Today’s the day! I was so excited when I got up this morning that I didn’t know what to do with myself. I got a text from the pilot giving me the e.t.a. and then we were on the move. My student, M, and I got picked up in PIP around 10:45 and then we got to fly up north to Igiugig where the other student (we’ll call him G) lives. It was beautiful to see the tundra change from snow to clear to more snow and lakes that are beginning to freeze as we made our way north. It was smooth sailing all the way to IGI.
The slight snag that we hit was that our second student got the dates confused so he didn’t know we were coming to pick him up until 15 minutes before we got there. We gave him a few more minutes to get packed up and then we were good to go! Thank goodness that was our only issue (so far) and it actually worked to my benefit. While he was getting ready M and I got to walk around at the airstrip and they even have a small “airport”-like building for us to go into. Inside we got to see some pictures and read stories about different elders or deceased locals and their lives. Once G was back and all packed up we climbed back in the plane (I invoked chaperone privileges and called shotgun for this leg of the trip) and headed to King Salmon.
Knowing that I haven’t traveled around much, Pat (the pilot) was sure to point out different rivers and lakes that are well known. He also took us past “Gooney Bird” Hill which is named that because a plane (whose nickname was Gooney Bird) crashed there in the 40’s. He didn’t know much of the story behind it or if anyone died, but it was still a fun fact which I enjoy. Then he made it so much better when he flew down closer to it and on the side of the hill we could see remains from the plane! Not only was it a great sight, but nothing beats a small plane turning on its side to make these turns. I swear sometimes it feels like an amusement park ride (my student laughed at me because I was grinning from ear to ear as we were making the turn).
Shortly after, we were back on the ground in King Salmon being taken to get some yummy food. It was so strange to be in a dine/restaurant. Honestly, I just kept having to read the menu again because even though it wasn’t a huge menu, I’m not used to having choices of foods (let alone foods that I don’t have to cook!). It was a delicious meal to say the least.
Once our tummies were satisfied, we headed to District Office where we have spend the afternoon playing games and watching Harry Potter. Again, we’re watching t.v. which is something I never get to do so that’s been nice. The boys kicked my butt in Monopoly and were kind enough to keep “buying” what little properties I had just so I didn’t go bankrupt and lose miserably; which I did anyway.
While I was able to keep them occupied most of the day, they are starting to get restless. If I don’t get these boys on a plane soon or out of D.O. at least, they are going to start wreaking havoc (G has been pacing around and is getting anxious from being cooped up all day). It’s been a great day so far and we are all looking forward to getting into town and grabbing a bite to eat (Subway according to the boys) before getting some shut-eye. Fingers crossed that the rest of the trip goes as well as today has:)
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