In bush Alaska, I wasn't surprised when I couldn't get through to the clinic or that the Era Alaska agent called me to tell me my plane was landing soon (almost an hour and a half early) and that I needed to get out to the airport. They also asked me that since I lived close to Amy (another teacher who had coincidentally scheduled doctors appointments the same weekend) and I knew she was flying, too, to let her know our flight was coming soon.
Since I have not perfected how to quickly throw on snow-clothes, I did it as quickly as I could and lugged my suitcase and empty cooler to the school in hopes of a ride to the airport. I waited for Amy to pick up a load of 5 puppies that she would be responsible for getting to the Anchorage Animal Rescue. (Another teacher wanted them shipped out of the village. The average lifespan of a dog is quite short in Alakanuk. Many of them that you see are stray, mean, or dingy.)
Once she had the crate of puppies, I continued the path to the school which meant I had to heave my magenta suitcase and blue ice-chest up and down a set of wooden stairs that go over the above-ground sewer pipes. Going up was a task since I had my awkward luggage. Going down was even easier. My foot slipped on the snow-mounded steps and my snow-clothes provided a thin cushion for my quick ride down the other side of the steps.
I felt a nice bruise forming on my gluteus maximus, but managed a grin as a student came running towards me. "Jana! Jana!" He came waving an oversized envelope filled with penpal letters I was planning to mail from Anchorage. When he offered to carry something and I handed the cooler over, the look of surprise on his face made me smile. I explained to him that I was going to bring back meat and a ham for my classroom aide, Helen.
(On a side note, the students call the teachers by their first names here. At first, it felt somewhat unnatural after being called Miss Kandoll in years past. I was worried about kids not respecting me. However, now I realize many are turned off to the formality of addressing me or another adult as Miss Kandoll or Mister Whomever. Who ever thought that me being called Jana or wearing jeans and a sweatshirt would actually gain me some respect? But, the kids do respect me and I respect them, too. Without the forced formalities, we've created a classroom environment with natural loving respect.)
So 20 minutes later at 10:30AM, we were taking off the icy runway on the small bush plane. I still have to get used to the darkness and late dawns. Here is a shot of the sun rising above the cold tundra and the white Yukon.
We flew to St. Mary’s and waited in the busy one-room airport. As I called the doctor to try move my appointment from Friday to Thursday, I realized I hadn’t had time to use the restroom before leaving Alakanuk. The restroom had a clear piece of tape and a sign stating, “Out of Order.” In the bush, planes do not have restrooms aboard, so I knew I wasn’t able to go for a few more hours. I was prepared to ask them where a private place I could go outside was, when I saw the sign on the door also said there was a bathroom upstairs. So I walked out the door and up some plywood steps. In a place where the pilots ate, slept, and even played guitar, I was able to find a door that might as well have said “Glorious Relief”.
Once in Anchorage, I had the freedom of a rental car to be able to drive on a paved road and get to a doctor. After an x-ray of my sinuses, my doctor came to the conclusion that the facial numbness I have been experiencing is not due to a sinus infection, or Bell’s Palsy, but she didn’t know what it was. If the numbness continues a “couple more months” I’ll get lab work done to see if there is a possible vitamin B12 or other deficiencies.
As for my swollen tonsils, she carefully prescribed me an antibiotic I wasn’t supposed to be allergic to (I have an allergy to Sulfa meds) to heal my tonsillitis.
In Fred Meyer, I had my new prescription and a cart full of groceries to ship out to the village to do my grocery shopping. With some water and a granola bar, I took the first two pills thinking it would contribute to a victory. However, later a flushed skintone and eyeballs the color of my lips proved that I was yet again allergic to one more type of antibiotic.
Meanwhile, I got settled into my hotel room which I would be sharing with my parents. While I was out to eat with my amazing Alaska State New Teacher Mentor, I told her about the girl at the front desk earlier. 
The view from the hotel room.
In a world where 98% of the population cannot spell the last name Kandoll, I was taken aback when she cheerfully quipped, “K-A-N-D-O-L-L?” while snapping her gum. I kept one hand on my suitcase and the other on the counter, while I wished I had one more hand to close my open jaw. “Yes, thank you.” While I listened to her acrylic nails peck at the keyboard, I added, “And I want to make sure it’s okay that my parents will also be staying in the room with me. Is it a double bed and do I need to pay more?”
The next few minutes, I’m not sure what all she said. Between her quick words, I heard “Your mother called me today!” “Oh wait, I feel so bad. Did I ruin the surprise??” After I assured her that I had already known and that the no surprise was ruined I started to wonder if there was more to the story. However, the fact that my parents had wanted to meet me in Anchorage while I was at the doctor was already a big treat.
My parents didn't fly in until late Thursday night or as my dad corrected me "early Friday morning." While I was waiting, I hung out with Amy at the hotel (also a teacher at Alakanuk who had scheduled doctor's appointments that weekend). If you zoom into that picture, you can see my eyes were just starting to get flushed from my allergic reaction to the first meds.
But when the clock struck 1:30AM at the Tedd Stevens International Airport, there they were—my parents. With a hug and the story of how silly I was to think anyone else might be possibly coming, I turned to walk through the doors exiting the terminal. When I turned to see if my parents were still following me, my brother and sister-in-law were right behind me! In some embarrassingly childish reactions, I welcomed seeing them for the first time since the Eindhoven train station in July.
Nathan, Tricia, Mom, Dad, and I packed into one hotel room for an old-fashioned SLEEPOVER! Also, in the picture, I'm opening a present from Nate. I had let him know that my students (and I) would love some of his artwork in the classroom. Here is a poster of Spiderman that he had had quickly printed to give me.
The weekend consisted of a mini-roadtrip where we made it only 5 miles in 45 minutes due to pull-out sight seeing stops every 20 yards, waking up from sore throat pains, filling my limited appetite with scrumptious food, and even a trip to purchase a snowmobile. I felt bad that my family spent most of their first trip to Anchorage waiting for me at the doctor because I ended up having to play phone tag all Friday, finally got into an on-call doctor Saturday, was given a different prescription, and had to try take it quickly to see if I would react to that antibiotic before heading back to the village. A quick but precious weekend with my family flew by. And then I flew back home--Alakanuk home.
While picking up Amy from her appointment, my mom and I spotted a moose.
Farrrty McFatFat and MouMaster
