2 weeks to go...

I’m stoked about summer and am having to put all my effort into maintaining momentum to finish the year strong! I guess it’s just the weight and pressure from the first year of work coming to an end and the relief is already starting to feel sweeter than I can describe! When I fly into Texas my first stop will be the ballpark in Arlington to watch the Rangers game that Friday – what better way than baseball to kick off summer!

The other day I was walking a ways out and met a little boy named Nikki who has gone with me on several hikes. For just being 10, I was surprised to see him toting his .410, spitting tobacco! He said it was his dad’s birthday and he wanted to bring a bird home for him. What a world of difference between our 2 cultures! For one thing, that a kid would want to go actually hunt an animal for a birthday gift, and another, that you can just walk a little ways from your house with a gun and start shooting birds! (Not to mention a 10 year old with no supervision, carrying a gun with a pocketful of ammo, chewing tobacco!) So we hiked on, settled on a high part of the tundra a couple miles from Newtok and waited. Geese were plentiful and he got a few good shots but didn’t hit any. He made the bird calls and knew all the tricks and safety procedures… I was pretty impressed, but nothing surprises me much anymore. Geese are nice to get, but the real victory is when you take home a few cranes. I hear they taste excellent. We only saw them in the distance and didn’t try that far of a shot. Nikki was excited to share some of his expertise with a kussaq (white person) so he was explaining how you have to keep your back to the village and don’t shoot in the direction someone may be walking or riding. He was proud to know you don’t keep the gun loaded but only when you’re ready to shoot, and what you do to attract different kinds of birds. It was cute, but mainly I was impressed! He wanted me to try a few shots so I did, and it was pretty exciting! I can see myself hunting in the future.

The snow is finally melting. The drifts aren’t as high and there are lots of slushy fields. It’s tricky when hiking in it because some snow is still sturdy and will hold your weight, but your next step may cause you to sink up to your waist. A couple of days ago I was buried in snow up to my waist and literally had to crawl on all fours for 30 yards in the slush to higher ground. So even though I no longer need the full winter apparel I was pretty cold and soaked pretty good after that incident. This doesn’t just happen out on long hikes though – the route I take to carry my laundry and pack water to and from the school is the same way. When you’re carrying 5 gallons of water and bags of clean clothes and you sink through the snow, it takes a while to crawl out!

Last night was prom. The teachers and some older students helped decorate and the dingy gym actually looked pretty good for a few hours! I’ll post pictures on facebook. The dances we’ve had in the past we just plugged an ipod into the speakers for music, but we went all out this time and flew in a DJ. It was great! And even though there’s not a clothing store for 100 miles, most of the students wore nice clothes. No tuxes, but not a problem! I love the simplicity and casual atmosphere.

We are officially done with Saturday school for the year. I’m so thankful! They weren’t too bad, but all the same, having to go to the school every Saturday starts to wear you down. But hey, if it’s one thing I’ve learned this year it’s that hardships make you stronger, and I won’t take free Saturdays for granted, you can be sure of that!

Well, I’m out – it’s a beautiful day and I want to go for a walk. Happy Mother’s Day mama, and to all the other mama’s out there! :-)