Photos of Freeze-Up

Freeze-up was very fast this year. It began on Monday, October 19th and within two weeks our river was frozen. Here are some photos of our village during freeze-up.



I took this photo from my kitchen window. The Johnson River is completely frozen.




This is the pond behind the school. I took this photo on Friday evening October 30, 2009. Children can now ice skate on the pond.

Sunrise at 10:10 A.M

One of the many dogs in the village.

These two little girls are ready for the snow and cold.

I took this photo from the dock. The sun was had just set. Our sun now rises around 10 AM and sets around 6 PM. Since I'm in school, I don't see the sun rise, but I always see the sun set.

Again, taken from the dock. The Johnson River is frozen. Our school boat is in the foreground.

October 26, 2009

You can see the path of the snow machines here. Sunset on Monday, October 26, 2009.

Our sunsets are always spectacular. Photos never show the real beauty. October 26, 2009.

Hmm. . . What's there to do?

People often ask me, What's there to do in the village? I don't know. I'm always so busy, I haven't had time to even ask myself that question. Usually, school takes most of my time. And, then there's the class I decided to take from the University of Alaska - Fairbanks: The History of Alaska, Its Land and People. I thought a class might be a good idea to keep me busy. Now, I struggle just to find the time to do the class. And, then there's all the school activities.

So, here's my typical day/week. Our school day starts at 8:45 and ends at 4:30. It may sound long, but it goes by quickly. I have eight hours in the day with a 25 minute lunch break. All of my classes are exceptionally small. I may have only one student, as I do for three of my classes, or I may have six students as I do for my advanced reading class and intermediate math class. My other three classes have two students in each of them. You tend to know your students well.

We are on a first name basis - no Mr. or Miss at this school. Grading is not a problem. Preparation is not a problem. And, for the most part, discipline is not a problem. I really do like each and everyone of the students I have met here at Akiuk Memorial School.

When school ends, I usually stick around and talk to the staff and students. We are now getting ready for our speech tournament in November. So, since I am the high school speech team coach, these next three weeks will be very busy. I also am in charge of the prom, which is May 14. We have chosen our theme - A Hollywood Night and our colors - blue and silver. Now, we will begin the process of ordering our decorations. We are also trying to decide on our senior class trip. Washington, DC sounds good to me!

In the evening, I am usually busy. I run the student store. Our hours are 7:30-8:30 PM on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. We don't have the store on Wednesday out of respect for the local church services. On Monday evening, I also do my wash at the school. Remember, I have no running water at my house, so I do most everything here at school.

And, then, there are the extra activities that just appear! This week on Thursday, our school librarian hosted a cake walk with the proceeds going towards the decorations for prom. The senior parents were asked to donate. So since I am sponsoring the prom/senior class trip/student store, I went home after school and made brownies. As soon as I put the brownies in the oven, there was a knock at my door. "Can we come visit?" So, I opened my door to my three visitors. They came in and instantly smelled the brownies. Since I had just put the brownies in the oven, I offered them the next best thing - the bowl. They certainly enjoyed themselves. After about 30 minutes, they left. They knew the brownies were for the cake walk and they certainly would be there!

As soon as my brownies cooled, I put them in two large bags, and I was off to school. The cake walk was to begin at 7:30 with the student store opening after the cake walk. Now let me explain how the cake walk works. You don't walk. Instead, you buy a raffle ticket for 50 cents and if your ticket gets pulled, you get a choice of which "goodie" you would like. And, we don't always just have cakes. We can have brownies, cupcakes, cookies, a six pack of soda, a bag of candy, or a box of juice. It really doesn't matter. But if there's a cake, it will always be the first item chosen. We all love the cake walk.

This week, we had three cakes and two large bags of brownies. No extras - this week was all the real deal! We had a huge crowd - at least 50 or 60 people! Everyone lined up and bought their tickets. A number was pulled - Fanny our kindergarten teacher won! She took a cake and left. So, we lined up again and bought our raffle tickets. We did this process a total of five times. Then, we had a 50/50 drawing. We made $213! And, then I opened the student store. We were swamped. Our business was booming. Not only did we have everyone from the cake walk, but we also had an open gym for men's basketball. It was a great night for the senior class!

Friday night was also another busy night. It was Bingo Night! Since we are in the midst of a freeze-up, our village women could not go to Akula for bingo. Instead, we decided to host one here. About 30 women showed up for the event. Students are not allowed. One of our male teachers pulled the numbers and joked with the women. And, yes, the student store was open.

And, then tonight was Movie Night. On Friday when I came to school, one of the teachers came up to me and asked me if I would open the store Saturday night for Movie Night. Sure, why not! So, from 6:30 to 7 I had the store open and the movie started promptly at 7:05. The kids were so excited to see a movie on the big screen! It was wonderful.

So, that's a fairly typical week here at Akiuk. We work hard and we have lots of fun. The kids are great, and the world seems wonderful.

Freeze-up Begins

Last Sunday, I watched the men work to pull the boats out of the Johnson River. This is the river that flows by my house. It was a beautiful day, but the weather forecast had predicted colder weather. I hated to see the boats being pulled out of the water. I still had orders coming in for the student store, and I was still expecting packages and mail from home. Colder weather means a chance of freeze-up on the river. If that should happen, we would be stranded as we live on an island.





Monday came and I could definitely feel a change in the air. I watched the pond outside my school window and I could see the ice forming on the edges. When I flew in from Anchorage a few weeks ago, I could see the formation of ice on the rivers and lakes. But I never anticipated the swift changes that were about to occur.


Monday afternoon, I made my way over to the post office via boat. I mailed a package and picked up the school mail. The trip over was very bitter. The wind was cold and it was spitting little ice pellets. On the way back, it was even worse. The sleet had picked up, and I knew my face was far too cold. I didn't anticipate the bitterness when I left. It was a good lesson learned early on in this winter setting. I did get what we call snow "nip" on my left cheek. It was a red stripe that burned and took a few days to disappear.


The next day, the pond outside my school window was half frozen. By the end of the day, it was completely frozen. I went home around 6 PM and was simply amazed at the river outside my kitchen window. When I left in the morning, there was ice along the edges. But now, I could actually see the ice beginning to form and accumulate across the river. I watched for one hour. Then, it was done. The river had a layer of ice across it. The next morning, I could no longer see evidence of a river of water. Now I saw only ice.


Our entire school was affected by this process. Our students from Akula could not come over. The river is too dangerous to travel by boat. And, the ice is too thin to travel by snow machine. It may take a week or so for the river to completely freeze-up. It all depends on the temperatures. If it warms up, our freeze-up will take weeks. If our temperatures remain as they are, freeze-up will proceed quickly. Everyone is hoping for cold temperatures. They just may get their wish.


We do have a few families who venture over across the river so their children can attend school. There is a point that is close to Akula. If they can cross that point, then they can make it. The photos here show a family of one of my students crossing the river. The parents literally slid the boat across the ice until they came to a point where the boat would not move. Then the father got out of the boat and pushed it the rest of the way. It was amazing to watch.









Last night as I worked at home, I could hear the sound of snow machines. The ice in the middle of the river was not thick enough to support a snow machine, but if they drove the snow machines near the banks of the river, the ice was probably thick enough. There were a few people out riding. Everyone is ready for the winter to begin.


This morning when I woke up, I looked out my kitchen window and saw only snow and ice. Just last Sunday, the river was flowing. Today, it was ice. As I watched, my neighbor ventured out on the ice. I couldn't imagine what he was doing. But as I watched, I saw him create a small hole and then take something out of his pocket. I watched as he worked. Then I realized - he was fishing - ice fishing. Everyone loves this cold. Not even a brisk day will keep the kids from coming over for a "visit." But as for me. . . . I look out the window and I see a scene from mid December. Chilling, beautiful, and brisk. Somehow it all works.

The Ubiquitous Banana

I must admit I never thought I would so seriously take a banana as to make it a subject of a blog. But I am. Every once in a while out here in the Bush, you just get a craving for something that you know you just can't have. Last weekend while traveling home from Anchorage, I happened to stop at a Starbucks for a latte when I spotted it - a banana. Beautiful. Perfect. Not a blemish to be seen. Oh, the temptation. It had been months since I had a banana. So, I asked, How much is it for one banana? To my shock and surprise the answer was $1.90. For one banana? $1.90 for one banana? You've got to be kidding. Somehow the words just seemed to spill from me. $1.90 for one banana. I felt one part of me saying, No way- that's nuts! and the other part saying, Why not? It only took five seconds of debate and I said, I'll take it. I've never really been able to resist temptation when it comes to food.

I took my banana to my seat and savored every bit. I convinced myself the potassium that I was getting was worth every bit of the $1.90 that I had just spent. When I arrived in Bethel, I stopped by the grocery store to pick up a few things. There they were - bananas $2.37 a pound, but not as good looking as the one I had. I could resist. One banana would hold me for a month. And besides, mine was better looking.

I gathered up my groceries and headed back to the Bethel airport. I had a reservation on the 4:30 flight back to Kasigluk. Promptly at 4:30, the pilot appeared and called out our names for his flight. There would be six of us on this flight. I got in my little six seater plane to fly back to home when I saw it - a banana. The pilot had one banana on his dash. I pondered this - would this be bad luck? It's bad luck to take a banana on a boat. Is the same true for a plane? I must admit our ride back was a little bumpy, but certainly not bad enough to blame it on that banana. My day of bananas was done. I knew it would be a long time before another banana would appear in my world.

I came to school the next morning feeling quite refreshed after a luxious weekend in Anchorage. The day went by swiftly. No crisis. No dilemmas. No problems. It was almost 4:30 when a voice over the intercom said, Don't forget your fruit tonight. Frequently, our government sends us fresh fruit for our students who are junior high age and younger. Our high school students always grumble about this. For some reason, the government does not allow us to disperse any of the free fruit to our high school age students. Many times, I have heard them say, I wish I could have an orange or whatever it was we were handing out that day. But we only get enough for the younger ones. That's the way the government works. So, once again, it was free fruit for the younger ones.

I made my way to the office, and what did I see. Tonight for all - free bananas. You know, sometimes life just isn't fair.

Home, Sweet Home

Welcome to my home. My home is part of a duplex. It is about 630 square feet. I pay $413 a month rent, which includes my heat. The district does not own this property. It leases it from the tribal village. Two years ago, one of our teachers Vicki lived here. She chose the color scheme and painted the entire house. She did a wonderful job! It makes the house so much nicer. The sunsets in the evening outside my kitchen window are wonderful because I live right next to the Johnson River. I often have a million dollar sunset - undescribably beautiful.

The Journey

I like this poster. I found it online.

Life is a journey which often requires that leap of faith.

Living Room - cozy

Dining room

Living Room as you enter

Bedroom converted into study

Bedroom

My new roommate, Gimley

(aka Grimley)

"Water, water everywhere but not a drop to drink"

Today I thought I'd write about water, and I couldn't help but think of a line from "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner". "Water, water everywhere but not a drop to drink." What an unusual subject to blog about, but what an important subject to someone in the village. We don't have running water. This brings about such unique problems that you never really think about. At home, simply turn on the faucet and you have hot water, cold water, lukewarm water - running water. Whenever you decide you need a shower, you can take one. Whenever you want that leisurely soaking bath, you can take one. Whenever you want to flush the toilet, you can. We have none of that.

Water is a constant source of work. In order to have drinking water in my home, I have two five gallon containers that I fill with water to carry home. Actually, I hired a student to carry it for me. Once I get it home, I put it in my holding tank, which is nothing more than a large, green Rubbermaid garbage can. I then take a little more than a gallon of water and put it in my distiller and start it. In five hours, I have drinking water. I then put the drinking water in a two gallon water jug with a spout - the kind of jug you would use for picnics. This becomes water that I can use to pour into a glass as you would a faucet. Then, I need to do the process again. But before I use the distiller, I clean it. I use a stainless steel or copper scouring pad and really clean it. There's a always a layer of brown sediment on the bottom. The water looks clean when I put it in, but obviously it's not, and this is the drinking water I get from school.

So, after scrubbing the distiller and using the precious water that I just distilled to clean it, I start all over. One gallon of water will take another five hours to distill. Again, this water goes into my two gallon water jug. Now I need to repeat the process one more time. This water I will put in water jugs and put in the refrigerator. I need to be prepared in case of a power outage, which does occur. The moment I have only water in the refrigerator I distill water. This is a continuous process, and one that can never be ignored.

We have only showers no bath. So, if I want a shower, I use the shower here at school. It is used by many people, not only school personnel but also village people. So, I wear water shoes. I don't take daily showers. Actually, once or twice a week is about all I do. The water feels so good, but it also feels very harsh. It actually feels as if it is drying out my skin. I feel this way all the time. The water is dry and so is the air. I constantly use lotion, baby oil, and moisture eye drops to no avail. It doesn't seem to bother the people who live here but it does the kassuiq (outsiders).

The irony here is that we are surrounded by water. Akiuk (Kasigluk) is an island surrounded by water. If I want to go to the post office, grocery store, or hardware store, I need to take the boat over to the other side. This morning I needed to go to the post office to get the boxes that were ordered for the student store that I run. A new order of soda, juice, heatlhy snacks, and candy had arrived. So, I got dressed. Thermal underwear, wool socks, jeans, waterproof slacks, sweatshirt with hood, fleece coat, raincoat, neck scarf, gloves, sunglasses. Four of us were going to get the latest shipment. Immediately, we discovered a problem with the boat. The engine wasn't properly working. So, no trip to Agula (the other side of Kasigluk) for us. The shipment will have to wait until Monday, and we will probably hire someone to bring it over for us.

Water is a constant problem. In a few weeks, the river will being to freeze. When this occurs, it becomes very dangerous to travel in the water. People still do this, but they certainly have a great deal of experience navigating a river of ice. Once the river completely freezes, we will be able to use snowmachines to travel back and forth. Our weather is so mild right now. We have no freezing temperatures predicted in the near future. But it's on everyone's mind. When will freeze-up begin? You want to be certain you have everything you need for "freeze-up" because you know you will be on the island until it is safe to travel again, and only the weather will determine that. And, that could mean weeks.

Certainly after this experience, I doubt if I will ever look at water with the same attitude. Just to have clean drinking water. . . a shower. . . . a flushing toilet. At home, these are just a part of daily life. Here, they require a bit of work and because of that a greater appreciation. Still, I'm not complaining. Life is good here. It just takes a little more time to acquire one's basic needs.