Day 1 and 2 of the 2013 Student Trip!

Hello All!

Our second trip has arrived and so far it has been very successful!

We started off by leaving in three different shifts to Bethel on May 30.  The male chaperone Cassius Brown and a student flew to Bethel on the morning flight so that she could get her tribal ID for flying.  Three more students flew to Bethel on the afternoon flight to again go and get their tribal ID's for flying.  It was SO hectic.  There was a lot driving back and forth and the flight was late but they got on and everything worked out.  The rest of us flew into Bethel on a charter at 3.

Flying to Bethel

Once in Bethel we checked in and went to Brothers Pizza for some dinner.  There was a slight issue with our orders....we're a tad overwhelming...tehe....BUT everyone eventually got food and they were satisfied.

YAY FOOD!

We spent a couple of hours chilling in the Bethel airport watching the NBA playoffs...GO PACERS!  It was pretty hilarious...all of us lined up in front of the TV watching the game. 

GO PACERS!!

The flight went smoothly.  We found out one of our students is afraid of heights......on an airplane....so needless to say he kept the trip interesting, slightly freaking out, but still managed to live through the flight.

Once we landed in Anchorage we had to grab our baggage and the re-check in.  Let me tell you, all of us using blue duffel bags is AWESOME! Grabbing our luggage went SO smoothly :D

Checking in with Delta did NOT go as smoothly.  The lady was a tad rude, treated us like morons, and kept messing up (though we were the 'morons')  I was sort of disappointed in the airline.  When we flew with SunCountry they waved all the baggage fees.  They were so awesome.  This lady seemed to gloat and say, "you KNOW there are baggage fees right..."  Ah....YEAH.  $25 bucks each!  Needless to say we're poor now. 

Slowly but surly checking in our luggage

Anywho....we re-checked in.  Security was pretty smooth.  Only one student was man-handled....pretty good considering the number of people we had :D

Afterwards we all headed to Chiles for a late night 'snack' aka dinner.  It was a lot of fun and the students got to practice ordering food.  Always important! 

Cheers! 

The rest of the night we spent in the airport.  We checked in around 11 and our flight left at 8 am.  I know I know....I can hear you all saying, "Why on God's green earth would you stay there that long."  Basically....we knew they wouldn't sleep at a hotel and we would of had to be back at 5:30 am so....we didn't feel it was worth it.  Anchorage hotel fees are ridiculous in the summer time.

It was a LONG night with our teenagers drinking coffee....getting hopped up on caffeine....and acting really weird and slightly annoying.  Luckily we all survived!

Funky group picture: Our plane :D

The flight was heavenly....in the fact that we got a 5 hour nap!  I will say a direct flight is a lot easier with all of the students.  I got to sit next to Bernie!  Acted as her pillow for the majority of the flight as well.





FUNNY STORY:  I had a few students who felt nauseous on the plane, so on the long flight I gave them a Dramamine....they were trying SO hard to stay awake.  Their heads were wobbling back and forth.  Hilarious!  Needless to say we ALL slept pretty soundly on the flight to Minneapolis.

When we landed the number one comment was " I feel like we're in a dream!"  They couldn't believe that they were actually there!  Mom met us and the wonderful woman grabbed ALL of our bags.  She was standing there with all the baggage at her feet....priceless. 

Bernie and Cassius went with mom in her van while the students and I went to go pick up our rental van. They got to ride a tram for the 1st time!  SO EXCITING!  Luckily I didn't lose any of them and we got the van in no time. We're riding in style with a 12 person van: 11 students and me....JOY!   We got there no problem and headed out. 

 

First Tram Ride!

The first impression of Minneapolis was TRAFFIC!  They could not believe there could be that many people in one place.  It definitely made an impression.  We slogged along but eventually met up with mom, Bernie and Cassius to find food: DQ!  Again, we practiced our ordering skills....made a few people frustrated...BUT ended up full and content. 

Our Rental Van!

Then came the 2.5 hour drive to Wahpeton.  There was A LOT of, "when will we be there?  where are we going?  where are we?"  Eventually they all konked out and I got a little peace and quiet...eventually.

We drove into Wahpeton and headed to by Dad's house to pick up water and breakfast bars for the next day.  We also picked up my car for Cassius and Bertha to ride around in.  Then we headed to the Circle of Nations boarding school, where we got to stay.  They are SO awesome, letting us stay there free of charge.  It's a HUGE help and the students always learn a lot. 

It was a pretty quick de-packing and finding our rooms.  People showered and went to bed with very little conversation.  We. Were. Beat.