back pedalling

Things have been happening here in Nome and I haven't been blogging. This is normally where a bloggerista like myself might make some promises of doing better in the future. I make no such promises. However, I will post some pics and a bit of a story line.

Duck Race!

Mark, Me, Katie
Mark looks thrilled. It was cold and rainy and windy and cold.

A Bloody Alaskan (Mary w/ salmon infused vodka) to warm me up.

The ducks were going the wrong way--tide going out and wind helping.

Fall has fallen upon Nome.

Fall colors on the trail next to our house.

Loud foul in Icy View

Very loud. All I wanted was a photo.

There were other things. Eating, sunsets, students, Teller time, etc. That'll have to wait.

day 31

Only one of these happenings is from today--day 31. (disclaimer) And that is the following:

View from my window at 10:49am this morning. Normally I can see the new hospital off to the left and some other buildings directly ahead.

Last night I met Katie, Opik, Kevin, Nathan, and April at Airport Pizza to see Coho and the Flannel Mongers play. Fun times. Here they are:

The band and our group.

I was in Teller last week getting to know students and staff. I had a great time learning about the students' interests and goals. Susette, my principal is awesome and fed me every night. Susette and the teachers love the NACTEC program and are more than willing to help kids get involved. The entire junior high population will be descending (literally) here Tuesday.
Despite being woken up several times during the night due to people (kids? adults? drunk? excited?) driving by on 4-wheelers starting about 2 and stopping about 4, I was still able to enjoy this beautiful sunrise.







Other views around Teller:






I've been doing a lot of reading as there is not very much going on around these parts. I read The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson and I'm currently reading the second in the series: The Girl Who Played with Fire. Good stuff. While waiting for Susan to finish this book, I read Welcome to the Departure Lounge: Adventures in Mothering Mother by Meg Federico--a funny, yet sad book, and Sometimes We're Always Real Same-same by Maddox Roesch--about a couple teens and their families in Unalakleet, AK. I read Brides of Eden by Linda Crew--historical fiction about a religious cult in western OR. I've started doing the ABC thing I did in Beloit. Read a book by an author with last name starting with A, then B, blah blah Z. I allow myself a book in between, sometimes 2 if one is about AK. I'm done with C (Crew) and after Larsson 2, I'm going to read In This Way I Was Saved by Brian Deleeuw. I'm not much for reading about books I'm going to read so I have no idea what it's going to be about but there are black shoes with red smoking coming out of them on the cover. And by the cover alone, I think it'll be good.

day 29

Today is the last school day before students arrive! VERY excited. I spent 3 days in Teller getting to know students and staff and thoroughly enjoyed myself. I think I'm going to love working with this population. I'm not saying it won't be challenging, but I can see many rewards as well.

getting darker

From the Nome Nugget for last week:
Sunrise 8/16: 7:03am
Sunrise 8/25: 7:25am

Sunset 8/16: 11:05pm
Sunset 8/25: 10:39pm

By next week it'll be dark when I go to bed AND when I get up.

cracking up

I have to share this excerpt from Bill Bryson's book, I'm a Stranger Here Myself, about his lack of luck with air travel.
"I always have catastrophes when I travel. Once on an airplane, I leaned over to tie a shoelace just at the moment the person in the seat ahead of me threw his seat into full recline, and I found myself pinned helplessly in the crash position. It was only by clawing the leg of the man sitting next to me that I manged to get myself freed."
He is not a small man and picturing this makes me laugh. He then goes on to tell of a time when he spilt his drink on the woman next to him and the attendant cleaned her up and brought him a replacement drink--which he then spilt on her.
Funny.

days 12-17, or something like that

I want to be all bloggy-blog-a-day but then I start reading or interneting and then it all goes out the window.

Soooo, let's see. Last week we had NACTEC training and I learned lots. Super excited to get the kids in here and teach them a thing or two! My focus in on life skills with some career skills thrown in.
Some things happened last weekend that I failed to put up pictures of. Here they are:

Mark and I drove up to see this--White Alice communication system. For more info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Alice_Communications_System

This is what Nome looks like from White Alice on a regular day.

It was quite windy.

Rumor has it they might be tearing it down.

There's a muskox herd in town right now. Here they are by the new hospital. (Two days after they were across the main road from by my house.)

My awesome boots arrived in the mail.

Good up to -100 supposedly.

AND--I snipped a couple starts from a plant at school. The air feels cleaner already.

Back to the week in question:
Thursday night we had a cookout at Nathan and Aprille's house out past Dexter. Nathan and Aprille both work for BSSD and are housed in our office. Beard and I live in their old house.

Carl and Aprille

Doug (NACTEC director) and Adrian who is moving to Diomede

Katie in the "hot tub"

Katie and Aprille by the river

Nathan and Aprille's house and greenhouse

Saturday Katie and I picked some berries and then Mark and I met her, Nathan and Aprille at Airport Pizza for the 5th annual Singer/Songwriter night. Donations go to the Nome Children's Home. We met a woman named Opik who is originally from Diomede and who invited us for a traditional dinner Tuesday night. Mark and I stayed out later than we thought.

Sunday Mark and I took a drive to Teller. I'll be counseling there 5-6 times this year for a week at a time. We visited Thomas who I met at Welcome Wagon and we also hung out with in Unalakleet for new teacher training. I think I'll be working with a fair deal as he teaches HS math. Teller is tiny--about 200 people I think.

King Island--In the 60s (I think) the residents of this island were moved off and relocated to Nome where they lived on the east side. Here they are still knows as the King Island Community.

Lights on for safety.

Kids in Teller

Me waving to my Brevig brethren

Brevig from Teller

Thomas and Mark in front of Thomas' apt house.

Teller Post Office

Graffiti on the side of the water tower/tank. Thomas said the water level had been low recently and equipment had to be brought in. In his apt there is running water but it is salt water. He gets his drinking water from the school and showers there as well. I, too, will soon be a school showerer when I visit Teller.

James C. Isabell school.

My office while I'm there.

The side of the community building shows the history of Teller.

View off the main drag.

Teller from the airport

zoomed. off to the right is the spit. brevig mission has a spit as well and if one wanted to, one could probably swim between the two. however, the town of brevig mission proper is located about 7 miles to the left of the spit.

The airport where I'll be flying in and awaiting transportation into town.