It's Official!

Monday morning we got our contracts. I signed mine and submitted it that day, so it's official, I'm returning next year! I'm very happy about that.

On my way to Dillingham. That little tri-pod is the closest thing to a road sign for thirty miles.

Returning to the village in the dense fog.


On Tuesday, I had to go to the dentist in Dillingham. Since everyone else was working, I went alone. It was my first sixty mile solo journey by snowmobile. I had two big scares.

Scare #1: Crossing the river because it was early and the tide was coming in, so water was gushing through the deep cracks along the banks of the river. After I crossed I had to stop to get my heart rate under control and call the school secretary on the radio, because she was more nervous about me going than I was.

Scare #2: Returning home, because visability was zero. Normally, the mountains can be used as really good guide, but they can't be used if they don't exist.

Essentials:

VHF Radio - The whole village stays on channel 68, great for communication, even better for emergencies.
GPS - I would never, ever travel alone, without a GPS and extra batteries. Never.
Go-bag - Filled with tools, matches, a compass, map, food and some extra clothing. Because you just never know howl long you'll actually be out. I think I learned this the hard way once.

When Luck Runs Out

I've caught trout in the summer and they put up a mighty fight. In the cold winter water however, they hardly fight at all, you just pull them right out by the line, no reeling necessary. Stunning colors, aren't they?

Our ice fishing spot on First Lake

Saturday morning a few of us headed out to the First Lake where we had planned to ice fish. Just after we had set out, Jeff motioned for us to stop and before I knew what had happened, he was holding up two dead ptarmigan with a proud smile plastered across his face. After a minute of gloating and laughing, we continued across the frozen rivers, tundra and narrow, wooded trails eventually bringing us to our destination. Immediately upon arrival, the augors were out and five holes were drilled into the ice. I was given a tiny wooden sick for fishing (Yup'ik fishing pole), that was no longer than 12 inches. I was instructed to slowly pull the line up and let it fall back down and repeat the process. About an hour in, just as I was getting antsy and hungry, I felt the first bite. As I jumped around in all my glory, Kirk helped me haul out my first Dolly Varden trout. I quickly unhooked the barb from the fish and dropped my line back into the hole. Almost immediately I felt another tug at my line and I pulled out an even bigger Dolly Varden! I was overwhelmed with excitement and hardly knew what to do with myself. Andy pulled out the third fish of the day, and I caught the final one. I had incredible luck fishing.

After such fantastic fortune, I didn't expect my luck to run out, but sure enough it did, about two miles from home. With a foot of fresh snow, we chose to take the more fun and beautiful valley trail home. This trail brings us between mountains and trees, over a bumpy and uneven path. Before I had time to anticipate it, I had hit a sideways dip in the trail. My snowmobile flipped and I flew off into the bushes. Luckily, Andy was behind me and after almost a half hour of pushing, pulling sweating and countdowns, the two of us were able to get the snowmobile back up onto its skis. Having shaken off my momentary fright, I got back onto the snowmobile. I turned the key, but the engine wasn't making a sound and the pull start was locked. Recognizing momentary defeat, both of us climbed onto Andy's machine to get Jeff who we met on his way back to find us. By the time we got to my snowmobile it was dark, we'd all been outside for almost ten hours, and the snowmobile problem couldn't be solved in its current location, so Jeff towed me home.

We finally made it back safe n' sound. Brian and I filleted the fish, Jeff seasoned them to perfection, Andy made scalloped potatoes and the four of us sat down to a fantastic fish dinner while we regaled the excitement of the day.

Removing the hook, Kirk is holding the little Yup'ik fishing pole I was using.

Andy finds his perfect spot for fishing.

Jeff marinated the ptarmigan meat in milk for about twenty hours, (to remove the gamy taste), wrapped them in bacon, added some season and grilled them. We had them Sunday night for dinner. It was some of the best meat I've ever tasted.

I woke up on Sunday morning to hear the sounds of tinkering outside. Sure enough, they were back to fix my snowmobile. As it turns out the starter was in shambles, so now I have to pull start the engine, like a lawn mower until we get the part necessary. I learned all sorts of new things though, I can even take the belt off now! Anyway, I know enough to know how lucky I am, I've got some very good friends here.

School

A few weeks ago, Representatives from Togiak National Wildlife Refuge, came in to my class to talk to us about an art and literature calendar competition to which kids can submit writing and art representing the refuge. It worked out perfectly since, during science my students have been studying migratory birds. They don't technically get art in school, but they get it now!

I gave her some oil pastels, showed her how to blend, and she was off. It's even more amazing now that it's finally finished. Love it!

The kids all complained when I made them start using only construction paper to begin, because cut paper requires really different thinking and it's hard. Anyway, their complaints were worth it. His colors and technique remind me a lot of Edward Munch's Scream

This kid has shown a huge transformation this year. I love that about teaching. You are able to see kids evolve as little people. He loves art by the way, and is obviously very talented. I absolutely love the trees and their colors. I am amazed at the depth he is able to convey. He said it's the view behind his house.

She made a little bird nursery. So much going on, so fantastic. She also did some really great writing about the Yellow Warbler to go along with this.

I really like my job. Some people say teaching is a thankless job, but I couldn't disagree more. I have never felt that my efforts have gone unnoticed, especially not by the kids, who, no matter where I've gone are always the most candidly complementary people a person could encounter. Last night a friend here told me that next year, he has to do something that involves less emotion. After teaching, I don't think I could ever do one of those jobs.

The Usual

My friend Koz says she's tired of hearing about guns and the cold. Maybe she should follow a Hawaiian blog, where people stay warm naturally and have their animals handed to them on a silver platter with a fruity alcoholic beverage. This one's for you Kozzy!

My neighbor and I went ptarmigan hunting. Ptarmigan is one of the few animals in season currently. They look and act similar to grouse. During the winter their feathers are white and in spring and summer they moult into shades of brown. They are like grouse (partridge) in size and shape as well as spend most of their time on the ground. They are easy to hunt because they are not very smart. I've heard that the best way to cook them is to marinate them in milk which is supposed to pull some of the gamy taste from them.

One of my students told me that all she did this weekend was pluck ptarmigan feathers. Her dad brought home four of them. This sounds strange (anywhere else it would be), but she also brought two of the ptarmigan feet to show me. As an arctic bird their little feet are covered in super thick white fur, almost like a rabbit. I was amazed, though I think most teachers were not interested, for obvious (unsanitary) reasons. I put the little feet into a sealed plastic bag and discreetly told her it might be best to keep them contained in her backpack for the rest of the day. She agreed.

Surprise! Temperatures are arctic again. We're back to steady -20 degree temperatures.

Saturday afternoon Kirsten and I hiked several miles across the tundra following a snowmobile trail. We were moving at a nice pace until we started breaking through the snow and ended up having to crawl/walk almost 1/2 mile to avoid breaking through three feet of snow with every step. Our legs were close to frostbitten by the end, even with several layers of clothing. At dusk, we finally made it to a harder packed trail that took us home. Those situations are really good reminders of the dangers that exist in this climate. When I first moved here, I remember someone telling me, "Mother Nature doesn't discriminate against whose ass to kick." Luckily that was just a gentle shove. A sobering one though.

Light!

It's finally getting (noticeably) lighter earlier and staying lighter later. We're getting nearly five minutes more light each day. Just a few weeks ago we had only about three hours of daylight, which was really only a dim glow along the horizon. I think all the darkness finally caught up with me. The last few weeks, I noticed that I was exhausted, a lot. I never felt fully rested despite getting a full eight hours of sleep, exercising and upping my intake of coffee every morning. For a while I thought my iron might be low, but luckily, as our daylight increases so has my natural energy level. It's amazing how much our bodies depend on light and dark to regulate our circadian rhythms. This will be good for a while, until March, when it's still light at 10pm. That's even weirder, but at least I'll be exploding with energy.