Saturday, April 28, 2012
Ice Formations
These aren't the ice pictures I was originally hoping for in Nome, but I still enjoyed taking these!
The Bird!
Aw, Shucks!
Today's blog is about carrying my camera more often....even though it's sometimes a pain to do so....especially in the extreme negative temperatures where the batteries die within seconds! But I'm currently in Nome where it's in the 30s and I'm even able to walk about in sneakers...no boots down here. Actually, back in Shishmaref, I've been able to walk around without my heavy snowpants or even long underwear for a couple of weeks. Spring is definitely making itself known up here in the tundra.
But alas! Back to my blog entry. Yesterday while venturing out on Front Street here in Nome, I came upon a puddle along the side of a building made from water freezing, melting, and refreezing in the most intricate patterns. I stepped off the sidewalk to intensely look at it. I didn't have my camera. I thought, "Well, with any luck, it'll be there tomorrow and I'll get it then." It wasn't to be, however, because I went back today and it wasn't the same. I did walk around the town a bit to find other interesting photo opportunities...but not what I saw yesterday.
So, as I sat in the Polar Cafe enjoying an omelet, orange juice and coffee and pondering the lost photo, my mind began to "justify" my experience.
You see, I am a firm believer in everything happening for a reason...whether it be an experience of some sort....a person you meet....some material thing you receive....there's a reason for it. I'm not saying we always understand what that reason is immediately...and maybe never. But I also believe that we sometimes don't allow ourselves the chance to learn that reason. A person needs to be quiet....something I don't think some people can do comfortably...and to listen....something I KNOW some people do not practice.....and especially to be open to subtle messages that may come your way.
I love being alone....I love the quiet. But I can also enjoy being alone with music playing....or even with the television on. I think the key is being alone. Now don't get me wrong...I enjoy people, too, and I have some very special family and friends "back home" with whom I'm eagerly anticipating spending time together. Nevertheless, those folks know me well enough to know there are times when "Donna needs her time alone!"
So what does all this have to do with the ice formation?
I sat quietly in the restaurant back at a corner table looking out on the frozen Bering Sea and watching a dark spot out on the ice that I believe was an ice fisherman. He (assuming it was a man) was there yesterday, too. I thought about his endurance. I wondered how many fish he was catching and what it's like to know that up here, what you catch is what determines a full belly or not. I wondered how thick the ice was and how deep the sea was way out there. I thought about being in Nome last August when the sea was not frozen and I sat in awe of where I was and watching the waves crash onto shore. I remembered the news about the Russian fuel barge coming in this past winter under extraordinary conditions. I thought about what it must have been like back in the days of the gold miners....and even before that with the indigenous tribes and their survival in this harsh habitat. I smiled at my memories of seeing part of the Iditarod this year before the mushers and dogs arrived in Nome. Yup....I thought about all that while waiting for my omelet (which was really good, by the way). I can't put those thoughts into pictures. Oh, sure, I've been taking and sharing lots of pictures and I am able to tell the stories about them. But there are things I won't always be able to capture...my internal feelings of accomplishment, excitement and appreciation.
Nevertheless, not capturing the ice formation is not a lost experience. I will remember what that ice looked like in my mind. Someday when I am REALLY old...I know I'm "old"....but not REALLY old yet....although....I must tell this story before I finish that thought....
Back home in Michigan as the years went by, my students would slip now and then and call me "Mom". Eventually, as time passed, they would slip and call me "Grandma" and I knew I was getting older...even in the eyes of my students. But the ultimate happened up here with one of my little ECE kids. It warmed my heart and will be forever with me. One of my students called me "Ahna"....which is Eskimo for Grandma. There was no picture taken of that....it'll be forever in my mind's camera!!!
Back to someday when I'm REALLY old....and unable to express myself to my kids and friends (except that they will be really old, too, so they won't care) and my eyes won't be able to see those photos I took throughout the years (you should see the tubs of photos I have back home....have fun, Dan and Jess, sorting through those when I'm gone)....when I'm THAT old....I will quietly see those hundreds of pictures I wasn't able to capture on film. They will be there in my mind....for me to enjoy.
Anyway....not catching that ice formation on film made me think of how often we miss things along the path of life...because we aren't quiet...we aren't listening...we aren't watching....or we just aren't willing to "step off the sidewalk" and search out something different.
I'm glad (in a way) that I didn't get a picture of that ice formation because it made me think of how fortunate I have been these past few months to have had the experiences I've had up here. I "stepped off the sidewalk" and took a chance in achieving one of my dreams....teaching and living in rural Alaska. Everything happens for a reason....and I needed a little jolt to think about my experiences.
I've been in a bit of a funk lately. A friend back in Shishmaref, an experienced teacher who has insights worth hearing...if you are willing to listen, told me that April is a common time of year for those of us from the Lower 48 to get a little "buggy". It could be that and it may be that I'm anxious to get home for a little while....to see my family and to shower freely and flush a toilet and eat a green salad and...and...! That's part of the reason I'm here in Nome this weekend. I knew I needed to "get out" for a little while. I had tried to get out earlier in April but couldn't get a hotel room in Nome the weekend I wanted to go out....so I waited until this weekend...even though in just a little over three weeks, I'll be leaving Shishmaref for the summer...to return in August for another school year. But, I have so enjoyed this weekend....being QUIET.....and alone....with my thoughts about how this year has gone in Shishmaref and regrouping for my final weeks on the job. It's a busy time at school with lots going on in the next 14 days.....Kindergarten Round-Up, "prom" (yes, even for ECE students), two more program evaluations from outside entities, and graduation (ECE students included)....as well as packing up the classroom (we still don't know what will happen next fall as we finish the year in the church basement) and preparing for my move into the "big" building and the third grade classroom....hey, wait...isn't that where I left off this time last year back in East Jordan? I also need to box up some things in my house so it won't be in the way of any District workers who will be making repairs during the summer. I'll have a new housemate....so she'll be moving her belongings in before she leaves for the summer. Lots happening.....!
Now....with that....I am going to watch the remaining minutes of one of my favorite shows, "Wheel of Fortune", which I haven't seen in quite awhile. Oh, speaking of that, today I was able to watch the PBR (Professional Bull Riding)....yeehaw! I haven't seen that since last November when I, by chance, tuned into the Finals when I had cable. Now don't get any ideas like, "You can take the girl out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the girl!" I am NOT a country girl....I do NOT enjoy country music. But I sure do like my PBR! Let's see if I have the nerve next Halloween to wear "my costume" up in Shishmaref. I do have it up there!!!
Anyway....I'm going to watch the rest of the show and then I'm going to venture out with my camera because there is one more picture waiting to be captured....the ravens here are HUGE....even bigger than the ones in Shishmaref. I wish you could hear them talk.....and I wish I knew what they were saying! I suspect it's something humorous.
TTFN
But alas! Back to my blog entry. Yesterday while venturing out on Front Street here in Nome, I came upon a puddle along the side of a building made from water freezing, melting, and refreezing in the most intricate patterns. I stepped off the sidewalk to intensely look at it. I didn't have my camera. I thought, "Well, with any luck, it'll be there tomorrow and I'll get it then." It wasn't to be, however, because I went back today and it wasn't the same. I did walk around the town a bit to find other interesting photo opportunities...but not what I saw yesterday.
So, as I sat in the Polar Cafe enjoying an omelet, orange juice and coffee and pondering the lost photo, my mind began to "justify" my experience.
You see, I am a firm believer in everything happening for a reason...whether it be an experience of some sort....a person you meet....some material thing you receive....there's a reason for it. I'm not saying we always understand what that reason is immediately...and maybe never. But I also believe that we sometimes don't allow ourselves the chance to learn that reason. A person needs to be quiet....something I don't think some people can do comfortably...and to listen....something I KNOW some people do not practice.....and especially to be open to subtle messages that may come your way.
I love being alone....I love the quiet. But I can also enjoy being alone with music playing....or even with the television on. I think the key is being alone. Now don't get me wrong...I enjoy people, too, and I have some very special family and friends "back home" with whom I'm eagerly anticipating spending time together. Nevertheless, those folks know me well enough to know there are times when "Donna needs her time alone!"
So what does all this have to do with the ice formation?
I sat quietly in the restaurant back at a corner table looking out on the frozen Bering Sea and watching a dark spot out on the ice that I believe was an ice fisherman. He (assuming it was a man) was there yesterday, too. I thought about his endurance. I wondered how many fish he was catching and what it's like to know that up here, what you catch is what determines a full belly or not. I wondered how thick the ice was and how deep the sea was way out there. I thought about being in Nome last August when the sea was not frozen and I sat in awe of where I was and watching the waves crash onto shore. I remembered the news about the Russian fuel barge coming in this past winter under extraordinary conditions. I thought about what it must have been like back in the days of the gold miners....and even before that with the indigenous tribes and their survival in this harsh habitat. I smiled at my memories of seeing part of the Iditarod this year before the mushers and dogs arrived in Nome. Yup....I thought about all that while waiting for my omelet (which was really good, by the way). I can't put those thoughts into pictures. Oh, sure, I've been taking and sharing lots of pictures and I am able to tell the stories about them. But there are things I won't always be able to capture...my internal feelings of accomplishment, excitement and appreciation.
Nevertheless, not capturing the ice formation is not a lost experience. I will remember what that ice looked like in my mind. Someday when I am REALLY old...I know I'm "old"....but not REALLY old yet....although....I must tell this story before I finish that thought....
Back home in Michigan as the years went by, my students would slip now and then and call me "Mom". Eventually, as time passed, they would slip and call me "Grandma" and I knew I was getting older...even in the eyes of my students. But the ultimate happened up here with one of my little ECE kids. It warmed my heart and will be forever with me. One of my students called me "Ahna"....which is Eskimo for Grandma. There was no picture taken of that....it'll be forever in my mind's camera!!!
Back to someday when I'm REALLY old....and unable to express myself to my kids and friends (except that they will be really old, too, so they won't care) and my eyes won't be able to see those photos I took throughout the years (you should see the tubs of photos I have back home....have fun, Dan and Jess, sorting through those when I'm gone)....when I'm THAT old....I will quietly see those hundreds of pictures I wasn't able to capture on film. They will be there in my mind....for me to enjoy.
Anyway....not catching that ice formation on film made me think of how often we miss things along the path of life...because we aren't quiet...we aren't listening...we aren't watching....or we just aren't willing to "step off the sidewalk" and search out something different.
I'm glad (in a way) that I didn't get a picture of that ice formation because it made me think of how fortunate I have been these past few months to have had the experiences I've had up here. I "stepped off the sidewalk" and took a chance in achieving one of my dreams....teaching and living in rural Alaska. Everything happens for a reason....and I needed a little jolt to think about my experiences.
I've been in a bit of a funk lately. A friend back in Shishmaref, an experienced teacher who has insights worth hearing...if you are willing to listen, told me that April is a common time of year for those of us from the Lower 48 to get a little "buggy". It could be that and it may be that I'm anxious to get home for a little while....to see my family and to shower freely and flush a toilet and eat a green salad and...and...! That's part of the reason I'm here in Nome this weekend. I knew I needed to "get out" for a little while. I had tried to get out earlier in April but couldn't get a hotel room in Nome the weekend I wanted to go out....so I waited until this weekend...even though in just a little over three weeks, I'll be leaving Shishmaref for the summer...to return in August for another school year. But, I have so enjoyed this weekend....being QUIET.....and alone....with my thoughts about how this year has gone in Shishmaref and regrouping for my final weeks on the job. It's a busy time at school with lots going on in the next 14 days.....Kindergarten Round-Up, "prom" (yes, even for ECE students), two more program evaluations from outside entities, and graduation (ECE students included)....as well as packing up the classroom (we still don't know what will happen next fall as we finish the year in the church basement) and preparing for my move into the "big" building and the third grade classroom....hey, wait...isn't that where I left off this time last year back in East Jordan? I also need to box up some things in my house so it won't be in the way of any District workers who will be making repairs during the summer. I'll have a new housemate....so she'll be moving her belongings in before she leaves for the summer. Lots happening.....!
Now....with that....I am going to watch the remaining minutes of one of my favorite shows, "Wheel of Fortune", which I haven't seen in quite awhile. Oh, speaking of that, today I was able to watch the PBR (Professional Bull Riding)....yeehaw! I haven't seen that since last November when I, by chance, tuned into the Finals when I had cable. Now don't get any ideas like, "You can take the girl out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the girl!" I am NOT a country girl....I do NOT enjoy country music. But I sure do like my PBR! Let's see if I have the nerve next Halloween to wear "my costume" up in Shishmaref. I do have it up there!!!
Anyway....I'm going to watch the rest of the show and then I'm going to venture out with my camera because there is one more picture waiting to be captured....the ravens here are HUGE....even bigger than the ones in Shishmaref. I wish you could hear them talk.....and I wish I knew what they were saying! I suspect it's something humorous.
TTFN
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Hey, It's Still April, Right?
First things first....I don't want to press my luck any further with this posting! Maybe it's playing a late April Fool's joke on me. I have played and played with trying to get captions in the right place and have deleted things I didn't mean to delete, yada, yada, yada. I am going to post this while my luck is still with me....but I don't think everything will line up just as I had hoped. Oh, well.....enjoy!
Ok, ok....so it's April 15th....but it's still April!
Here's this month's report....a picture (or more) will say it all....
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Flat Stanley had come to visit from Bolingbrook, Illinois. He helped us make a decision about our classroom! |
 |
Before Flat Stanley left to go back home, he wanted to say good-bye to his new friends here in Shishmaref. He was very pleased with his new fur-lined parka, mittens, mukluks, and Eskimo sunglasses, too! |
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ECE/Head Start Moving Day! The crew brought in their sno-go's and sleds and started hauling furniture and supplies to the church basement where classes resumed on Monday, April 16th. We lost only two weeks of classes but I still managed to get the majority of my April testing done off site. I sure appreciated the parents bringing their kids to Kate's kindergarten room after school and to Denise's room during the afternoon to accomplish this task. We have five weeks to go until we are done for the year. We haven't heard yet what will happen to the building! |
Let's see...what else has happened so far in April? Well, more pictures to tell the story....
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Here's an incoming C-130 about to land on our small runway! It was bringing in the military folks from "Arctic Care" who provided vet services to the animals and dental, medical and vision care to the villagers. This C-130 was totally awesome to watch and hear (roaring)....coming and going! The second time one of these big birds came in, we were pretty much fogged in and knew the plane was grounded in Nome. Alas, enough fog lifted for the plane to come in and we could hear it long before it magically emerged out of the fog. Incredible sight to see! |
Thor came back to spend some time with me while his "family" spent the day at the "hot springs"
up on the mainland (a favorite spot for winter relaxation indoors
in the natural hot springs pool and sledding fun outside).
Also in April....more snow....
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Would you like to have to dig out this doorway? Or how about digging this out..... 
Or maybe you'd like to tackle this mound of ice that slid off a roof one day.....! No one was hurt! Shishmaref is definitely located in a harsh climate....but beauty is all around.....
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