ii-i!

The night that we heard the three Earviaks passed away, I was talking to 3 of my students in front of the school. All people have basic needs, but the Eskimos needs are intensified and more complicated than what others may think. They can’t go buy food from a store. They hunt their food. And even though I’ve known this and lived among them for almost 2 years, it still startled me when my students’ first reaction was how the family was going to survive. They were concerned, saying the family has no one to hunt for them anymore - all the males are gone. The girls have to pick up the slack, dump the honey bucket every morning, pack water, shovel snow, and learn to hunt for the family. It’s still hard to believe people today still live subsistence lifestyles, but they do. And people fear for their survival when that necessity is jeopardized. It’s not like the village is going to sit by and let them go without food, but it’s a startling realization of how significant a matter is when the means of hunting and gathering are gone. 

There was an article in the The Tundra Drums Newspaper about the family and the need to help them out. It talks about all the kids sleeping on a big mattress in a room and how their need for food is now a huge dilemma. If you want to read it, you can do so here:  

http://www.thetundradrums.com/article/1045y-k_deltas_help_needed_for_earviak_family_in

The Yupiks do not completely share the traditional beliefs of Native Americans, but some are still similar. They’ll start watching for the spirits of the three deceased to be reborn in babies in the tribal group.

The week before last we had a few dilemmas in the school. Our secretary was out, so the site administrator was filling in while trying to do his duties, and our cooks were gone for the week. In such a small school, the teachers fill in where we are needed. We came early to cook and serve breakfast, taking shifts to get ready for class. Preparing lunch was pretty busy, as we would take turns watching each other’s classes, running to the kitchen to cook and serve the kids. It went pretty smooth and the teachers collaborate well together. I’m lucky to get to work here.

That weekend I was back in Bethel for a second year teacher in-service. A colleague and I stayed at a bed in breakfast. I was going to stay at the district office, but this time I wanted to see the Rangers play, so I went somewhere with a TV.

So after we had checked in at the front desk, we went outside to find our building. (In the morning you walk outside to another building for breakfast. Everything’s different in the bush.) We were trying to open the outside door to go to our rooms and the key would not come out of the door. We stood there 10 minutes in the cold trying to get the key out. We finally had to call the owners (when we checked in they checked out for the night) and they had to talk us through the sequence. It was crazy. A seemingly trivial issue unless you’re standing in freezing temperatures working with a metal doorknob with no gloves. I hadn’t planned on being outside much so my gloves were stuffed in the bottom of my backpack. Anyway, The room I stayed in was the size of a walk-in closet. It had a twin size bed and an unfinished table with a small TV on it. There wasn’t even a working clock. (Remember a few blogs back I said Alaskan’s are practical…?) It didn’t bother me a bit though… it’s actually nice, considering other options. Much better than sleeping outside like I almost had to do that time, or on the floor, which is where I usually sleep over at the district office. Anyway, most TV sets pick up one channel out here. The GCI Company in Anchorage chooses the station and whatever they pick is what you watch. I was pretty confident they would have the baseball game on. Good thing I was right.

an arctic fox I saw near the airport

I’ve mentioned before that the Eskimos are people of few words. Instead of saying “yes,” they raise their eyebrows. I’ve even gotten in the habit of doing this. Here are a few phrases they use:

Instead of answering “I’ve already done that,” they say “already.” “Only” means “only so much of something.”

“Not even” means “don’t even think about it;” “try ask” means “why don’t you ask;” and instead of saying “I’m just kidding” they say “I joke.”

I like the little routines and the jokes I have with many of my students. Every time I see Jack, he says “Kim!” I respond with “Jack!” He says “You know what?” and we say together “Eeehhee!” (the Yupik spelling is ii-i). This joke came about my first month of teaching last year. My students were helping me get some of the basic words down in Yupik. I had already learned “Quyana.” – thank you. They were telling me how to say “you’re welcome,” which is ii-i. I kind of thought they were joking just because it sounds so funny. So I would say it really dramatic, stretching it out, which they thought was funny. So it’s been a joke every time we pass each other. 

The younger students call me Kim Possible or Cowgirl because I’m from Texas. One little girl, every time she sees me, puts her hand up and turns it in a circle, pretending like she’s a cowgirl roping. We get some laughs out of it.

If you live here long enough the Eskimos will give you a Yupik name. All Eskimos have their Yupik name and their English name. I even use their Yupik names for several people, but some are very hard to pronounce. Last year my students gave me my Yupik name: “irrcinraq” pronounced “ick (throat sound here, like you’re hocking a loogie) en-hawk (rolling throat sound). It means “little woman.” I earned this name because 1) I’m short and 2) I’m the youngest teacher they’ve known.

It seems like we are always having problems with our school internet. The upper wing rarely gets connection, which means I have to go down to the elementary wing to get online or even to print something. It’s been like this ever since I got here and it’s a pain. But we just have to adjust and deal with it. I have to make sure I have everything ready (hopefully days in advance) in case the connection shuts down for days at a time. 

It’s that time of year when there are lots of school trips - NYO, speech, FTA, Student Council. Because the form of transportation is by plane, boat, or snow machine, the handbook gives guidelines for school travel. Since I’ve been here we’ve never taken students by boat or snow machine because the other villages are too far away. Schools south of us do this often, especially those on the coast. The handbook gives guidelines for traveling by boat or snow machine. Here’s a little clip about what it says:

If travel is not by commercial carrier, survival gear will be carried including: 

1. matches, flares, food, first aid equipment, flashlights, and candles
2. sleeping bags for all travelers
3. two shovels and an axe
4. a canvas tarp or tent
5. a compass
6. picture wire for snares

All students traveling out of their sites on school sponsored trips, no matter the means of travel, shall carry a sleeping bag or blankets, even on a day trip. 

The excitement of living in the bush. :)