In-service and such

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!