Hey all....so this is a brief look at what we had to go through with in-service. So I had to fly into Bethel for our first in-service. The plane stopped in Quig...which is another village across the river...to pick up some more passengers. It ended up being a mom and her two daughters. They were saying good bye to their Dad and the two girls were crying like no other. Not going to lie, I teared up a bit. The mom and I chatted for the entire 45 min. flight about teaching (we're both teachers) and her telling me about the area. She worked as a guide for the fish camps for about 8 years so she was a well of knowledge!
When I got there I was picked up and brought to the district office to sign up for the teacher's union, get on pay roll, check that all my paperwork was in order, make sure I had my benefits lined up, and to get my new lab top :D By the end of it all I had the BIGGEST headache. I could hardly see straight. I chatted with a few teachers....you know...the whole awkward meeting new people situation. Finally I got to go to my hotel to get some ibprofin and take a mini nap. By the end of the night some of the new teachers sat outside to talk and I joined in and being ME made myself at home. That's were I met my new partner in crime...Amanda Frey.....who is also a new teacher in Kong.
The following days were full on information on the phase system for the curriculum, meeting new teachers, and getting to know the Yupik culture of our students. On the second night we got to go salmon fishing! It was amazing! I went with Amanda (new teacher) Eric (who is originally from the cities), Matt, and Capn Jeff. Tons of fun. Amanda had never really fished before and she got a big 'ol salmon! Good times. The best was that she didn't realize they have to bop the fish on the head to A. get them to stop wiggling around so they can get the hook out and B. to kill the fish. She was tramatized slightly and me being me....I laughed. :D The only other person that caught a fish was Capn Jeff. Amanda got to keep the fish so we were both excited to try that out when we got to go home to the village.
After three days of training Amanda and I headed back to the village. We came back to the village on a Thursday and had to go back to Bethel for more training on Monday. The whole time back we spent in our rooms trying to figure out our lives and decorate our rooms. We also cooked up the salmon and let me tell you.....fresh salmon is delicious! YUM YUM! Don't worry....I made sure to call Dad just so he knew that I was eating fresh salmon and he wasn't...tehe.
Then that Monday we went back into Bethel with all the staff and we got to meet all the staff at Kong. Training was exhausting but it was nice to see the other new teachers again and to get to know the new co-workers that are stuck with me for the next 9 months. Took a couple of classes on smart board, SIOP (don't ask) and bloggs. We also got to go to a fiddle dance. Let me tell you....there was NO fiddle but I did two step with a couple of elderly men. Yeah...that's right. Two stepping and waltzing. Gotta love it!
That's all the highlights of training. I'll continue with the village and the first week of school tomorrow. Promise.....I hope ;)
Love and miss you all. Wish you could be here to see the beauty of the tundra. It truely has been amazing so far. Coming up: first week of school, cross country (yeah!), throwing parties, and parent/teacher conferences. KISSES!
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Photos from Belize
I'd like to share my Snapfish photos with you.
Hey all....this is a blast from the past...BUT a lot of my photos from Belize I saved in snapfish photos so now I'm sharing them with you! You can click on the link and look at the 500+ photos........perhaps browse is a better word for it. Enjoy! I know a lot of you have been asking and here they are....I'll put up the rest later.
Peace!
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Dad's mini adventure :D
OK so I've neglected my blog....big shock....but I'm hoping to do better. It's been a crazy experience so far and it's bound to get even better.
Dad came out to the village with me and we both realized that I had no food whatsoever! None of my boxes showed up.....well not true. All my books did arrive. Which is important! BUT I can't eat them....so Dad and I had a bit of an issue. My principle is a saint and gave us some peanut butter ( I had a loaf of bread in my backpack.....don't ask) apples, and soup...which lead to a bowl as well cause I didn't have any! Let me tell you....it's a tad frustrating. My boxes are still somewhere....not where I am! I've been in the village since the first and no boxes yet. GAH! Any who....long story short....Dad and I had a wee bit of an adventure getting him home as well. Dad was supposed to leave on Sunday but the weather was not looking good. It was windy, rainy, etc. We sat in the school office for a couple of hours waiting for a plane to take him to Bethel but no one would land because of the conditions. Dad was a tad frustrated because he needed to get back to Anchorage....where some of his stuff was still at the hotel! and also to get on his flight home! We went to my place for a bit and watched "Meet the Fockers" (always a classic) and waiting. Then all of the sudden my principle was at my door saying a plane was landing in 5 minutes and that was the ONLY one for the rest of the day. Dad and I popped up and ran to the school....said goodbye....and Dad walked "briskly" to the airstrip, in the rain, hoping to catch a ride to Bethel.
My principle and I sat inside and watched Dad fly away. He got home safe and sound. He was supposed to leave Kong at 11:30 and wound up leaving around 6:30. Then I was on my own.....dun Dun DUN! (dramatic music...) actually it wasn't so bad. I put things away and started on lists of things I'm going to need (like FOOD) when I'm in Bethel, etc. The next day I went to Bethel for my first round of new teacher training in LKSD....woohoo!
OK that's my pre-training blog. I promise the training and more info on my village are coming! I need to get my pictures up-loaded, etc, etc. Love and kisses to all and you'll be reading more soon ;)
Dad came out to the village with me and we both realized that I had no food whatsoever! None of my boxes showed up.....well not true. All my books did arrive. Which is important! BUT I can't eat them....so Dad and I had a bit of an issue. My principle is a saint and gave us some peanut butter ( I had a loaf of bread in my backpack.....don't ask) apples, and soup...which lead to a bowl as well cause I didn't have any! Let me tell you....it's a tad frustrating. My boxes are still somewhere....not where I am! I've been in the village since the first and no boxes yet. GAH! Any who....long story short....Dad and I had a wee bit of an adventure getting him home as well. Dad was supposed to leave on Sunday but the weather was not looking good. It was windy, rainy, etc. We sat in the school office for a couple of hours waiting for a plane to take him to Bethel but no one would land because of the conditions. Dad was a tad frustrated because he needed to get back to Anchorage....where some of his stuff was still at the hotel! and also to get on his flight home! We went to my place for a bit and watched "Meet the Fockers" (always a classic) and waiting. Then all of the sudden my principle was at my door saying a plane was landing in 5 minutes and that was the ONLY one for the rest of the day. Dad and I popped up and ran to the school....said goodbye....and Dad walked "briskly" to the airstrip, in the rain, hoping to catch a ride to Bethel.
My principle and I sat inside and watched Dad fly away. He got home safe and sound. He was supposed to leave Kong at 11:30 and wound up leaving around 6:30. Then I was on my own.....dun Dun DUN! (dramatic music...) actually it wasn't so bad. I put things away and started on lists of things I'm going to need (like FOOD) when I'm in Bethel, etc. The next day I went to Bethel for my first round of new teacher training in LKSD....woohoo!
OK that's my pre-training blog. I promise the training and more info on my village are coming! I need to get my pictures up-loaded, etc, etc. Love and kisses to all and you'll be reading more soon ;)
Sunday, August 2, 2009
ALASKA!
Hey all! So Dad and I headed out to Alaska and it was an adventure! We left at around 8ish and it was a solid 5 hour and 15 min. flight from Minneapolis to Anchorage. The flight wasn't bad at all. Dad smoozed the airline and got an exit row seat so he could have leg room. Happiness ensued. Dad and I napped and read.
Once we landed we had a few issues finding a rental car. Dad wasn't quite sure if he rented a car or not so we went around to a bunch of the car rental places to see if we had a reservation or not.....slightly awkward. In the end we didn't so we had to get a cab. All the while we were dragging all our luggage around, which proved to be quite ridiculous and uncomfortable. We were sweating by the end of it. Finally we got to the hotel and took a few minutes to collect ourselves.
We went on walk about and took in downtown Anchorage. We made our way to JCPennys and took care of some things. Eventually we ended up in "Humpys" ......which is a nick name for the pink salmon.....sickos.....Anywho it was a funky bar/restaurant and dad and I enjoyed some nachoes and halibut. Good times. By the time we got back to the hotel we were exhausted! Dad fell asleep by 7:30 (10:30 ND time) I managed to stay up until 9:30...trying to acclimate.....and listened to Dad's snoring.
Day 2 involved getting a rental car and driving around Anchorage. Along the way we found a Wendys and Appleebees! Great town by our measure :P Dad and I got me set up at Sam's club and payed a butt ton of money to ship my food and all out to Kong. After that we stopped at Best Buy and dad harrassed them for a bit....cause he can....at one point the guy brought up google earth to help dad find a store.... :D Then we hit a sports apparel store. By the end of all that dad and I were very hungry. We finally found an A & W and enjoyed our lunch! We eventually went to a battery store to pick some things up for dad. We went back to the hotel to hang out for a bit. Later that night Dad and I decided to go to the movies and when we got there we had missed "Transformers" so we decided on "The Ugly Truth" Hilarious! Especially since I went with my dad!
Day 3 involved a road trip! Dad and I drove down to Seward to just experience the drive. It's gorgeous! We saw mountains, the ocean, glaciers....it was just incredible! When we got into town we putzed around, shopped a bit, and took in the sights. We saw some pictures of HUGE hallibut! HUGE I tell you! Then we grabbed some sandwiches and went back to Anchorage. It was about a 2 hour drive, so a fun travel day! After that we just packed and took it easy....we had to get up at 4am the next morning to head to Kong.
Day 4 Dad and I traveled to Kong. The airport was ridiculous and dad and I almost didn't get our coffee! That would have been bad for everyone! Once we got to Bethel.....we hit more chaos. It was a mad rush to get to the shuttle to take us to the other hanger for our flight to Kong. Once there it was getting into line.....waiting.....make reservations for the 5th time....waiting again. The flight to Kong was awesome! Small plane! It sat 4 all together (pilot included) It was loud but the view was too cool. The tundra is truely beautiful! Dad and I snapped some pics and tried to talk over the loud plane. Once we landed we met up with my principle. NICE GUY! He totally saved our lives. None of my food, clothing, etc have arrived yet. Yeah....none of it. So I had nothing....at all. My principle gave us some food, toilet paper, etc. Life saver! Dad and I unpacked what was there and got my house in order. Then we went over to the school to just take that in. Afterwards we watched movies and ate PB's...it was awesome!
Day 5 dad was supposed to leave at 11:30 but no one showed up. We wound up hanging out in the office for a couple of hours trying to find Dad another flight and figuring out if he'll make his flight back home tomorrow. It was pretty tense for a bit but he finally got out later in the day. It's been raining most of the day so he almost had to stay another night.
It's been an adventure so far and I'm leaving for Bethel for the training tomorrow....I have a feeling more good times are around the corner! :D
Once we landed we had a few issues finding a rental car. Dad wasn't quite sure if he rented a car or not so we went around to a bunch of the car rental places to see if we had a reservation or not.....slightly awkward. In the end we didn't so we had to get a cab. All the while we were dragging all our luggage around, which proved to be quite ridiculous and uncomfortable. We were sweating by the end of it. Finally we got to the hotel and took a few minutes to collect ourselves.
We went on walk about and took in downtown Anchorage. We made our way to JCPennys and took care of some things. Eventually we ended up in "Humpys" ......which is a nick name for the pink salmon.....sickos.....Anywho it was a funky bar/restaurant and dad and I enjoyed some nachoes and halibut. Good times. By the time we got back to the hotel we were exhausted! Dad fell asleep by 7:30 (10:30 ND time) I managed to stay up until 9:30...trying to acclimate.....and listened to Dad's snoring.
Day 2 involved getting a rental car and driving around Anchorage. Along the way we found a Wendys and Appleebees! Great town by our measure :P Dad and I got me set up at Sam's club and payed a butt ton of money to ship my food and all out to Kong. After that we stopped at Best Buy and dad harrassed them for a bit....cause he can....at one point the guy brought up google earth to help dad find a store.... :D Then we hit a sports apparel store. By the end of all that dad and I were very hungry. We finally found an A & W and enjoyed our lunch! We eventually went to a battery store to pick some things up for dad. We went back to the hotel to hang out for a bit. Later that night Dad and I decided to go to the movies and when we got there we had missed "Transformers" so we decided on "The Ugly Truth" Hilarious! Especially since I went with my dad!
Day 3 involved a road trip! Dad and I drove down to Seward to just experience the drive. It's gorgeous! We saw mountains, the ocean, glaciers....it was just incredible! When we got into town we putzed around, shopped a bit, and took in the sights. We saw some pictures of HUGE hallibut! HUGE I tell you! Then we grabbed some sandwiches and went back to Anchorage. It was about a 2 hour drive, so a fun travel day! After that we just packed and took it easy....we had to get up at 4am the next morning to head to Kong.
Day 4 Dad and I traveled to Kong. The airport was ridiculous and dad and I almost didn't get our coffee! That would have been bad for everyone! Once we got to Bethel.....we hit more chaos. It was a mad rush to get to the shuttle to take us to the other hanger for our flight to Kong. Once there it was getting into line.....waiting.....make reservations for the 5th time....waiting again. The flight to Kong was awesome! Small plane! It sat 4 all together (pilot included) It was loud but the view was too cool. The tundra is truely beautiful! Dad and I snapped some pics and tried to talk over the loud plane. Once we landed we met up with my principle. NICE GUY! He totally saved our lives. None of my food, clothing, etc have arrived yet. Yeah....none of it. So I had nothing....at all. My principle gave us some food, toilet paper, etc. Life saver! Dad and I unpacked what was there and got my house in order. Then we went over to the school to just take that in. Afterwards we watched movies and ate PB's...it was awesome!
Day 5 dad was supposed to leave at 11:30 but no one showed up. We wound up hanging out in the office for a couple of hours trying to find Dad another flight and figuring out if he'll make his flight back home tomorrow. It was pretty tense for a bit but he finally got out later in the day. It's been raining most of the day so he almost had to stay another night.
It's been an adventure so far and I'm leaving for Bethel for the training tomorrow....I have a feeling more good times are around the corner! :D
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