'd not recognize a song until we played it, and it would all come back to me. I definitely have a few bands to look into for music when I have time now.

Side note, Eric Church's album "The Outsiders" came out, and I was able to download it here. Rocking my world once again, there is more than one favorite on there already. I love my Country music.

So Monday was an average school day, everyone was shaking off the weekend in order to gear up for a brand new week. However after school, Andy, the other intern, told me that one of his students, Rickie was taking him out for ice fishing, and that it was open for me to join as well. Naturally, I accepted. We set out from the school with a bunch of other guys, mostly some of my middle school students, to grab hooks and lines to fish with before heading out. I have to say, it's quite a thrill to know that you're standing on the frozen ocean, a couple hundred feet from the shoreline. We walked up to one of the first sites with holes dug into the ice, and were shown how to fish. Basically, you're holding a wooden plank, that has two 'V' shaped cuts out of the top and bottom of the board. The fishing line is wrapped lengthwise on the board, securing in the 'V' shaped hole. You unravel the line until it touches the ocean floor, then wrap 3 times to pick the hook off the bottom. Then you stand at your hole, teasing the line every so often in order to lure fish, and make sure that the hole doesn't harden up. I wasn't able to catch anything that day and had to leave because of the cold (I hadn't brought my bibs or baklava), but what an awesome experience! I haven't ever truly gone fishing, much less ice fishing! Some of the kids are actually really good at it, and can catch dozens of fish in one day. Even without casting my own line, it was definitely a great time watching each of the young boys pull up one of their catches from the ice below.

 Tuesday as I was getting ready for my day, I got a phone call from the school and it was Ginger. I learned that the Science and Shop teacher John L., wasn't feeling well that day, and needed a sub. I thought, 'Hey, why not!' This is what I'm here for, if anything else to be as helpful as possible in whatever situation presents itself. So I went in for the day and looked desperately for a sub folder or a lesson plan, or something. As it turns out, whenever John goes out (which as it turns out is not uncommon), the students use the class time to finish any of their readings or back work, or future assignments. So while students worked, some asked questions about home and about me, and I in turn asked some questions about them, so it was fun to actually meet and talk with some of the kids that I would normally not see too often during the day. One class I did actually teach, and we covered the different types of bone, bone marrow, as well as the 3 types of joints found in the human body. It was a lot of fun, especially because I'm still a Social Studies guy. The second half of the day, instead of Shop classes, I traded schedules with on of the aides, James (who knew all about the Shop classes), and got to work in some of his groups. It was also cool to be able to sit down with 3 boys I already interact with during the day, and help them read through a corrective reading activity, and then have them try to answer questions. Wednesday was almost an exact repeat of Tuesday, so I got to do almost the same thing all over again. Now I did have some difficulties here and there, but I expected that. I was in High School once too, and I remember full well the torture we put subs through. Switching seats, changing names, lying about how class time was used, etc. If anything that's the karma of education coming back to get me. All things considered, a great new experience for me to enjoy.

I'm also starting to see some development to my role here. The kids I'm working with, are making progress in some of their areas, and I'm starting to notice and give feedback too. Hopefully now we can continue to improve on a more academic note. Another thing is that it also helps that I'm getting tons of feedback from fellow teachers on ways that I can really improve my style of teaching, and different strategies that they have found to be effective up here. Some portion of the tactics and strategies that are praised down in the lower 48, hold no power up here, and so trying to fight and make them work will only result in wasted time and energy. Luckily, many of the teachers are there for my benefit when it comes to explaining things, and even providing some materials and books I can read through for help (I've got a lot of reading to do). The biggest thing now that I've settled into a rhythm and a schedule, is to try and take some larger steps with the kids that I'm working with. We know each other and see each other everyday, so now it's time to work on ways that they can get back into the grove, or continue and improve their academics. I'm definitely anxious to get started, and will probably need a lot more help as we go along. Exciting times ahead for sure!

Also, Andy and my COD finally came in, so we now have all of our food! My half (the much larger half) cost me a total of $170, but now my breakfasts and lunches are covered, as well as a couple dinners, so I did well for myself (although I certainly haven't been starving so far). I can't imagine what a COD for a full time teacher must look like. You have to budget and purchase enough food for the first half, or even the entire year, and it's all gotta be non-perishable or freezer friendly. Plus, shipping is close to $1 per pound, and there's the waiting period. Our food came in Thursday, but we ordered it January 26th. Fresh food is possible, but difficult. A lot of the teachers use companies that ship out of Washington, and the prices are expensive, but worth it if you can't live without good produce. Meats are also obtainable, even from some of the stores close by, like in Nome. Unless you decide to get your meat by other means. Bullets are still cheaper than beef, and much of the wildlife here is quite hospitable. Caribou, Moose, and Muskox are easy to find during their seasons (although recently Muskox have gone back under protection, so hunting them requires a special lottery sustenance ticket). Plus, if not by land than by sea, marine life of all kinds are found. Seals, Walrus, Whale, Salmon, and other fish can be caught and are edible. One type of food (that I may or may not try) is Ushuk (spelling?), which is fermented Walrus meat. It's done by burying the meat in the ground. If it passes the nose test, I might just try a bite! The land is also hospitable to many fresh berries in the summer months, but I'm not sure about growing crops during the short warm season. That being said, I think there is a great profit to be made for anyone who could build a greenhouse up here in the bush to grow and sell fresh fruits and veggies. That might just be my back-up plan.

After school on Friday was another Intern support meeting, and another great time to collaborate with some of the other teachers, get some feedback and advice, and some guidance where needed. This Friday, Ginger had a few points of interest that other teachers covered, in order to help us continue to do well during school. It was great to have some things explained in greater detail, and in a tangible way that I could really grasp. Some things were pretty much common sense: being into school on time, being flexible to pick up slack where needed, maintaining professionalism inside and outside of school, and filling our free time responsibly. Because of the community culture here, how we act outside of school is just as important, if not more important than anything we do inside of the school. Being a shut-in or a hermit just won't do. That being said, it's pretty easy to do. Lots of people tend to be out and about while the suns up, and you can almost always count on visitors at least 2-3 times a week. And frankly, its fun to hang out and interact outside of school. I definitely am enjoying all of it.

Friday night was another Girls basketball game at home, while the Boys set out for another village, and the little dribblers when to one of the closer villages, Wales. From what I heard, each of our teams did great this weekend and played great games. I again got to work on concessions, and had a fun time making and selling pizza, pretzels, chips, soda, and of course, slushies. It's a great way to see some of the kids in school, but not 'in school', and it's also another time to meet some of the other community members that I wouldn't normally see at any other time. It was a great way to end a full week.

I'm not quite homesick because of the wonderful time I'm having so far, but I will say that I can't wait to see everyone again, and share all of my stories! Love you all.

Sean

First Full Week

I don't intend to post for every single thing that happens to me, simply because it gets repetitive. However, new or different experiences will be blogged about.

So this past week was my first full week of school in Brevig. Pretty insane to think about! I've been gone from home for about 2 weeks now, and I gotta say, I'm a little homesick. It's great to call home and skype, but it will never compare to being with people (which is what I thrive off of). The best thing about Brevig is definitely the composition of faculty that we have. I'm able to hang out with a lot of people, sometimes together and sometimes separately, which is great news for someone who needs quality time. One other thing that I've noticed in my first week, is the warmth from the community as well. During the school day, things can get very challenging to handle. Some behavioral issues can be very difficult to deal with, and it's hard on all of us sometimes. At the same time, outside of the building everyone is very nice and friendly, even the kids that may have been difficult hours earlier, are totally different. They love to talk and come over the house to visit, and usually it's kind of hard to get them to leave after a while (which, if I'm going to have a problem, it might as well be too many visitors). It's quite strange to go from one extreme to another. For me, I've really had to adapt to this 'flip flop' mentality, where you wipe the record clean at the end of every school day. Oddly enough it's kinda giving me a different outlook on the grace and mercy we find in Christ, which even surprised me when I realized it. Ponder that for a bit. 

So my first week of school, was a continuation of getting into the groove of our schedules, learning more names, and getting through another week. Last week was a lot of time trying to brainstorm new things to do in order to deal with some behavior issues that we come across during the day. Half of the time, it's a true lack of applicability of content for some students; the other problems are more domestic. In New York I had somewhat of a difficult time at the end of my student teaching with a few kids that didn't see a point in education. Let's just say if I wasn't convinced they had a right to feel that way then, I'm even more so now. Yet another problem with the Common Core standards, is the very name. Who's opinion of 'common'? What groups have these assessments and standards been normed on? I guarantee it wasn't the Native Inupiaq populations of Northern Alaska. It wouldn't be unreasonable to suggest that some students are never going to need to know half of the common core's standards, and they know it. Many students plan on taking up trades, sustenance based living or crafts and utensils to sell. And those businesses are all good, and many of these kids will be successful, just as their parents have been. College is the dream of a few students. But instead of trudging through these standards, frustration can set in. One benefit I'm gaining from this experience is finding new ways to explain applicability and relevance in a lot of our content, which stands somewhat of a chance here, and should be most effective back home in NY.

During the week we had another chance to go out 4-wheeling, this time towards the neighboring village of Teller. What was truly exciting was that we drove over a lot of frozen lakes and ponds, on ice. Talk about an experience. We learned earlier that 18 inches of ice can hold a diesel truck, and 4-wheelers and snow machines travel across the ocean bay between the villages all of the time, so fresh water lakes and ponds have even thicker ice. It was a fun ride, but very cold because I forgot my gater and bibs. The entire ride I recalled the conversations I've had with all of my nursing major friends about frostbite and people losing the tips of their noses to the cold, and I was pretty upset with myself. We reached our destination and shut off the 4-wheelers to just sit and take in the beauty of the area. Tundra might be dry and open and desolate, but there's a beauty to it that isn't common anywhere in New York. We ran into trouble when one of the 4-wheelers wouldn't start anymore (the one I was riding), and so we had to tow it with the second one all the way back to the village. Another interesting and wonderful experience.

This past week we also had the school board, superintendent, and many of the district office personnel (including Ted and Jay) come to inspect the school and then hold a meeting in the gym. It was really interesting to see the proceedings of the meeting and even the politics throughout. There were a handful of proposals and comments made by board members and community members alike. The meeting lasted for a good 4-5 hours until 10:00 or so. The weather that night was so bad that they all had to stay at the school because the planes wouldn't land to take them back to Unalakleet, which made for an interesting night and following day. I also got to teach portions of one of the classes that I've been observing for a while, helping them learn their vocabulary words that they'd be using in their readings and quizzed on. I've learned that baby steps are key here, and that you can never take enough time on things. I invented a form of Battleship to play as a review game for the kids, and had very high hopes for it. It flopped, horribly. Even still, it was fun for me and I plan to use it in the future.

After school on Friday, we got together with some of the faculty and got to voice our questions and comments and concerns to our peers, and give/get some feedback on our thoughts thus far and our experience. It was great to get to ask a lot of different questions and hear some reflections from the people I've been working with so far. It's all to be expected as a brand new face and person to the school. Slowly, I'll learn how to work my way through the day and adapt to the different styles of the school. Later on Friday night was my first sporting event, a home girls basketball game against Shishmaref. I got to work concessions for the game, which involved cold drinks and candy for a large portion of the village. We sold a total of $418. Basketball is huge in each of these villages, and it's a deep seated part of the culture and social life here. It's second to no other sport of activity. We lost both games that were played Friday and Saturday, but it was still a lively and fun weekend for everyone.

This week, I've had more muskox, and also tried wild salmon and moose as well. The muskox tastes exactly like beef does, possibly a little bit tougher. I guess I was expecting more of a game taste like venison. Most Eskimos tend to not eat it, but will eat beef, and that leaves me confused. Maybe there's a larger contrast that I'm just not seeing. Now, I'm not a seafood person to begin with, and usually stop at Fish and Chips. But the Salmon was good and very tasty without been too overpowering. Later in the week, we had a dinner of Moose back straps, potatoes and onions with minced garlic, with broccoli that was cooked in olive oil and more garlic. It was fantastic. Moose also doesn't taste very gamey, which makes me think that venison might be the odd one out. It had it's own flavor, but also not unlike beef. It was good enough to take some for lunch today!

I miss everyone a ton, so keep in touch! I'm potentially free to skype or facetime depending on the day. Email works too, hardysean1@gmail.com.

If you're sending a package, please let me know the day you  ship it, so I can learn how long it takes to get here. It would be bad if packages were arriving here in April when I'm not here!!

Sean

4-wheeling, Games, and the (not so) Superbowl

My first Friday in Brevig Mission and even with only 2 days of work under my belt, I were happy to see the weekend. It's been a lot to take in over the past couple days, and getting acclimated is taking some time. During school, I joined one period of Dodgeball in the gym. Unlike some of the versions I played, this game starts with 5 balls in the middle, anything below the waist counts even if it hits the floor or wall first, and if you go out, you cross the gym to the other wall. In order to get back in, you have to catch a ball that a team mate throws across to you, and if you get a ball a different way, you can get players on the other team out. Talk about confusing! It made for a fantastic high paced game, which was nice to move around and actually work up a sweat; we played 6 games total, and I was wearing flannel and jeans.

After school we met in the teachers lounge for a surprise: food. We had 3 people stay in the village for a few days, teaching the kids about resume building and job interviewing, and they had to stay longer than expected because of poor flight conditions. They sent back with them a box full of different foods, so we as a staff took turns picking things to take home. I got a bag of grapes, an apple, and 6 bananas. If you know me, you probably know how much I love fruit, and being here in Brevig it's really hard to find fresh fruits; I was ecstatic. You resign yourself to the fact that if it doesn't have a shelf life of more than 7 days (before opening), then it usually isn't obtainable.

After school, Greg stopped by the house and offered to take Andy and I 4-wheeling along with one of the other teachers, Emily. It was an excellent opportunity to get out of the house and get out of town for a short time. One of the benefits to Brevig Mission is the freedom that we enjoy here. In other villages it isn't uncommon to find restrictions for leaving village limits, or going outside, or even using specific roads. Brevig is a lot different in that respect. We gassed up both ATVs and headed for the edge of town, just before dusk. It was a fantastic ride. One thing that really took me back, was the size of Alaskan mountains. The state itself is huge (roughly 2/3 of the entire country), but the mountains are just as big. The terrain is another fascinating part about where I am. Brevig Mission is situated around treeless tundra and mountains. Flat plains with small hills, mountains, small bushes and shrubs, and snow. As we were traveling out of town on a few of the trails, the town kept getting smaller, but the mountains were just as big and still very far away. I couldn't believe how huge they actually were. I saw a lot of great scenery while we were out, because of how flat and open it is, you can see for miles. We headed back before nightfall.

The rest of Friday night was spent at Steve and Angie's house, one of the teachers. They invited us over for dinner, and a board game. Like I've said previously, You can either be an outdoors person up here, or an indoors person. Sometimes it helps to be both. When being outside isn't an option, entertaining yourself is the only way to stay sane, and besides music and movies, games are another great alternative. We all evening and called it quits just short of midnight. Overall, and excellent day.

Saturday was and excellent slow day to relax and not do much of anything. I slept in until 9:00 which felt great, and then spent my afternoon video chatting with loved ones from home (p.s. if you consider yourself a loved one or want to skype/facetime, shoot me an e-mail or message to set something up). After that, I headed to the school for a pick-up game of tennis in the gym. I haven't played in forever, and the gym is too small to be a true to size court, but it felt good to get moving around and be active. Just like Friday, the evening was spent at one of our friends houses for dinner and a board game. Another great part about Saturdays is that I can stay out later, and not feel guilty. Church here doesn't start until 7:30 P.M. on Sunday.

Sunday morning I used the bananas that I had scored Friday to make banana bread muffins, to bring to the small superbowl party we were having. It was fun to bake in the kitchen again, and they turned out well. The party consisted of Andy and Scott, the teacher he is living with, myself, and Brooke and Emily, two other teachers. What a poor game this year was! Before I go on, understand this: I don't follow football regularly. I watched half of the Bills games this year, and kept up a little bit, but not much. Most superbowls are watched because of friends, food, and funny commercials. Every year, I arbitrarily pick one team to root for, for no statistical reason whatsoever. This year, I chose the Broncos. Even if I wasn't rooting for the Broncos, who (besides Seahawks fans and anyone who hates the Broncos) wants to watch a couple hours of one team completely decimating another, with no hope for recovery. The Broncos didn't show up to play, much less win. It wouldn't be an excellent game if it was a closer one. I digress.

Conversations and a movie took place after the game, and I wound up skipping church. Until then, I'll have to check out Pearce's podcasts for this week's sermon (which I planed to do anyways). I'm not opposed to a Lutheran service or anything, but if I don't like it or can't engage myself, then podcasts will be my only 'church' out here. Its not the preferred choice, but it might have to do.

This week brings the first full week of school for me, and a more steady rhythm to get into in terms of work and play. Hopefully our food from Anchorage will arrive soon enough, so that I can plan my meals more regularly. Till then!!

-Sean

Brevig Mission!

I haven't realized how far behind I am in my posts vs. real life! I'll make it quick to catch up.

Unalakleet is where the district offices are. It's where all teachers have to go at some point or another, for paperwork, or workshops, or in our case, both. We spent about 2 days there, getting to know each other better, in meetings with Jay and Ted, learning about what we should expect in terms of schools, procedures, availability of all sorts of things, culture, and anything else you could possibly think of. The meetings basically consisted of defining our jobs in certain respects, payroll, Alaska State certification requirements (should we be extended a job offer), and more official applications for the internship.

One thing that really sank in is the reality of a job offer at the end of this internship. I always tend to assume the opposite because of how common Social Studies teachers are, but it seems like there's room for each of us in the district somewhere, given that we can be taught new roles or content areas. It's definitely something for me to keep in the back of my mind. I plan on returning to Rochester in April, but I'm not sure I would be opposed to coming back here for a job in a year or two, depending on where I am in life. The benefits of being a teacher here are pretty sweet, in all respects. For example, rent is relative, and ultimately not terribly expensive. You could expect to pay at most (meaning not everyone does) $900. No car insurance or gas, unless you buy a snow machine or ATV. Food is expensive, but manageable if you do it right. I guess what I'm saying is that I recognize the sensibility and benefits to working as a full time teacher for BSSD, even if I want to go home first.

Anyways, Unalakleet might have been the last time all of us ever see each other again. There is talk that we will all come back at the end of the internship again in Unalakleet, to debrief, swap stories, and catch up. That is all contingent on whether or not our schedules will match up, flights and times, and availability's. I know I'll be looking forward to it if we're able to.

So, January 30th, Myself along with Andy, Eric, and Hannah, all geared up for our flight out of Unalakleet on the district plane. We had to wear all of our gear on the plane because of cold temperatures as a policy, so I was dressed in my boots, bibs, and coat the whole time. Small planes lack pressurized cabins and I definitely felt a good amount of pain in my ears from it. Still, a 55 minute flight wasn't much to complain about, even if the wind sometimes threw the plane left or right. It felt almost like a roller coaster, which is scary to think about now, but wasn't so bad during the flight. I might not speak for everyone when I say that.

We landed in Brevig with clear weather and met Greg, the Sped teacher for the school. Not only were we being picked up, but food was also being delivered to the school, so we unloaded the plane of that as well, and headed for the school. From then, we were introduced to many of the school teachers and staff members, countless students, and given a walking tour of the building. I was really taken aback by how friendly most of the kids are. They ask your name, and where you're from, and how old you are, and your family, etc., but they remember it too. I'm continually surprised at each of their memories. I struggle a lot with names, so trying to commit everyone's to memory is difficult for now. I at least have most of the faculty and staff taken care of. From that day we observed different classrooms and teachers, asked tons of questions, and tried to ride this culture shock for all that it was. It truly is a whole different world up here, like nothing I've ever experienced before.

That day, we each moved in to our respective homes. Andy lives with Scott, and I live with the Principal, Ginger. Ginger is also married to Brian, who is the pastor of the towns church, Brevig Lutheran Church. My home is literally the second floor of the church, so it's never hard to find the house. I luckily have my own room with my own space, which is really nice at the end of the day. My clothes go in drawers, my own bed and a door that shuts; a nice accommodation. It's a nice and comfortable home, and only a 2 minutes walk from school. I spend more time putting on my boots and coat in the morning than I do walking over to the school. An excellent advantage to living with the principal (but to be honest, no house is outside of a 5 minute walking distance.

Last night (same day) the teachers had Andy and I over for dinner, and introductions. It's a wonderful group of people that we'll be working with these next 2 months. Everyone is quite warm and friendly, and everyone really loves being here. We had Mexican for dinner with homemade tortilla wraps, which were fantastic. I also have now experienced my second taste of Alaskan food (kind of). The 'beef' part of dinner was actually made from Muskox (google a picture). It tasted just like taco beef does, so I'd definitely like to have it in a different form, to get the real taste of it. I might not have mentioned before, but I had Reindeer sausage for breakfast twice in Anchorage. It tasted less like Venison, and more like Kielbasa to be honest, but just like with the Muskox, I'm sure a different cut will yield different flavors. The rest of the night was spent talking with everyone and getting to know them better with small talk. We even played a game of Mafia, which definitely takes me back to Wednesday night youth group with my teens. I'm definitely missing each of them.

I'm really coming into this experience with open arms. I plan to try everything at least once, not only out of respect, but out of curiosity at my part. Eskimos have a thing called Eskimo ice cream, which is made out of berries, seal oil, and caribou fat, and while initially it sounds gross I'm definitely going to have a bit when I can. Other things on the menu (potentially) are Seal, Whale, Moose, Muskox, Wild Salmon, Caribou, and anything else we can get our hands on.

Day 1 of school was really a test to see if we can hit the ground running. School runs from 8:30-3:30, and I'm there each day from 8 or 8:30 to 4:00 at the earliest. It's a different time schedule, but not a bad one. It's certainly interesting. Today, I helped out and observed a handful of other classrooms, trying my best to get a feel for what the kids are like in the classroom, the challenges that they can bring, and the behavioral and academic differences between what I know from Rochester, and what I'm experiencing here. It really is a different place entirely. Kids stay out late, and going to bed on time is a real issue in the school. Last night, ATVs and snow machines were running around the roads well into the night last night, even after I went to bed at 11. Academics are also challenging because of our location. I think that everyone should be well versed in the same basic topics, but that's not so easily explained to some of the kids who don't plan on going to college or leaving town. And to be honest, not everything that you learn in school is life applicable for everyone. The idea is to introduce as many things as possible, to give kids viable career choice options. Still, not everything can be applied so readily to a trades or sustenance based lifestyle. Still, I had a wonderful first full day in the school, hanging out and talking with kids, helping teachers when I could, and observing and picking up on instructional and behavioral strategies that teachers use during their lessons.

At the end of the day, I had just enough time to check out the local shop before it closed at 5:00. I'll have to plan ahead to shop there when I need to, or save it for the weekend. I was exhausted enough so I came back home and have read today for a couple of hours. It's been nice and relaxing to just be silent and read. Some of the kids came by and visited me at the house, which was fun because I got to ask them some questions about themselves, and visa-versa. So far, no complaints on my end.

Some interesting things:
1.) The Bering Straight School District covers about the same area of land as Great Britain. Let the size of Alaska really sink in.
2.) Our neighboring village, Teller, is a 6 mile hike away. Because of the winter cold, the bay separating us is a few feet thick in ice, so it's not uncommon to walk across the frozen bay, or even ride ATVs and snow machines.
3.) Seeing the Northern Lights is a great possibility, so long as it's a clear, cold night. This year is the final year of the Sun's process of switching it's polarity (or something like that), which increases Solar Flare activity. Solar Flares react with the Earth's magnetic field, which causes the Northern Lights in the first place. I couldn't be here at a better time!

This blog is now up to date! I might end up posting each day, but as you can see, some days I'm tired or busy, so we'll play by ear. I also have a stable wifi connection, so feel free to send me an email or facebook message to either talk or set up skype!!