If you didn’t know already, I brought my sister back to the bush with me! I’m so happy she gets to experience this crazy way of life I’ve lived for the past 2 years. You can’t really understand it until you experience it. She’s going to do some subbing and helping out with after school activities, which works out wonderfully for everyone because we all wear so many hats as it is. The very first day of school we didn’t have a cook, so the teachers had to pull together and cook breakfast at the last minute, so Audrey has been a lifesaver!
Kevin and Brandi are still in Louisiana and will come back around the end of October when they have their new baby girl. I miss them already! It’s definitely not the same without them!
We spent a few days in Anchorage so Audrey could get some cold weather gear, then headed to Bethel for a couple of days of inservice. We have a HUGE difference in our reading program this year: we actually HAVE a reading program now! In the past I just had to scrounge up anything I could to use for books, resources, worksheets, everything. So I’ve extremely pleased that I actually have something to work off of now.
We came back to Newtok a week ago and was greeted by a couple of kids at the airport. I don’t think Audrey knew exactly what she was getting into, but she soon found out: they tore the boards off our front door and a horrible smell of rotting meat wafted out on the porch. Our freezer had gone out, and so all our food was gone. Our heat wasn’t working, so our house was freezing. Our incinolet was out, so we had no restroom, and of course our water was out too. She knew we didn’t have running water or plumbing, but it’s a hassle when everything gives out at once. All I could tell her was “welcome to the bush!”
We had some fun though. We hiked through the swampy tundra, went fishing, and picked berries. I’ve been very busy getting my classroom in order, organizing the new reading program, and preparing for that. Cross country began the first day of school and have gradually worked the kids up from running in the gym, to the boardwalks, to the tundra. We actually got caught out on the tundra when it started raining once, but it was pretty fun.
As always with the Eskimos, they have been generous with their hunting rewards. We have plenty of moose stored up and some halibut too. Audrey loves the freshness of the meat here - I mean, it can’t get much fresher! It’s pretty great.
As much as I hate it for people down south in that horrible heat, I’m glad to be back in 40 degree weather. The sun is up at 5:45 and sets around midnight, and basically, life is great.
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