Five Months of Bushin' It

Well, I’m grateful to have survived another year in Alaska’s bush. It’s been a wild ride and I wouldn’t change a thing - and I’m looking forward to many more adventures in the years to come. 

Last weekend was prom and graduation. We didn’t plan on having both of these big events on the same weekend - especially because there are only 4 teachers that usually stay and help with extra events - but we didn’t have a choice. The prom decorations weren’t able to get here sooner because of weather conditions, and as you know, when planes don’t fly, our village is cut off from everything! We had the senior class (a whopping 6 kids) around to help too.

Friday afternoon we built the prom set in the gym - the theme was “A Night in France.” We built a 17 foot Eiffel Tower completely out of cardboard and Christmas lights, along with benches, trees, lamp posts, etc. It turned out nice, but we were exhausted! I guess we got done around 10:30, but we were back at the school the next morning at 9:00 to start cooking for prom that night. The next morning we cleaned the gym up and began it all over again for the graduation ceremony, which was just in a few hours. Everything went smoothly and we had fun - one of the things I enjoy about teaching in such a small village is I get to be involved in everything. The school isn’t just a place I work - It’s just as much a home to me as where I sleep. I spend just as much time here - if not more - than I do at home.

One day last week our staff of 8 got a surprise for Teacher Appreciation Day - the district had flown in pizza from Anchorage for us! It was a take and bake pizza joint, so it had to be cooked - it was no Pizza Hut, but just knowing it was flown over 400 miles on 2 planes just to get to us made it special. :) I can’t even remember the last time I ate pizza. 

I’ve been in the bush for 5 straight months and I’ve loved it. Yeah, sometimes I miss stores and restaurants, and I definitely miss fresh food like veggies, fruit, and milk, and my mama’s cooking! - but I know I can do without. You don’t really know what you can do unless you try yourself, and living up here in such an isolated place definitely is one way to get that challenge. I’ve loved it, and now I’m looking forward to eating Mexican food and diet dr. pepper!

We had our annual whacky olympics day yesterday. Me and Naomi were in charge, coming up with games for the whole school that lasts all day. For lunch, Kevin and Grant grilled hot dogs and burgers for all the kids and teachers, plus the elders in the village. We’re flying out today on the afternoon charter, spending the night in Bethel, and flying out tomorrow morning. I’ll arrive close to midnight Saturday, and summer begins!

Irrcinraq