Title Change-Because Blogs Change Just Like Mt. Rushmore

Greetings Lifeforms!

I come raging back to you today from a riptide of crazy. I looked back to see the last time I actually posted for your reading pleasure, and I haven't actually said anything since I left the Polar North state of Alaska. I would love to tell you that I haven't posted because I've been too busy to type, but that would be a lie. Quite honestly, between a glitchy computer, a little job hopping, and some soul searching, my mind has been elsewhere.

Lucky for you, its back here for the moment ;) This blog is a little catching up, a lot of sarcasm, and a touch of genuine concern for worldly issues (which, like chilli powder, is painful and gritty in large quantities.)

http://www.google.com/search?q=chili+powder+funny&hl=en&safe=active&client=tablet-android-google&rlz=1Y3KTZR_enUS526US526&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=nxtDUe_mKMTc4AP_4oGwAQ&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAQ&biw=1280&bih=752#biv=i%7C10%3Bd%7COZuUhqq4ZlZg8M%3A

I left Tununak (read previous posts for more information on this place, but basically, envision a neighborhood of low income housing in an inner city, rip out the running water, and transplant that picture to a desert covered in snow) on May 17th and successfully navigated back to Ohio, completing a 10 month teaching assignment in rural Alaska. Toting two 50 lb suitcases (maybe one was 51lbs but one look at my face and no airline steward was going to squabble with me) and a wealth of knowledge and experience concerning a culture different than my own, I was floating on cloud 10 (obviously one step above cloud 9.) Let's not call it "running away." But I was definitely running TO Ohio. Between seeing people who loved me and being able to consume Chipotle on a regular basis, I finally understood the truth of prophet Dorthy, "there is no place like Ohio." (Home, Ohio, close enough.)

For two weeks, I ate, drank (water and kool-aid only of course) and was merry to the max. In Alaska I developed some strange digestive issues and I was able to mostly sort those out with the addition of fresh fruits and vegetables to my diet (new motto: fiber is a fierce friend and a ferocious enemy.) $17 watermelons were a thing of the past and the world seemed to be my oyster. Two weeks after I flew into Cleveland I had:
1) Replaced my own car battery-who needs a car dealership anyway?
2) Interviewed and been offered a job teaching 7th and 8th grade science at a Charter school in downtown Cincinnati
3) Eaten my own weight in food every single day
4) Shunned my Alaska phone for the Iphone 4-thus realizing my dream to have someone listen and respond to every word I say (thank you Siri!)
5) I'm sure I did a lot more than that, but I can't think of anything great right now and 5 is a rounder number than 4

Though life in Alaska was alright, life in Ohio was "the shiz."

I worked the same summer camp in July that I did the year prior. Here's a plug for Rosie's Girls Camp.... (my camp is in Cincinnati but it started in Vermont )

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=GtuW4bFoqhE

Young women in the world need more experiences like this one! I hope to partake in the camp once again this summer, but that's another story for another blog.

In August I began the process of starting all over in a new school district. I met tons of people, learned a whole new alphabet soup (why so many abbreviations, people? If I wrote this blog in abbreviations, my number of readers would surely decrease from 3 to 0- thanks for reading Mom and grandparents!) and set up my classroom. I was once more optimistic about the school year to come, recognizing that there would be challenges, but naive to their severity. Only after the first week of school in a Cincinnati urban setting did I begin to wonder what I had gotten myself into.

I will sum up my experience at that charter school in one paragraph here. At some point I'm sure I'll speak of it more, but I'm realizing that the less I speak of it, the more sane I am. So here's the digs....

A charter school is basically a public school that receives state funding but gets to manage it in their own way. It is not affiliated with the local school district so there is a certain lack of accountability. I knew the students would be a tough crowd (in the sense of low academics and a high need for progressive, individualized intervention) but I was unprepared for the administrative politics. By Thanksgiving break I was exhausted and at my wit's end. After trying to make the situation better in as many ways as I and my supportive colleagues, friends and family could think of, I resigned. To this day, I feel an incredible amount of guilt at leaving my students. I saw one a few weeks later, and though I expected a hateful cold shoulder, I was hugged so tight I thought my head might pop off my neck. The student's mother said to me "She misses you real bad." Needless to say, despite my insanity, I forged a bond with some of those students in the 5 months I was there, and hopefully planted a few seeds along the way.

When I resigned from the Charter school in December,  the only job prospect I had (besides putting my red and khaki wardrobe to good use at Target- next time you see someone wearing a red shirt and khakis ask them about their Target uniform- LOL!) was subbing on a day to day basis at area schools. Subbing might pay the bills (most of them- the important ones anyway, like iPhones and internet access) but it sure doesn't offer insurance and its not what I'd prefer to be doing. Somehow, through a lot of job hunting savy and a stroke of luck, I was interviewed and hired to take a long term sub position teaching high school physical science and chemistry for the rest of the school year, starting January 22nd. The district I now call home has all the paper you could ever want, mostly reliable internet access, and a majority of students who have parents riding their butts to do a decent job in school. As a previous colleague of mine said "You stepped out on good faith and were rewarded for it." Though I may not be here next year (I'm not really certified to teach chemistry OR physical science) I am appreciating the situation I am in and re-learning how to be a sane teacher once more.

So now that we're all caught up, let's talk about Mt. Rushmore. I saw a billboard that said "Vote Now! Obama or Bush as the next face on Mt. Rushmore."
I became instantly frightened, thinking about how uprooting it would be for me to picture 5 faces on Mt. Rushmore instead of the 4 I grew up staring at in the pictures of my history books (the only parts of those history books I actually saw- sorry fabulous history teachers of my past, it wasn't you, it was me!) I wondered in my head why it had come down to Obama and Bush, and wondered aloud to myself in the car, "how had I not heard of this before?!" After some intense internet investigation (they can't post it on the internet if its not true) I have discovered that many people have petitioned over the years to have other people's faces added to Mt. Rushmore. However, since it was a work of art and the artist is now deceased, it seems as though no face will be added until China demands our debt as a nation be paid by adding the faces of every person in Beijing to the Mt. However, I still claim the right to rename my blog, mostly because its outdated and won't cause national turmoil.

Now that I have written a book, I'll leave you with my new pump up jam.
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5wo7JiiC_A0
 Expect more words in this blog in the near future. Spread the word. Use secret signals, it'll make you feel more important.

Read on!

Windy with a chance of mooseballs

Let me just welcome myself back to the blog scene. This post will have to be short and sweet, but no worries, it should become more regular. At least bi-weekly ;) I'm in Tununak now, living the life of a village teacher. No, that is not a member of the Village People you've never heard of before.

I teach every subject under the sun, but alas, not much sun here. When it IS sunny, its quite gorgeous (see pictures below...)

That would be the sun on the coast! We don't see it often, but everyone comes out to play when we do :) 

That building with the red roof and the funny broken-down yellow suburban--> that's where I live. It's the old BIA school. I'm not entirely sure what BIA stands for, but from what I undersand, BIA schools were really terrible places to get an education. Lots of abuse and things of that nature that kids should never be exposed to. We, the teachers, have turned it into a luxurious (albeit mouse infested) habitude where we play darts and have family dinners.

Speaking of which, it's taco wednesday. It was supposed to be taco tuesday yesterday, but I tried to make sour cream (yes, we have to make our own sour cream if we want fake mexican american food in Alaska) and it didn't set as quickly as I had hoped. So we try again today! When all else fails, I'll be pulling out the ranch dressing.

Live long, people! So you can catch a read of this blog every now and then;) Toodles!

I was only supposed to stay for a week....

Apparently, this is what everyone says when they first come to Alaska. 

I was supposed to come for vacation. Spend a week hiking in Denali- the National Park and Preserve named for the highest peak in North America and established for some sheep...

Did I stutter? Yes, for the sheep.

But something funny happened. I don't know if its something in the air, or something in the water. Or perhaps its a thing far more magical and mystifying that I'll ever fathom. But this just in: A month after I returned to the lower 48, I shipped 15 flat rate boxes to Tununak, Alaska and I didn't look back. 

Tununak: pronounced "ta-new-nik" or "too-noo-knock" depending on whether your first language was English or Yupik respectively. It's here.....

That dot is actually really large. I won't even have to look up funny pictures to post anymore. The real ones are funny enough. Population: 327. Climate: Best descriptions say cold and windy, but Webster's Dictionary is pending approval of far more vicious words that encompass the entire month of February at which time, the village of Tununak becomes completely inaccessible by plane. 

The view, however, when its not snowing or raining too hard to see, is breathtaking.

I wish I had time to sit here and spin you the tale of how I got here and what I've been doing. Unfortunately, school starts on Tuesday and today is Friday. So, the following list will have to suffice:

Why: To teach! In a village school with 120 students K-12. 

Hired: 2 weeks before I had to be moved to rural Alaska

What: Teaching-high school writing, middle school general science, earth science, beginner's instrumental music, ecology, and physical education

When: 1 year contract, school starts Aug 16th and will go until May 16thish with a 2.5 week for winter vacation

How: It beats the heck out of me, but it took some financial donations from some kind parties, me quitting my summer job, and some serious tetris skills when packing boxes

Funnies: 

-spilling everything I own out of my backpack while sprinting through the Seattle airport

-taking the following route to get to Anchorage--> dayton-houston-seattle-anchorage...what?

-having priority mailed boxes take two weeks to arrive (containing things like soap and dishes)

-boiling spaghetti in a frying pan

-opening a can without a can opener (yes, you can use a butter knife. and yes, I do have all my fingers.)

-being referred to as a "gussuk" or "white person" (yes, I am a minority)

-getting a new phone number only to have all verizon customers tell you that your number is listed as a landline

-carrying 15 flat rate boxes into the post office and claiming with a look of pure innocence on your face "no, there are no items in this box on the 'no ship' list. (batteries, pressurized cans, etc.) 

-crawling into a plane considered "large" by all Bush Alaska standards (4 passengers)

-sitting through an entire inservice on "how to use your email"

-walking through the single aisle of your village store

-having no windows in your bedroom

-moving in with a roommate you hardly know, just to get a bedroom with a window

-realizing that your efforts at having light in your bedroom will soon be futile because it will be dark almost all day and night starting in the late fall

-leaving work at 6:45 pm on a friday, just so you can go home, grab your tennies, and come back to play basketball with the classified staff

I'm sorry folks, but that will have to do for now. I have to run home, change my clothes, and use my flush toilet (currently, no toilets at school, only "honey buckets" because the sewage system is all messed up.) Then its back to school for some hoops. 

But no worries. There is more to come for sure! 

And no, I haven't seen a bear.

Keeping the Faith

It feels like a lifetime ago that I started this blog. Yes, I realize it was less than 6 months ago, but my life is so drastically different than it was then- its as if you have moved from the Aaa-Aso book of the encyclopedia to the Asp-Bel book. However drastically different my life has become, I do intend to honor my commitment to sharing my Alaskan experience. If for no other reason that this....

Yes people. I TOOK that picture. Hanging out a bus window no less. I found out that its actually impossible to take a bad picture in Alaska. Every picture you take makes you look like a professional. Of the hundreds of pictures I took, I only deleted a handful, and only because I either 1: had duplicates, or 2:    the picture was blurry because I was running from a bear.

So there you have it, folks. I'm not admitting defeat in the cyber world yet. I simply beg for patience. 

No words

I have never, in all my years (all 22, I know, roll you eyes...no one asked for your opinion) seen anything like the view I had when we flew into Anchorage this evening. 9pm Alaska time, 1am my time - I am WIDE awake. But let me back up....

It all started this morning, as I tried to finish my packing. Surprisingly (or maybe not) I was unable to get much sleep last night. I was tippity tap typing job applications until 1:30 ish and then I tried to snooze a little, only to feel some tightness in my back from the silly futon mattress I insisted on sleeping on. 

So I got up, wayyyyy before my alarm. Turns out, this was a very good thing. Even with my butt completely in order, I struggled to be ready to go at 10:45. I was frantically stuffing tootsie pops and mints into my overstuffed backpack. It kinda looks like a happy face guy! (the zipper is like an open mouth...squint. you'll see it.) 

-Ok, so after 30 minutes of trying to get these pictures in here, I have failed. And i'm not sure what the deal is, but I'm so tired I should probably just quit. Here's what I really wanted to tell you.

As we flew in to Anchorage, the mountains were poking through the clouds. And then they were below the clouds. And they kept getting bigger, and bigger. And then we could see houses and tiny tiny cars. It looked like a model city. With lots of grass and trees, and bits of "civilization." But as the mountains got bigger and bigger, the other things on the ground seemed to stay the same size! No joke, until the wheels of the plane touched down on the runway, I didn't understand the full scope and size of those mountains in relation to everything else. I swear to you all, my mouth was agape for the entire descent and most of the unloading of the plane.

And I'm still snapping pictures.

Off to bed with me for now. PS: we had to shut the curtains- its still light outside, even though its 11pm Alaska time. Crazy!

A plug for Karmin

I sit here before you all now. Ready and waiting to face the polar north of Alaska! Tomorrow, I board a plane that will take me all the way to Chicago! Then we have to walk.

Just kidding :) Actually, we are flying to Chicago, which is a rather short flight. And then we get the pleasure of airport people watching (an actual sport I think) until a few hours later, when we fly from Chicago to Anchorage. I hope that one of our planes looks like this. It will be very reassuring to me.

"Now boarding! The tricky traveller. Learn to love it." I think I should be a flight attendant actually. "Buckle up, folks. Don't know how? Get off this plane. If we crash, I only want smart resourceful people on board!" 

If you can't read the bottom of this picture it says "Remove the window, then just stand there and think about what you've done." 

LOL!

Photo documentation will of course be provided. I'm not sure if I'll have internet access, but I'll definitely keep some notes and have things to upload when we return. My prediction is that we will see something like this when we get off the plane...

I just googled, actually, and learned that it's been in the high 60's during the day and low 40's at night at our future destinations. I suppose that means that my only issue will be the nights, when all I've packed for pj's is shorts and t-shirts. I'm one of those restless sleeper types, so loose fitting clothing is imperative, especially when I'm not in my native habitat. 

But, I have historically kept a cool house (like, windows open in the winter. my friends know to wear long sleeves and pants when they come to visit.) so maybe I'll be okay! If not, I'll have to go cuddle a bear. 

Hahahahahaha

Actually, I do have a bear, and he's ready to go to Alaska too! Shhhhh, don't tell him we didn't get him a ticket....

Alright everyone! The kindle is updated. The playlist is made (and FULL of Karmin. Don't know who they are? Learn. Now. iTunes. Go). Now I just have to figure out how to smuggle my pantene shampoo AND my facewash into my luggage. I think airlines are secretly supporting a society in which no one showers. Ever.

Wish me luck!

"I'm having hot flashes." No, I didn't hear this out of a 60 yr old menopausal woman. I heard it out of a 13 year old camper. I'm currently volunteering at a camp for middle school girls with a science and math focus. And let me just tell you, it is very true that kids say the darndest things. Are you kidding me. Hot flashes?

 

Really though, it was actually very hot today. So hot that in my travels, I noticed that the highway was a tire wasteland. Apparently if you've had your tires long enough and its 98 degrees, you might have a tire explosion issue. 

I for one, was a popsicle. Melting away. I started sweating when I got out of the shower and I'm still sweating. My favorite part of the whole sweating experience today was after I had applied sunscreen to my face. As sweat dripped down my forehead, it collected every chemical that is never supposed to be in your body and deposited them in my eyes. 

I was all like "ahhhhhhhhhh"

Then my supervisor offered me an extra pair of sunglasses. Uhhhh, scuse me. That is not really my issue right now. My poor eyes! In the past week, they've been poked, prodded, dusted, and now chemicaled. 

I already wear glasses for pete's sake. I'm gonna have to replace these eyes with glass ones soon enough. But not before Alaska! I want to see it with my own eyes. 

I'd write more, but I have some crazy intense training in the morning. Suffice it to say, I need to continue doing push-ups and sprints to prepare for the bears. And pack. Packing might end up being a bigger beast than anything else. How does one fit a whole week worth of clothes and other supplies in a fanny pack?