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| My flight to Anchorage |
I’ve been told by many veteran bush teachers that February is one of the most difficult months to live in Alaska. Why? It’s cold, it’s the middle of the school year, and everyone is still getting back in the swing of things after winter break. Mainly though, it’s because people have been cooped up due to the lack of daylight, and everyone is capable of snapping when the wrong word is said. If you don’t believe me, come on in and say good morning to any one of our secondary students and their responses will be all the proof you need. Luckily for me, I got to hop on a plane and head to Anchorage for ten days at the beginning of the month.
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| Not a bad way to start the morning! |
The first few hours out of the village are an overload to the senses, so I was happy to just be able to go to lunch with a friend and take in the city. I got spoiled my first few days in town because I stayed at Kitza’s (my former principal) house in Palmer which is far removed from the city feel of Anchorage. Also, she and her husband, Michael, treat me like one of their own so I got a fresh latte every morning without needing to leave the house! Then, with keys to one of their cars in my hand, I was able to spend two days shopping and running some errands. I even got to go to a “big” school to visit another friend’s classroom and to have lunch with her daughter who is one of my favorite little ladies.
Unfortunately, the trip to town wasn’t just for getting pampered and visiting with friends. A few days after I got into Anchorage, I was scheduled to have a cyst removed from my foot. I’ve been having issues with my foot for almost a year now and my physical activities have been limited. In November I went from running six days a week to being put in a walking boot and told by my doctor to stop cold turkey. Not being able to run definitely doesn’t help shake off the February cabin fever, so I was ready to get this
surgery over with. However, I was a bit nervous as this was the first time I’d gotten surgery that my Dad wasn’t with me for, and he was also 4,300 miles away. Thankfully all went well and I was in great hands before, during, and after surgery. With any luck I will be up and running in just a few more weeks!
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| I'm told there is a race to the top of the pointy peak of this mountain! |
When Miss Kitza cleared me to be released from her care, she took me back into Anchorage where I met up with two other special education teachers from my district. The second portion of my trip was to attend the Alaska Statewide Special Education Conference (ASSEC), but the ladies and I wanted a few days in Anchorage beforehand. Knowing that I’d be up and moving during the week, I lounged my weekend away while resting my foot, and was once again cared for by these two great friends. By Monday morning I felt ready to start moving around more and being more productive than I’d been all weekend.
The ASSEC conference lasted three days and it was information overload in the best way. There were so many sessions that were useful for first year special ed. teachers that it was hard to choose which ones to visit. I am so glad that we were given the opportunity to attend, and I brought back a few tips to try out in my classroom. It was also nice to catch up with the other teachers from my district who were there, and to meet one of our newest teachers who was hired in January. I think the girl time might have been the reason this part of the trip was as entertaining and as fun as it was.
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| Pulling these ladies along the ice during our honda struggles |
However, as if it was a dream, my time in Anchorage quickly came to an end and before I knew it, it was time to get back home. I was only home for one night before my friend Caitlin and I hit the “road” and headed to Newhalen for carnival weekend. In true village fashion, our trip to Newhalen was an adventure in itself. My four wheeler is a finicky little thing that decided to die on us while we were on our way to meet Sam and the girls Caitlin was meeting up with. A local got it restarted for us and we took off on a short-cut across a frozen bay. A few seconds after we’d gotten on the ice, the honda died again. Of course, I instantly panicked and pictured our demise, but Caitlin quickly convinced me that the ice was too thick for us to possibly break through and logic told me that the water below the ice was very shallow. But still, I wanted to be off the ice as quick as possible. When Sam and the girls got to us, they had to push me and the honda across the ice and down to fish camp (Keep in mind I was one week post-surgery, in a boot, and on the ice. No one was letting me get off that honda).
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| Office dominoes challenge |
On the way, I heard some screaming from the girls behind me and turned to see a plane barreling towards us. I don’t know exactly how far above us it was, but I could see the pilot’s eyes which means he was too close. We were terrified that we were about to witness a crash, but Sam was certain the pilot was just having a good time. One of the women who works in our school was able to confirm this a few days after the fact. Maybe the pilot thought it was funny, and I bet he loved our reactions, but it certainly didn’t make us laugh at the time.
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| Moving tic-tacs between plates with chopsticks! |
Once that adventure was behind us, we finally got to Newhalen where I had a surprise birthday party awaiting Sam at our friend’s apartment. It was just what we all needed after our usual 40 minute journey took more than twice as long. Though it was frustrating for my honda to not be working, the rest of the weekend took my mind off of it. Carnival was filled with basketball games, visiting with friends, fun activities, and lots of food! It was a great time, and I was happy that we didn’t have school on Monday simply because I got to recover from my two weeks out of the village.
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| Knocking over cups using panty hose, a tennis ball, and her head:) |
While I wish I could have continued recovering throughout this week, I had my online night class on Tuesday and on Wednesday night we hosted a “Family Fun Night”. Though we were worried about a small turnout, we had almost 50 people show up (I think there’s about 160 people in my village total) to compete in “Minute to Win It” games. It was a great time and filled with lots of laughter and ended in a nail biting tie-breaker which lead to an even more intense second tie-breaker for the win.
The past few weeks have been busy but so great. However, all of the fun is kicking my butt this week and I have been hitting snooze too many times each morning and coming home from school exhausted every night. I’m looking forward to having a quiet Friday at home tonight and then for some girl time with friends who are coming up from Newhalen this weekend. I would say that I think the rest of the month will be calm and productive but, if I've learned one thing from living here, it's to expect the unexpected!
Come on back in two weeks or so to see what happened during the rest of this action packed month:)