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
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