Cross Country Team

Our cross country team traveled to Bethel Friday to compete in a district-wide meet. Of course, the only way we could get there was to fly, so the 7 students, the other chaperone and I waited around the school until we hear to pilot on the VHF tell us he was 5 minutes from Newtok. The electricity was out at the school again, so there was not much we could do indoors. They shut the generator down every few days of so for an hour or 2, and all the village is without electricity.

So anyway, we walked up to the airport with our backpacks and sleeping bags. The kids were so excited – on average, they go to Bethel a couple times a year. Some have only ever been a couple times in their lives. They visit other villages every so often on snow machines during winter, but they are all similar. Bethel has roads and cars, stores and restaurants! The population is around 5,000. We loaded our luggage underneath the 10 seater bush plane and took off. It takes around 40 minutes to fly from Newtok to Bethel. It felt good to walk on solid ground – actual dirt instead of mud, and pavement instead of boardwalks.

We arrived in Bethel around 5:00 and someone from the district office drove us to the high school, where all the village teams would stay the night. We got our room assignments (a health classroom) and laid our sleeping bags around the desks. There is only one girl on the Newtok team so it was her and I rooming with the team from Tunuk, the village on a nearby island where Newtok will actually be moving to in a few years.  

After we got settled in we walked to the store before supper. It was a mile’s walk and a beautiful day! 
I saw some friends I made at the new teacher inservice and it was great to get to hear all about their own adventures. The next morning we had to put all our luggage in trashbags because they expected rain. There were no shelters at the course. But it never did rain, thankfully.

It was a beautiful place, foggy when we arrived but it cleared up by the time the races began. It was a weaving course, all in sand, up and down hills. We walked it together when we first got there so students would know exactly where to run. There were flags, but still, it helped to know beforehand. The sunrise was breathtaking! My batteries didn't last very long, but I did get some good shots of cool stuff - we saw bear tracks in the path! But our team did pretty good, we're not sure if anyone is going to the next level or not. I posted some great pictures on facebook... you should check them out.

If you go to www.adn.com our team made the front page a few weeks ago - they have pictures of our kids training on the boardwalks.

(((((You)))))