Sunday, December 19, 2010

The last days before Christmas Break!

Theresa and I were trying to design noses for the reindeer in our Christmas Program.

Traditional Eskimo boots the fourth-graders from another class wore in the program.

Becca, me, and Theresa in our Qaspaqs. Stephanie made me this beautiful green one with a gathered skirt added to it. Qaspaqs are their traditional formal wear and when you wear one you get compliments all day long! :) "Ohh so nice, Miss!" "Oh so beautiful. Who made?" "So Pretty!"

We think we're strong. Jadon's mom was the one who made me my very first qaspaq in time to wear it for the program!
My classroom aftermath after the night of the Christmas Program. However, I wish I would have taken an after picture to compare. It's drastically cleaner now.

10:30 AM- Field trip to the Post Office of Alakanuk! Theresa and I have penpals with the students I used to student teach and know at Walnut Grove Elementary in WA. We thought it would be fun to go learn more about the USPS on our last day before Winter Break.

If you asked the kids what the most impressive part of the field trip was, they would probably tell you it was our wonderful postmaster, Ruth. She amazed them by letting them quiz her on the fact that she has every 311 PO Box memorized. The student would say, "What about mine?" "What about my box?" and she got it right each time. If she didn't recognize them (they were all bundled up in winter gear), she'd ask them to remind her of their parents and then say the PO number. The kids' reactions were priceless; they would fall silent and widen their eyes while smiling.

I've also always been impressed with how Ruth learned my name so quickly, would allow my mail to be put in Theresa's instead of the school's box when I first moved up to Alakanuk, and always has a friendly smile on her face. I can honestly say going to the PO is always a pleasant experience even if we don't have mail for a few days. She has a couple other helpers in the PO, but works there most of the time.

Below, I get to see my PO Box from their point of view.


On Friday before break, Agnes, our classroom elder, gave me a gift. I opened it to reveal a qaspaq-- beautiful blue, with navy and metallic trim and handmade drawstring. I am honored to have such a loving, talented, generous woman in my life!

Below, she also made Josh an amazing hat with blue corduroy and a really pretty fur lining.

On Saturday, I and 5 other people tried to get out of Alakanuk to leave for Christmas. However, no planes were going to be leaving AUK that day due to fog. Our only chance was to snowmachine about 10 miles to Emmonak-- hurry up and wait for our flight to go out of Emmonak. (EMO has more instruments and a better set-up for taking off and landing.)

When we were checking in to the little EMO airport, my name got mixed up on the receipt as "Jana Durkeyle" which must have originated from her looking at the last name next to it on the list "Purkeypile." I was a little concerned she might have mistaken us for one person and combined us and that we wouldn't have enough room on the plane. But, she had just made a simple mistake and did have us both on the list.

However, we received news a little later that they were legally obligated to carry 600 extra pounds of fuel in case weather was bad and they couldn't land in Bethel. That was very bad news since that meant we had to cut some people of the flight. We all knew that this was quite possibly the last plane to get out for a few days if the low front kept moving in.

Clark and Becca altruistically volunteered to stay behind and wait for another plane. Luckily after much praying and many phone calls. They arrived safe and sound about 5 hours later-- still in time for our evening flight. Meanwhile the weather in Bethel, was changing quicker than a runway model. The large plane coming in from Anchorage to pick up the afternoon group had circled twice and headed back to Anchorage due to fog.

We didn't want to think about not being able to fly out that night. The airport in Bethel would shut down at 9PM and the cheapest hotel was 150 dollars. Someone we know had been stuck there a few nights before. He said that the hotel was the worst he had ever seen, and he is even from a Cuba, a third-world country.

Luckily, the temperature dropped even more and so did the fog. I let Clark know after security those 45 steps from the terminal to the Alaska Airlines plane were quite possibly the best steps of my life. He just asked incredulously, "You counted?"

My flight was delayed about 45 minutes out of Anchorage to Seattle. I finally slept on that flight.

And now? I'm home sweet home at my parents.

Posted on a facebook status at about 10AM this morning, " "Honey I'm ho-ho-home!" -quote from our little Santa at the Christmas Program .............. But, really. It has been so crazy to see trees, and daylight, and a wintery fat dog and cat, and a stairway, and a real Christmas tree, and water than can't get any better from the tap, etc. It's great to be in my very own bed ...in Winlock, WA!"

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Christmas time in the village

After a day of laying in the chair, gargling salt water, and taking my antibiotics to try cure my tonsillitis, I decided to get up and utilize the branches my mom had brought me in Anchorage. The smell of fir and cedar brought me warm memories of my parents' property.



I've since changed the swag and wreath to have Christmas decorations.

Christmas Time in the Village:

When my key to PO Box 236 turns, it is common to find an empty cold metal compartment. But, nothing can warm it up faster than cheery loving Christmas cards! I am so blessed to have people who have wished me a wonderful season of love. Thank you to everyone who has been thinking of me while I am in this new place.

One of my favorite things about this season in Alakanuk is that the fine crystals of snow twirl to the ground while the warm pink glow from the sunrise and sunset filters through the low trees. The cold air pushes a gradient of pink, purple, blue, gray, and white along the horizon.

Our Thanksgiving was held in the gym with some of the other kassaq teachers (us white-folk, non-natives, and a non-offensive term). We had some good food, but I'll be honest and say it was hard to Skype (free online video conferencing) my family and see them with Pumpkin-Spiced coffee and mom's homemade rolls. I still appreciated a White Thanksgiving. (I was saying that I love White Christmases, so a White Thanksgiving is a huge treat in my book. I wasn't referring to the fact it was "White" Thanksgiving. I realized that could be perceived as a tactless statement.)

My personal favorite thanksgiving food is my mother's stuffing. I love turkey dipped in mashed potatoes as glue to stick to corn and stuffing. When I asked the kids in my class what they liked to eat for their Thanksgiving meals, they said turkey, swan, goose, aqutaq (eskimo ice cream), fried bread (I've tried that... it's amazing!), jello, and many more. Sounds like they have their family favorites and specialties just we do in our family.

Speaking of getting the kids' input, yesterday we were preparing a skit for the Christmas Program with Theresa's class. I was retyping some lyrics to make it more relevant to them. We wanted to switch a different historical figure other than Columbus. So while the kids were working on their costumes and props, Theresa asked them who was really important in history. Their only responses and in this order were "Santa, Abraham Lincoln, God, and Michael Jordan."

The Christmas program is tonight. With our class combined, we have 26 kids on stage at the same time. Theresa and I wrote the play specially for our students. Although the kids may struggle with saying their lines into the microphone, I hope the parents/audience will enjoy the humor and hard work. However, I hope my students show up. Some are bummed that their parents aren't attending for various reasons (some parents just don't feel it is important enough to be around for it and I feel for the several kids who are dealing with that upset).

I'm surprised how fast time has flown by. After Christmas Break, we'll have two weeks left of the second quarter. Collectively, the students have excelled in overcoming obstacles, becoming more independent, and increasing respect for themselves and others. However, most of those aren't standards I can check off and aren't quantifiable on a report card. Next quarter I've got plenty to focus on and I hope that I can get lots of work done tomorrow before that plane comes to pick us up on Saturday!

Thanksgiving in the gym with friends-- Theresa, Me, Becca, and Amy
Look what we found behind the Native Store? A Kia!
We loved the Target Lady commercials-- she pumped us up for Black Friday sales at... Native Store! (Disclaimer: There are really no such sales in Alakanuk, AK)

Some of my favorite smiley boys on a small 270 snowmachine and a sled. They were following us. We were in a sled, also! This is how you get bulk groceries from where they're dropped off to our house.

Theresa and my Christmas tree in the middle of the living room. About $900.00 of a tree. :)