Oops! Meant to Post This!

Ok...one last post and then I'm out of here....this is of Ear Mountain....across the lagoon on the mainland.

Almost Done for the Night!

I promised myself I would go home EARLY tonight....ha!  It's going on 11:00 p.m.  Oh, well....I wanted to get caught up on my blog.

First of all, school was dismissed early today.  There was a funeral in the village for one of the well-known Elders...rest in peace and my condolences to the family and friends.  When there's a funeral, school usually lets out early so that people can attend.  I've heard that funerals can also last several hours with lots of story-sharing and singing.  That must be so comforting to the families.  People often gather to sing at the family's home the night before, too.

There was also a staff meeting later today and at the end of the meeting, we were treated to Subway sandwiches flown in from Nome.  Tonight was my scheduled laundry night but I didn't have much to do so I skipped it and took a shower instead.....both events take place here at the school....so I had to plan what to carry to school this morning before I left.  Anyway, because I was here at the school, I decided to figure out this blogging business because I had some time and this is where I can get onto the Internet.

Oh, wait a minute!  Let me elaborate on my laundry night....because, as most of you know...I ALWAYS have a story to tell!  I didn't have much laundry tonight because I had a tub load to do last Monday night.  And why, pray tell, would I have a TUB load?  Because last week, immediately following the house blessing with Pastor Mark that FINALLY took place after three postponements, I got violently ill.  I don't know if Pastor knows that or not....someone can tell him if they read this....but reassure him it had nothing to do with his blessing!  But let me tell you....getting sick...from BOTH ends....is NOTHING TO DO OVER A HONEY BUCKET....EGADS!  Oh, man....it was wicked!  I missed two days of school (thank you, Mary, for subbing for me).  The thing is...up here in the village....something like that travels from one end of the village and back again.  You just can't avoid getting sick.  It just compounds the agony when you have to use a honey bucket though!  And you can now guess why I had so much laundry to do last week, too....including the bathroom rug!!

I warned you....I always have a story to tell.

To my Michigan friends....I am missing the fall leaves a lot!  I am on my third jigsaw puzzle....and it's of the Tahquamenon Falls in the Upper Peninsula.  My first puzzle (pictured below) was the one given to me by the Steneks for watching their children when Mom and Dad were in Nome....waiting for #6 to be born.  Let me tell you....it was NOT an easy puzzle to put together.  Talk about snow blindness!  I'm hoping to see a real polar bear up here....from a distance....a LONG distance!

That's all, folks!  I'm headed home!  Take care and keep me posted on life in the Lower 48.  Remember....you can contact me on Facebook or email me at 

(dmb52@sbcglobal.net) or (dmb52@hotmail.com). 

HAPPY THANKSGIVING...just in case I don't get back on here for awhile....and at the rate I am blogging, you won't see me for another month.  I'm sure I'll have lots to tell you about Thanksgiving in Shishmaref.  They have a community dinner, I'm told, and it's my plan to make pumpkin rolls....eat your hearts out, East Jordan Elementary Staff...wish I could send some to you!  I am also looking forward to Christmas up here because the Eskimo games held between Christmas and New Year's are really awesome....so I'm told.  You can bet I'll be on here to tell you all about it.  

I've already put up my Christmas lights in my windows at home.  I can't wait!

TTFN! 

 

My Classroom!

I need to be careful about posting pictures of my students.  I wish I could because it would warm your heart to see their smiles.  But, I most likely will not post pictures.  So....here are pictures taken of the building in which I work....the Head Start/ECE building....which is right across the way from the backside of the "big" school.  We bundle up and walk to the "big" school every day for lunch and sometimes for gym time.  In the second picture, just up over the knoll is the rock seawall holding back the Chukchi Sea.  The rest of the pictures show the inside of my classroom....which is the middle room of three large rooms in the building.  The far end is the 3 year olds' classroom and the opposite end is the "work room/office area/kitchen".  Oh, the big yellow building past the ECE building is the Shishmaref Native store.  YEAH....I was able to buy lettuce and a tomato and an onion and celery (and some Doritoes and bean dip) on Sunday!  I had the visiting artist-in-residence over for dinner and was able to put together a great salad to go with the spaghetti and garlic bread.  Check out the sand....it's frozen now and covered with snow....but when it wasn't, it would drift like snow, too, in front of the door!

 

Jumping Around!

I know, I know....I'm jumping all around.  But I think I'm finally mastering how to download pictures onto my blog.  It's November 14 now but these photos were taken on October 16 of the sunrise.  Mind you, the sun didn't get much higher than that the rest of the day.  We're down to the sun coming up sometime around 10:20 or so and setting around 5:30 maybe???  The days are definitely getting shorter.  There are some incredible sunsets up here....if it's not blocked out by clouds and/or snow!  Today, we had a brief "blizzard" lasting only a few minutes.  Then, out came the sun...but not for long.

Hmm....don't know if the underlining will show up in my final post.  I have no clue what I'm doing but at least I'm getting pictures posted!  The first two pictures were taken to the southeast of my house towards the lagoon.  I shows the sled dog lot before the storm which caused flooding.  On the second night of the storm, the dogs were moved up beside the house.

The bottom picture is of the lagoon taken from my bedroom window...but everything looks much closer than it really is (I don't want my sister, Connie, worrying when she realizes this is the lagoon that was flooding towards my house!).  It wasn't long after that when it started freezing over.  One morning, I was looking out towards the water and realized I was seeing a seal on top of the ice.  It then darted back into the water....oh, I was using binoculars!  Then I watched a hunter drive up to the shoreline on a four-wheeler and he looked for a long time.  He finally gave up and left.  Soon after....up came the seal again to rest on the ice!

Caution! Photos Might Gross You Out!

For some of you, the following photos might gross you out.  Please just skip over them if you take offense in such things....but do keep in mind that this is the way of life up here....a very necessary way of life.  They were taken throughout the village of the "normal" hunting activities that must occur.  I did find it interesting to watch and to think about what it's like to process the animals for their skins and meat.  It can be an all day event depending on the number of seals captured.  It's not an easy task.  Also remember...it's not like these folks can drive over to Glen's Market for what they need to fill their freezers or make their warm clothing (note the mittens at the end....I had them made for me by one of the ladies in the village....and had her use the school colors from East Jordan for the beadwork).

By the way, Kate (in this picture) is our Kindergarten teacher.  I doubt too many Kindergarten teachers can say this is what they do in their spare time!

I'm So Excited!

Ok....first picture worked and I have a ton more....where to begin?  Let's see if I can add one from when I spent some time in Anchorage back at the end of July.  I attended the "Welcome Wagon" sponsored by the Bering Strait School District.  It was to help us "newbies" figure out what the heck we were doing in getting ready to head to the Bush.  I had the chance, thanks to a wonderful friend, Sue, to do some "tourist trips"!  Check it out!  The picture I'm going to try adding is where I got out of the car to use a rustic restroom.  There was a sign warning of bears and Sue had just told me to make a lot of noise as I was walking back to the bathroom.  That's when I realized, "I'm not in Kansas anymore, Toto!"  But check out the view!  You don't see that everyday when you stop to use a bathroom!

It's About Time!

Yeah, yeah!  I know....I haven't added much to my blog in quite awhile.  So sorry!  I've been just a little bit busy up here....to put it mildly.  Let's see....where shall I begin?  Halloween!  Check out this picture....the little bumpkins had to bundle up in order to trick-or-treat....

This was the "calm before the storm" looking out over the Chukchi Sea.  There was ice forming on the water at this point but when the storm blew in, the ice went bye-bye!  This picture was taken on Nov. 7.

The following pictures were taken while it was still light out and as the storm was blowing in (November 9).  Obviously, the worst of the storm hit when it was dark and I can assure you that I was NOT outside in those strong winds.  As it was, my house was rocking and rolling in the wind since my house is not at all protected from the wind.  It's a straight stretch from the lagoon (south side of the island) to my house.  On that side, there was concern for flooding (which did occur but not to the point of evacuating my house) and on the second night of the storm, the sled dogs just to the left of the house had to be moved up to locations right outside the house.

There was some shoreline erosion which, as I have mentioned on Facebook, Shishmaref cannot afford to have happen.  If you can, check out Ken Stenek on Facebook.  Ken is a veteran teacher here and some of his pictures/video were shown on Alaska television channels.  All in all, it could have been a lot worse.  There were some families who had to stay at the school after some damage occurred at their homes.  The worst for me was that I lost the top to the outside honey bin!  The next day, I realized that I was not the only one as I saw several strewn throughout the village.  I did locate mine later in the day and returned it to its proper resting spot!

My son was saying something to me about going to the school for safety.  The school is an "evacuation location" as is the church right across from my house.  However, Dan made the comment that the school "must be built of cinder blocks and would be sturdy".  Well.....it's not built of cinder blocks!  It, like most buildings in the tundra, has to be built up on stilts to protect the permafrost.  You can look all the way under the school to the other side.