Sunday, December 15, 2013

It's Beginning to Look a Lot like Christmas!

Everyone in Twin Hills, Alaska celebrates Christmas which means we have the freedom to celebrate it in school too! We have a Christmas tree, sing Christmas songs, watch Christmas movies, do Christmas crafts, etc. We have been practicing for our Christmas show for the past two weeks, singing our songs and reciting our poems. We've all been having a lot of fun with the holiday in school since after Thanksgiving. Meghan had a Christmas ornament making fundraiser at school last Thursday. There was a great turn out and everyone had a lot of fun!
Our school Christmas tree
Ornament making night

My parents sent me a Christmas tree so our house is festive too! Then family and friends gave my mom unwanted ornaments to send to me so every ornament on my tree is from someone back home. I love my tree and it makes me feel like everyone is with me for the holidays. Piper and I will be spending Christmas here in Twin Hills with Meghan, Andy, Ash, and Piper. We are off school from 12/21 until 1/7 and then have inservice days from the 8th to the 10th which means I won't be teaching until the 13th of January! Long Christmas break….I am already missing home and wishing I could be there for the holidays but I'm sure I will find ways to keep busy during break. 








We had a week of very warm weather while it was snowing in PA. All of the snow here melted, even on the mountain tops, and we got used to the temperature being in the 40s. On Thursday it dropped to zero and had been around there ever since with a wind chill making it feel like -20. Piper of course doesn't mind the cold and takes her good old time outside. We still have no snow but the plants on the tundra are frozen and very pretty. 




One of our paraprofessionals, Agnes, took me to Mary Cleveland's house last week. Mary Cleveland is one of the elders here and speaks mostly Yupik. I bought two dark seal skin hats from her. These hats are waterproof and the best way to stay warm in Alaska! I got a seal/otter hat and a seal/beaver hat. She was working on more hats, mittens, and slippers while I was there. 
 Seal/beaver
 Seal/otter
 Seal/beaver
seal/otter

My students had pen pals from Kutztown University where I went to college. The project was for the college student to write to their pen pal and find out their likes and needs and then make them a game based off of that. The games came this week and they are BEAUTIFUL! My kids were so excited! Each bag came with three books and then a game based on those three books. They were all in personalized bags and some even sent extra toys and books for the kids. We read all of the books together and then played the games as a class. I wish the college kids could have been here to see their faces! 



















Maddy is officially home safely from Spain! I wish I could have been there to get her and be there with my family but I know it will be my turn to come home soon enough. This picture of Mom picking her up is priceless. :)


Sunday, December 1, 2013

November 15th-December 1st

So this post is long overdue and I apologize. Once I have Internet in my new house I will be able to update more.

Friday the 15th was my 24th birthday! We didn’t have school that day so I had a relaxing day at home with Piper. I FaceTimed my parents and opened my gifts from them. They get me a bread machine, bread mixes, a cookbook, and all of the ingredients to make bread. They also got me some base layer clothes and warm socks. My sister got me two seasons of “Diners, Drive-Ins, and Drives.” My Aunt Jeanie and Uncle Joe got me beef jerky and our family friend Amy got me two seasons of “Everybody Loves Raymond.” Mom sent me my favorite cake so I made that and got to lick the batter. Then I was feeling sad because I had this whole cake and no one to eat it with me because Meghan doesn’t like chocolate. All of the kids were out playing on the playground so I called them over and dished cake out of my kitchen window and ate with all of them before taking Piper for a walk. That night I went over to Meghan and Andy’s and she made me a birthday dinner! We had moose, which was very good and tasted like steak and homemade vanilla cake. It was delicious and even had purple cream cheese icing with sprinkles! They even got me a gift card for Amazon, Meghan made me a beautiful scarf, and they gave me a “Pamyua” CD which is a Southwestern Yupik group. Here is a video of them if you want to see: Pamyua. It was a birthday I will never forget!
 Piper playing with wrapping paper

 Cake Meghan made!
 Moose
 Birthday dinner
 CD from Meghan and Andy




 Scarf from Meghan

On Sunday the 17th I left for Manokotak for one of our 7th graders for a student council retreat. Once again I had the pleasure of having an air taxi ride. This time it was with Grant so the plane was a little bit bigger. When the plane first landed I was very excited to see trees!! We got a ride to the school, which is so new and pretty. They had a lot of cultural artifacts and paintings. Their village is a lot bigger than Twin Hills so they have a lot more students and their school goes until high school. Twin Hills only goes to 8th grade and then they have to go to one of the other villages for high school. I was also excited to see fellow Kutztown alumni Marisa! It was nice to see a friend and we even slept in her classroom. We were there from Sunday until Tuesday. We slept on the floor of the school and showered in the girls locker room. I got to meet and socialize with other teachers chaperoning the retreat and see some of the Manokotak teachers I met at inservice. We got to go into town, which is five miles from the school! I got a picture by the river that had a very pretty view. They have a store but it really didn’t have much. I got some candy canes ($6 for 12!) but there was really nothing there worth getting. I went to Marisa’s apartment one night and got to visit with her for a while and meet her puppy Macy she got there! Macy is very cute and sweet! Grant took us home and I was staring at the pilot because he looked so familiar. Then I realized it was Robert who went to old Togiak with Martha and I when I found the tooth! He did good work and got Sylvia and I back to Twin Hills safe and sound. When I got back a had an early Christmas present from my Aunt Jeanie and Joe, Omaha Steak! I was so excited to get chicken, steak, hamburgers, potatoes, and more!








































Last weekend I got to move into my new house! Meghan and Andy were in Anchorage for a doctor’s appointment so our custodian John and one of our subs Nick helped me move in. I worked all day and all night to get unpacked and organized. I feel relieved I know where all of my things are, my house is so clean and new, it smells wonderful, and just feels homey. Piper was not happy at first but now she loves it with all of the low windows. There still aren’t artic entry ways or stairs on the front but that is okay. Meghan made me curtains which really made the place feel more like home. I love the fabrics she picked out and they look great!
 Powder room

 Picture from Mrs. Maguire from the Kutztown Folk Fest
 Hall from my room with washer and dryer
 Back of house
 Side of house
 Brown building is the school to show how close our houses are
 Front of house, no stairs yet
 My house and Meghan's house
 Guest Room

 Family room/kitchen



 My room
 My bathroom



Last weekend while I was moving in the wet heavy snow that was falling I noticed a huge looking bird on a boat by the river. I took a chance and walked down and it was a huge bald eagle! It let me stand right under it! I took some pictures and went back to get my phone to take some on that. A student walked down with me the second time and the eagle decided one person was okay but not two and it took off. I got a picture right as it went to fly away.









We had our Thanksgiving feast at school at 3 on Wednesday. Our feast was dedicated to the founders of Twin Hills, three of whom are still here. The school made two hams and a turkey and I made stuffing. People brought some interesting things to the potluck like salted pickled fish head and herring eggs. I had some agukak (Eskimo ice cream) and a cranberry yogurt type of drink I forget the Yupik name for. I also tried the fish head but had a hard time trying to figure out how to eat it. On Thursday for Thanksgiving I went to church at 11. Then Piper and I spent the day with Meghan and Andy. We made turkey, homemade pumpkin pie and cherry pie, green bean casserole, homemade cranberry sauce, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and corn. It was DELICIOUS! The turkey was perfect, the stuffing was delicious, and the pies were so good! All of it was delicious! We watched “Northern Exposure” while the food was cooking and the dogs played all day. This Thanksgiving I am so thankful I have a family and friends worth missing. I am thankful for Piper to keep me company while I am here. And I am thankful for my new friends Meghan and Andy who do so much for me and make it a lot less lonely.








Friday while Piper and I were walking I noticed a large looking bird on a telephone pole. Once again I took a chance and walked over and was rewarded. I couldn’t help but take a hundred more pictures of this beautiful bird. It let me stand right under it! Remember: click the picture to make it bigger! I hope you enjoy these pictures as much as I enjoy staring at this bird.






Other random pictures from other the past few weeks: