Life Is Good

This quarter is flying by - okay, so I didn't have to teach at all last week - but still, a month has passed, it's moose hunting season already, and the air is getting cold. Fall is my favorite time of year - I love the weather change, and although there are no trees around to see the beautifully color-changing leaves, I look forward to the upcoming seasonal festivities.

Last week the teachers flew to Bethel for the district-wide inservice. All 300-something teachers around western Alaska in the Lower Kuskokwim School District gathered for various training sessions. Cool news for Newtok - Paula was named Teacher of the Year for the whole district! (I therefore dubbed her TOTY). I always knew she was amazing, I'm just glad she was publicly recognized for it. I've said before she is the backbone of this school - without her I imagine it would be a very different place.

We left Bethel with our luggage full of food, thankful to come back to the quiet, peaceful village. It's nice to see grocery stores and roads every now and then, but getting back to the middle of nowhere feels good, and as we landed in Newtok on our 8-seater plane, there was a palpable sense of serenity, even among the new teachers, who were experiencing their first "coming back home" episode.

Kevin and I helped move Naomi into her new house, the trailer right beside the school. Matt and Matthew are moving in the red house that I lived in my first three years. It's crazy to see how much stuff you can accumulate up here, so after I helped her move tons of boxes/furniture, I came home and condensed my belongings to a considerable lower quantity. It always feels good to simplify.

After getting everyone settled in their new houses the power went out. The generator for the village was "being worked on" - not exactly sure what the deal was. The new teachers were worried about the meat they recently bought in Bethel, but after 8 hours we had power again and no harm done. We often go without power throughout the school year, and although it can be annoying, I'd rather have no light than no heat when it's negative 50 outside. That's happened several times, and even jumping jacks (my cure-all) can't keep me warm enough during those spells. Anyway, after carrying Naomi's boxes down the twisting boardwalks, and with no stove or microwave, me and Betsy enjoyed a peanut butter and jelly sandwich before dropping by Paula's to play a game of Spinner Dominoes. Life is good.