Going Postal

My Alaskan certificate finally made it to me! 

When you live in rural Alaska, you have to adjust to the inconsistency in the postal system. Mail only comes to villages a few times a week and that is dependent on weather and room on the planes. It takes some getting used to it, but you just have to accept that no matter what the estimated delivery date is, your packages will most likely arrive a week or so later. Sometimes larger packages take even longer, but eventually all of your mail will get to you; unless you live in Nondalton that is. 

Over the past month or two, an odd thing has been happening and I am just baffled by it. Apparently when people attempt to mail things to my address, the postal system confuses Nondalton, Alaska for North Pole, Alaska.. My dad first encountered this issue when he tried to send a package and was told that he had the wrong address. He texted me for confirmation and then had to go as far as pulling up my school’s website to prove to the woman at the post office that he had the correct address. She adamantly told him that my package would not get to me, but he sent it anyway. Two weeks later, my mom had the exact same problem at a different post office! Similarly to my dad, she knew she was correct and sent her package to me. Seemingly without issues, I received both packages about a week after they were sent. 

Mail days are fun:)  (Thanks Rachael!)

My next run-in with this issue was when I placed an order with Target in early March. After three weeks of waiting, I got an email saying my shipment saying my items had been delivered; to an address in Indiana… I was getting ready to call customer service when I got an email saying that I would be getting a refund for my items. The end of the email stated that if I didn’t initiate the return that it meant they weren’t able to deliver my package. The confusing part about this is that I have had things shipped from Target to Nondalton a few times in the past without any issues at all. It just doesn’t make sense to me because clearly there is something going on when my address gets input into the post office database. Yet none of my packages went to North Pole, so that doesn’t make sense either. 

Another teacher at the school wasn’t quite as lucky and a package that her husband sent her, from Alaska, actually went to North Pole and back twice before finally making it to her in Nondalton! In her search to find her package and figure out why this was happening, she spoke with different people in the postal system who had no answers as to why this was occurring. Even after she explained that this had happened to packages sent from NJ and PA, they blamed faulty addresses. No amount of explaining that she knows her address could convince them otherwise. For now, the problem remains a mystery and I play an annoying game of Russian Roullete in ordering online and asking for packages to be sent from back home. Oh how the quirks of living in the bush certainly keep things interesting! 

Academics and Athletics Anonymous

It was a snowy week!

The past few weeks have been busy here in Alaska! This is the first year that schools in the state have switched to the Alaska Measures of Progess (AMP) test which is computer based. This whole school year has been spent preparing for the transition but like any standardized test, the weeks leading up were crunch time. Not only were we preparing for that, but in the middle of our allotted testing window, many of our students and teachers were gearing up to travel to Naknek for the annual Academic and Athletic (AA) Meet (side note- not the best name to give to an event for teenage students who all understand what AA typically refers to). Again, a switch-up for the district because the AA Meet is normally held in Newhalen, but this year it took place at a school that we partner up with often. The two weeks in which these both occurred were quite the whirlwind! 

Blood Spatter Analysis 

Cold Water Survival Training 

After the first week of testing, with the knowledge that I had successfully proctored my first standardized test behind me, I was eager to head to Naknek! From the time I arrived in Alaska I had heard about the AA Meet and I knew that I wanted to be a part of it. While it meant spending four nights sleeping on the floor of a school, I was willing to pay the price! To make a long explanation short, the AA Meet is designed for any eligible middle and high-school students to come together and spend a week taking part in different classes/activities. This year’s classes ranged from geocaching and compass orienteering to launching bottle rockets and learning crime scene analysis techniques, and more. As a chaperone, I was able to sit in on all of the different classes and learn alongside the students. The sessions were led by visiting students and professors from the University of Alaska as well as LPSD teachers; the mixture of experience levels and variation in subject matter made for a great week. 

One of the NYO games

While our days were quite busy, our nights were equally jam-packed with events. Nightly activities included a science fair, a talent show, and competitions for the Native Youth Olympics (NYO). The NYO events were both exciting and impressive to watch. I’ve spent the past few days trying to figure out the best way to explain the activities that are apart of NYO but it is a difficult feat. Students have been trying to explain the activities to me since August, yet I still wasn’t able to form a clear picture until I saw them in person. The games are meant to represent different historical native traditions and events; for example, two events signify jumping from icebergs. A few of the events are the “Seal Hop”, “Indian Stick Pull”, “Eskimo Stick Pull”, and “Wrist Carry”. One of the activities requires students to hang from a pole by one wrist while two people carry the pole as far as the hanging person can hold on; one student hung on for an entire lap around the gym! Another includes students fighting for control of a small wooden stick/pole. The hard part about that one is that the stick has been greased with Crisco! Hence the difficulty to explain the competitions to people who have not seen it or who have not experienced native culture*. Several of our students received scores that deemed them eligible to travel to the state NYO competition in Anchorage this week! 

As fun as it was to watch the NYO games, I think the most exciting night of the week for everyone was the prom. The middle school students traveled home a day earlier than the high-schoolers so that the older students could have a fun-filled night to dress up and dance. While most students in the bush wear the same clothes for days on end, this was a night for fancy dresses and dress pants. Boys and girls alike were anxious as they got ready for the big dance. The student government hosts prom and they did an amazing job of decorating the gym to make the night even more special. Pictures were taken, roses were given, slow dances were plentiful, and fun was had by all who attended. Then, in true bush fashion, the students came together to help tear down and clean up the gym afterwards. It was a long end to a hectic week, but everyone contributed and it was a great time. 

Recovering at the beach in Newhalen

Once prom was over, everyone was ready to get home to their respective villages. It had been a busy and tiring week for both students and teachers and I think I can speak for everyone when I say we all desperately wanted a long shower (Naknek= sulfur water=gross tasting and smelling= dehydration and quick showers) and then to sleep in real beds. Friday morning was spent waiting on flights and hoping that the random snowy week we had would not keep planes from making it to our villages. Luckily planes to the north were not affected  and when my group got to the runway, there was an open space on a plane headed to Newhalen so I took advantage and hopped on. When I got on the plane I had to laugh because you simply cannot do something like that anywhere but here in the bush.

As I write this, it has been a week since I’ve returned from the AA Meet and I think I am just finally recovering from the lack of sleep and general exhaustion caused from a week’s worth of being with middle and high schoolers during every waking and non-waking minute. Once again I am feeling thankful for each chance that I get to bond with the district’s students and travel throughout this beautiful state. The adventure just keeps getting better with each passing day! 

*I wish I could describe the NYO games better, but since I am unable to, I have included some links for those interested in learning more:

http://www.anchorage.net/articles/nyo-games-alaska

http://www.adn.com/node/1614746
https://youtu.be/0HY6LCaIhi4

What's It Worth?

Yesterday after school, one of the local women brought in some of her latest beadwork. Among other things, she makes beautiful earrings that I have a hard time resisting. I had bought a pair from her in the past, and yesterday another pair caught my eye. I checked my wallet to make sure I had some cash, which is something I rarely use out in the village, and I was in luck. I happily paid the asking price of $15 and had myself a new pair of earrings. As I was admiring my new purchase, the woman who made them said something that I can’t stop thinking about.

As she was leaving, she thanked me for buying the earrings because it meant that she would be able to go to the store and buy some things. The $15 that I so easily gave away would help provide food for this woman and her family. My family is by no means rich, but growing up I knew that I would always have three things; a roof over my head, food on the table, and my family. I never once had to question or worry about where my next meal would come from, and for that I am thankful. However, so many families out here live with that burden. Many days, I know that the only meal my students will eat is the lunch that is provided for them at school. I see the look of hunger in their eyes both in the morning and in the afternoon, and it breaks my heart. Most of the teachers in my school keep snacks in their rooms for the students, and I think this is something our students look forward to on the days following rough nights. 

There are so many times where someone out here says or does something that just helps put life into perspective, and this was just another one of those times. Fifteen dollars bought me a new pair of earrings yesterday; it also helped put food on the table for a family. I know that I cannot take in all of these children and feed them dinner, nor can I provided them with other things that they need. As an outsider, there is a fine line that I must balance so as to not offend or anger the people in the village. However, what I can do is keep snacks stocked up in my classroom and it's the least I can do to make sure I always have some jewelry money on hand.