Whale and Seal Harpoonings

It’s finally warming up! On Wednesday I checked the temperature (22 degrees) and I was so excited! I threw my shorts and t-shirt on, which haven’t made an appearance for over 6 months, slipped my boots on, and didn’t even care about how goofy I looked. I went to visit Paula and Brandi and their mom, and over the VHF an Eskimo announced there was a seal party just next door to where we were. They had just harpooned a seal a couple of hours ago. As I’ve mentioned before, they believe they should always share their first of every animal so they’ll have luck in hunting animals later.

I couldn’t convince anyone else to go with me, but I decided to check it out anyway. Mrs. Helen, their mom, wanted me to take her camera, and I ventured out in my shorts, boots, and very white legs, holding a plastic bag for the seal. When I got there, they were just finishing cutting the seal into chunks, and everyone kept asking me “aren’t you cold? you should get a jacket!” I’d just say, “no! it’s warm weather!” Then an elder came up and said something in Yupik to me, and the others translated: “you need a jacket!” Elders are very respected and never questioned here, and I didn’t want to tread on anyone’s toes. So I nodded respectfully and ran back to Paula’s house to borrow Brandi’s jacket. 

So here’s what a seal “party” looks like: you stand in a circle with your bag, and the wife of the one who got back from harpooning, after cleaning and cutting the seal, goes around and puts hunks of it into your bag. I stood there grinning when she put a huge piece of seal blubber and skin in my bag, not knowing what the heck I was going to do with it. She made 3 rounds and I got plenty of meat too. After the seal was distributed, they went around and gave little “party favors” - pilot bread (big, circular crackers that’s their main source of carbohydrates), coffee, cookies, ramen noodles, yarn, a small piece of fabric, and bags of tea. Then, to finish it, they throw out pieces of candy, and everyone dashes to grab them like kids do after a busted pinata. I just took pictures, but since then, the camera has been misplaced, so hopefully I can share those later. I went home and tossed some of the seal meat into a skillet. I’ve had seal before, but never only hours fresh! It was great - I ate it with pilot bread and mayonnaise.

I also recently had whale for the first time, maybe 3 weeks ago. Grant’s cousin was part of a team that harpooned a bowhead whale. I’ve said I’ll try anything once, so when they got it they called me up and I ran over. I’ve never eaten anything raw before, not even sushi. I don’t even like rare steak - but I suppose that’ll be different now that I’m practically a new person from all these new experiences! But the whale was some good eatin’! You know how the Eskimos use everything - nothing is wasted, not even the skin! So yes, the fin of the whale - hard, rubbery skin, attached to the blubber underneath it, all raw - I put in my mouth and just chewed and chewed. It had a great taste to it but that fin was incredibly tough. We dipped it in seal oil, sprinkled a little salt on it, and went to work on that whale. I’m proud to say I ate about 10 pieces! I wonder if it’s still trying to digest. 

Sarah, Grants wife, made us willow bark tea. It’s pretty special because someone has to cross the river over to Nelson Island, find a willow tree, and scrape the bark off for this tea. It supposedly keeps you healthy, and it’s a popular tea for many Eskimos. I liked it too, but I can’t say I’ll go to that much trouble to make it!

We had a good Easter! Even though I miss my family, I have a great one here. I went over to Paula and Brandi’s house and they are great about looking after the other teachers who don’t have family here. We had a great time, and afterwards, me and Kevin went out to get in one of our last snowball fights, and to go throw snowballs at peoples houses. :) It was a beautifully warm day - it even got above freezing and the icicles finally started melting.

Arctic Survival

"Everyone still alive? Good. Eat this grass
if you're hungry!"

We had Culture Week at school - in the mornings we had regular classes, and after lunch the kids rotated for different activities - making mittens, guspuks, fish-net mending, etc. But I think I had the best job of all - spending the entire afternoon out with a group of kids learning arctic survival, 40 miles from the village. We had a different group of kids every day and stayed out 3 hours. We made periodic stops along the way, where a Yupik parent gave us some arctic survival tips (listed at the end of the post if you want to know them). Some of the kids took their own snow machine, while others rode on the back with them. I took the school machine and let the kids drive it every now and then, and it seemed like I almost died 11 times because of that! I had an absolute blast though, and I could hardly believe I was getting paid to have that much fun. 

Day 1 

Before we even left the village, the Eskimo guide (Jr.) took a rifle from his house for our protection. There was apparently a polar bear siting about 75 miles east of us. We had the older kids out and it was a blast! When they need to be, they are very responsible. I mean, there’s a time to have fun, and we had our fair share of it, but it’s great how they step up and look out for each other. They would translate for me so I knew what they were learning, and it was just an awesome time to goof off and bond with the kids. When we were about 10 miles out, Jr. said “You see when the sky is the same color as the ground - like it is right now? - it’s a white out out there, and you shouldn’t travel when it’s like that.” (I was thinking, what the heck are we doing traveling in it then!?) We saw 3 foxes, and I only managed a blurry picture. They are beautiful to watch though. We ran across random crosses, and I thought it was where someone had an accident, but they were old village sites - back when, only half a century ago, the Eskimos moved from place to place looking for food.

Can you tell where the sky begins? Cause I sure can't.

Day 2 

Okay, I let a freshman drive the machine for most of the trip and this was an incredibly dangerous, adrenaline rushing, down-right crazy day. It’s so much fun when you’re driving, because you can see the bumps, hills, and drops, and can ride it out in control. But when you’re sitting on the back, it’s a stomach-wrenching ordeal. You don’t know what’s coming up, you have one handle bar on the right side where you can’t even wrap your whole hand around it because it’s too close to the machine, there is no secure place to put your feet, and neither you or the driver has anything to strap you down. Add that combination to the fact that we got up to 90 mph, with 35 mph winds, in 11 degrees, flying over bumps and getting 5 feet of air, there are just no words to describe to you the craziness of the day. As much fun as I had, I’m not gonna pretend I wasn’t terrified at times. Sometimes, especially when I had no idea what was about to happen, there was nothing I could do but hold on for dear life - I felt like closing my eyes but didn’t... I didn’t want to miss a thing. 

I was almost thrown off too many times to count...the snow machine tipped over once while riding sideways on a steep hill, and we got out from under it just in time, then had to flip it back over and catch up with the rest of the group... he kept doing these stunts on it, like gassing it over a big bump to get some air, or tilting it so it leans on one ski then the other (while going 60 mph), swerving it back and forth to where it felt like you were skidding uncontrollably on a frozen pond... just crazy.

A temporary shelter from the wind. It did it's job,
but it sure smelled a lot like fish!

Sitting on the back, your feet either hang off or you try to reach forward to put them on a platform, hoping they don’t slip off (I’m shorter so it’s harder for me to reach). One time my foot hit the ground and got stuck deep in the snow (thank the Lord we were only going about 20 mph)... I grabbed hold of the driver since you can’t hear each other, and he stopped just in time! I lucked out on that one... I wasn’t hurt at all. We would race each other (you might be thinking I’m quite irresponsible, but you’d just have to live in the bush to understand just how right that is out here! We couldn’t very well miss an opportunity like that)... and you know how you pull stunts and those watching let you know how it was or what it looked like... we would get some air and they would show us with their hand, indicating a whopping 45 degree angle jump. Let me say again, complete craziness, scary yet fun. It was ridiculous, and absolutely awesome to be able to connect and have fun with my students like that. 

This day I took less pictures since I was concentrating on not dying. We saw 2 foxes that day, and stopped to try and tempt an otter out of a hole, but no luck. 

Day 3

We took younger kids, ranging from 5th to 8th grade, and it was cute how they drove in single-file line, as opposed to high schoolers. :) The sky was all white to start off with, but in a couple of hours it cleared up nicely. My fingers got really cold early on - it was closer to zero degrees with wind chill, and it doesn’t help going super fast. I’ve learned not to let the cold get me down, because sometimes thats what you feel like. You get so uncomfortable that it aches, but you just suck it up and smile about it! Living up here throws all kinds of obstacles in your way, and that’s just a way of life here. I’ve learned so much about accepting the hurdles and pain and being stronger from it. 

When we turned around towards the village into the sun, you instantly felt the difference. Your body soaks up that sun like a dehydrated body gulps down water. It was so dang good! 

Day 4

Checking out the landscape and trying to figure out which
direction the village is!

I drove most of the way and we stopped less this day than the others - a snow storm blew in and we came back a little early. But we did spend 2 and a half hours of riding, and the sky was unbelievably beautiful for most of the time. Each day we went in a different direction, to places and distances I’ve never been before. On the way back we saw a mink trotting along the river, and we circled it, stopped, and got off to look and take pictures (check my facebook later on to see them all). When you’re riding in a group, it’s inevitable you’ll get sprayed with snow and ice chunks, which is quite painful when you lower your face guard. We got back to school and I wasn’t surprised to find 3 patches of frost bite on my face, but early stages, so no permanent damage. 

A few arctic survival skills, if you think you’ll ever need to know!

1. It’s okay to eat the spongy, flaky grass if you need to.
2. Don’t sleep beside bushes with snow on them, because you’ll get covered too!
3. The grass always freezes the same direction - towards the west, so you’ll at least know which direction the village is in if you get lost. Check before you leave the village!
4. Don’t eat the top layer of snow - it apparently wears you out quicker. Dig underneath it, and don’t chew - let it melt in your mouth.
5. West of Newtok - flatland; North - hills; East - Ninglick River; South - flatland with a few hills
6. Dig under the snow to find grass to use for insulation when you’re too cold.
7. We built a temporary shelter from the wind - always bring a shovel and tarp.
8. Always be wary of frozen ponds and rivers, and never camp on hard ground. 
9. We saw and learned how to tell the difference between different animal tracks.
10. There’s a volcano in the distance, that on a clear day, serves as a landmark when there’s not a darn other thing to reference to.
11. Wear proper clothing!!! I learned this the hard way from my past adventures.
12. Rub snow on frost bite so it doesn’t get worse. (I didn’t believe this until I actually tried it, and yes, it does help numb the pain.)

My Newtok Family

A big white-out blizzard raged a few weeks ago, and we were at Brandi, Paula and Kevin’s house playing poker. So we just kept playing, not planning on leaving until it cleared up. Kevin dared me to run around the house barefoot, and I rarely turn down a dare. So I was on my way out the door before Paula realized what was going on and she refused to let me go. “That’s not allowed! Get over here and sit down!” Haha... feeling a little like a kid sent to the corner, I reluctantly turned around and went to the table. Paula is definitely the unofficial boss. And basically, whatever she says goes. 

It’s been tradition in Newtok to pick on the youngest teacher, and in my case, as I’m so adventurous and tend to get myself into dangerous situations, they all look out for my well-being too. I really am very blessed to have such caring friends. I mean, typically I do whatever I want to because hey, it’s my life. But Paula just has this power of command, and if she tells you to do or don’t do something, it doesn’t even cross your mind to not follow through. Out of all the teachers here (Paula’s the special-ed teacher), including Grant, she’s been here the longest - 9 years - so she’s well-respected in the school and community. She knows the ins and outs, she’s on top of everything, completely with-it, and goes above and beyond her call of duty in and outside the school. So to say the least, she’s in control, and I have no choice - or desire - to contradict her!

Brandi (math teacher) is Paula’s sister, and it’s her third year in Newtok. She and I get along very well because we’re both pretty quiet and have a lot of the same interests - she also played fastpitch tournament ball growing up like me. Kevin, her husband, is goofy like me and we’re both avid sports fans and athletes. We joke around a lot and try to stay out of trouble... but you know how that goes. Kevin is great with the kids - he spends a lot of time in the gym with saturday basketball and open gym nights. He also coaches cross country and boys basketball. Brandi and Kevin have a little boy who I absolutely adore, and he just turned 2. :) I guess because they’re from Louisiana is another reason I get on well with them... we had very similar up-bringings and it’s just a southern thing! We have a lot of fun together.

Back (L to R): baby Thane, Kevin, Paula, Kathy, Naomi
Front: Brandi, Betsy, Bill

Naomi, my roommate, is the writing teacher. She likes to quilt and sew. She’s from Montana originally but has relatives in Anchorage, which makes life a bit easier for her up here. We’re extremely different, though, in pretty much every way possible! But we get along pretty well anyway. 

Betsy, the new 2T teacher, is my snowboarding buddy, and we goof off in the gym and hang out at Paula and Brandi’s whenever there’s nothing else to do. She’s from Ohio and has a good head on her shoulders... she already has her masters degree! 

Bill (science and social studies) and Kathy (3rd grade), the married couple, are from Iowa and have taught a long time. They have 3 grown kids and lots of grandchildren, and therefore have lots of stories they are proud to tell. :)

April (4th and 5th grade) is from Hawaii and has taught over 30 years. She has 4 dogs that keep her busy and occupied up in Newtok, and is planning on retiring soon in Alaska somewhere on the road system.

Then you have me, and that makes up the 8 teachers in Newtok!

So back to the poker night... Grant wasn’t playing this particular night of the bad blizzard. Kevin’s phone beeped, and he checked the incoming text from Grant: “Do you know where Kim is?” We all cracked up because I very well could have been out on a hike in the blizzard, and Kevin had dared me to go out in it just a little while ago. We decided to have a little fun with it, so Kevin texted him back “she went for a walk.” We only let him worry a couple of minutes though because they thought he would have called the search and rescue guys to go looking for me. So Paula gave him a call told him I was there with them. Grant told her they need to put a straight jacket on me to keep me inside and safe, and Paula said yeah, that I wanted to go outside but they won’t let me. 

I finally did get a chance to run around in the snow barefoot. Basically I just wanted to see if I could. We had an inservice day, and for our hour of lunch we went to the gym/kitchen while Kevin grilled burgers and we played dodgeball and basketball. Paula left the gym shortly, so I tossed my shoes aside and took off running around the school. It wasn’t at all bad, I just ran really fast. And of course the first thing Grant did was tell Paula. Well, I’m not perfect.

75 mph winds and a whole lotta fun!

The last couple of days we had the biggest blizzard I’ve ever seen! The winds were hurricane-force - 75 mph - it was a complete white-out most of the time, and it lasted for over 2 days! It cleared up and the winds died down to 40 mph, for school to continue of course, but after school we had some CRAZY adventures! It’s state testing this week, so when the kids are finished we send them home - by 1:00 they were all gone, so the rest of the staff and me were hanging out in Brandi’s class. Grant came in and said “Kim, you should check out the blizzard!” So of course I jumped up and ran outside, and immediately got knocked backwards! I came back in and he said we should make a video of me running outside in it with Paula doing the voice-over. So we were all giddy, excited to go play in the crazy weather. We got geared up as fast as we could and ran outside. The only problem was I didn’t have my snow pants - I was wearing my carhartts, and they are not waterproof! So with the snow blowing straight at me at 75 mph it didn’t take long before I was soaked. Plus I kept diving in the snow. 

We had some great laughs! It was so awesome - I had to run forward just to stay standing in the wind. After several videos (check my facebook) I was thoroughly drenched and pretty frozen, but it didn’t phase me. Paula wanted me to run to her house and get her goggles and gloves. I wanted to see what it would be like to go out without a jacket, and I thought I had a pretty good argument going for me, but Paula unfortunately wouldn’t permit it. “You don’t have a choice Kim! Put your jacket on!” ...well, she is the unofficial boss... next blog I’ll tell you a little more about colleagues, who’ve become my family here! So anyway, I hoisted the jacket on again and ran back out to retrieve her gear, this time with a few of my students videotaping me. I’ve been so ready for summer, but an intense April blizzard was sure a lot of fun. 

When it was time for everyone to head home I walked a few teachers to their homes just because you couldn’t see a darn thing by this time. I already lost one of my gloves in the snow, and with the new, soft drifts you sink through, I was worried about one teacher getting home, who had a knee replacement a few years ago. I hoped I would be able to help hoist her up if a fall took place, even though I only had one glove and was freezing! We went out the back door, taking the most direct route to her house. She did wind up falling, and we managed to get back up, me walking backwards and holding her hands, and her stepping in my footprints. It was pretty funny... I’m glad she wasn’t hurt and could laugh about it.

She made it to her house but her arctic door and been blown open. Her arctic room was completely plastered with snow. So I shoveled, trying to get the door to close... I finally got all the snow and ice out of the way, but the wind was too strong for me to pull the door against it to close, so I had to abandon it and she had to close her house door and leave the arctic room open. That’s why they have them, I guess! 

So then, (it was quite an adventurous day), my legs were super cold. I ran in the direction of our cabin, past Betsy’s house (who happened to be videotaping out her front door... this video is also on facebook) and met Naomi, just coming home from school. The snow was 2 feet deep on our porch and probably half a foot plastered to the door. We had to dig our way to get to the doorknob, and we couldn’t open it! It was frozen shut! We dug and pushed, scraped and kicked... but it wouldn’t budge. She tried to call Grant but he didn’t answer, so I ran back over to our neighbor’s house to use their shovel, but I couldn’t bang louder than the wind, and anyway, the houses shake so bad she probably didn’t even realize there was someone out there. So I came back, all the time hitting my legs so they don’t get frostbite, and threw myself at the door. Then I ran to another neighbor’s house, but before I got there Naomi finally managed to get it open with a good kick to the bottom, so whew! But then, once in the arctic room, the inside door wouldn’t even open! Really, though, I was enjoying the adventure. After a few minutes of pushing really hard we finally got inside! I was finally able to get on some warm clothes! 

Then I realized we were out of water, so I had to go back to the school. We could have melted the snow, but I was looking for an excuse to go back out anyway. :) It was such an amazing, crazy, and a ridiculous amount of fun kind of day!

Soaking up the Sun

You know that feeling when you’ve been stuck indoors for what seems like forever, then you finally get to go outside, and it’s a beautiful day? You feel like going on a picnic or running through a wide-open field, because the weather is perfect and you’re finally free! That’s what I’ve felt like lately. The days are longer, but the sky has been stormy for a long time. Usually you walk outside and you can’t see anything because everything is white - you can’t tell the sky from the ground! It’s really disorienting at times. I still go for walks in it - I put my shades on, bundle up, and just keep on trekking. 

But the past couple of days the sky was actually blue! It warmed up to 22 degrees, where I could go for a hike in a t-shirt! I actually felt the sun’s warmth, and I was stunned. I remember when I first felt it, I was thinking, “hmm, that’s an odd sensation! Where do I remember that feeling from?” It’s sad that I forgot what it felt like! I just stood there, after 9 miles of walking out on the tundra, standing and facing the direct sunlight. I didn’t want to leave it’s warmth, so I just laid down, feeling completely drunk in it’s comfort. I don’t even know how long I laid there - maybe it was my long journey that made me so tired and content, not wanting to get up, but I was out of it. There wasn’t even any wind to deal with - which is very unusual, as we live only 8 miles from the Bering Sea. 

I think maybe I had dozed off a while. I can’t begin to explain how good the heat felt... it’s like it went all the way to my soul! Even when I had to start the walk back to the village, away from the sun, I walked backwards for quite a ways just because I didn’t want to turn my back on it. I don’t remember experiencing this last year... this year has been colder and cloudier than last year. Anyway, I enjoyed it immensely!

Another exciting thing that happened this week was my state mentor coming. Okay, well, that part wasn’t as exciting as what she brought for me - fresh fruit!!! Boy, going without fresh food for such a long time sure makes you thankful for it once you have some. This semester is the first one where I haven’t left the bush. I typically fly into Bethel for some kind of meeting, and twice I’ve gone to Anchorage for training. But I haven’t even been to Bethel, the bush hub, since early January - and don’t have plans to - until the end of May. So for 5 months, no sight of cars, no wal-mart, no Starbucks, no restaurants, no fresh food... it sure makes me more excited and more thankful for the things I can enjoy once I’m back in Texas.

We had some New York college kids visit Newtok to volunteer their spring break time doing taxes for the villagers. They were asking me all kinds of questions, and basically they were stunned and excited to be able to say they stayed a week in the bush, in a completely different culture from what they’re used to. I was around their age so we got on well, and they were curious to hear how we lived, having to pack water, deal with no plumbing, the Eskimos hunting for food, etc. The weather turned for the worse towards the end of their stay, and they asked “what happens if the weather stays like this when we’re suppose to leave?” We would reply “then you’re stuck here!” They laughed, and said “no, but really, what will happen?” It was our turn to laugh - “no, really, you’re stuck here... the planes won’t come to get you!” 

Me and Kevin kept telling them don’t be surprised if you can’t get out. We told them how we almost got stuck here for Christmas and that’s just how it is! You just gotta roll with the punches. If you miss class Monday, oh well, there’s nothing you could do about it! Anyway, they wound up missing their morning flight, but the weather cleared up by afternoon and they were able to make it out before their flight out of Bethel left. 

Classes are constantly getting easier to teach and they are 100% more enjoyable than in the past. The kids and I are really getting to know each other, and it’s a joy to joke around with them and get past our differences and bond. Even the students that gave me the most trouble have come around to engage in our on-going jokes and silly rituals.

I’ll walk through the village and my heart just overflows with love for these kids and the people. It was hard in the beginning, I admit. It took a while to feel like I belong here, and it’s hard when you feel like you are not accepted. So many people are hurting and I have always hurt for them, but the longer I stay here the more attached to them I get, and the more I grow to love them. All of our shields and defenses were up at times. But by God’s grace and patience we’ve come to appreciate and respect each other, and it’s a wonderful feeling. :)