Putting pets to sleep and russian cartoons

Ladies and gentlemen those are some of the saddest things. I took my dog in today and walked out with the leash and collar in my hands, this is the only pet I've had and if I were to try and describe it for all of you poor folks with allergies that never had the joy of a pet I would say sit down and read Where the Red Fern Grows, Old Yeller, and Sounder all at once, try to compound all of those emotions and you would have the beginnings of a fraction of what it feels like. Today will be maybe a little tearful however I have come across something else on this incredibly quick internet while I was searching for this russian birthday song from a movie "Eastern Promises" which I heartily recommend. I started clicking on some of the cyrillic(sp?) characters and found my way to this Krokodil Gena and Cheburashka little puppet animation similar to maybe a mr rogers. They had the song and some translations about how it is raining, but it is his birthday, and birthdays only come once a year. There was a distinctly depressing yet endearing feel to it. I recommend anyone that has a little freetime on their hands to check it out. I'll be signing out today guys maybe even put on a little "raindrops are fallin" and watch the rain beat against the skylights.

Comfy couches and Almighty grouches

Well Ladies and Gentlemen, I spent the afternoon with my Grandmother today and while perusing stores for a particular sofa I was not only able to pick a few snippets about interior decorating but I also was able to hear an interesting perspective on religion. Concerning sofas I realized that their is a whole language devoted to picking out a piece of furniture, if you dont speak the language you have virtually no idea as to what is being talked about. It got me thinking, I am pretty ignorant of this terminology however given the time I could probably learn it, if all of these different fields have their own lingo I was wondering if it is possible to be knowledgable in all areas. I mean it is something you would really have to apply yourself into and I think there may not be enough time in a life to learn it all so we find ourselves reduced to choosing what we spend our time doing and wondering if it is actually worth it. In this picking and choosing I find I have to be careful not to get all sour grapey, for although I cannot seem to get the concept of designing, there are people who do, and spend time fastidiously trying to achieve perfection with what they have, that ladies and gentlemen is something that I can grasp. While color scheming and patterns are beyond me, the effort and thought which would go into a room is something I can appreciate.
As for religion, well, I am fascinated by it and today I picked up a little more. Over lunch I was discussing generational changes of religion and my Grandmother provided my with this anecdote. The God of your generation seems to be a forgiving one, when I was growing I was taught the if you told a lie God would pound a nail through your head. Now ladies and gentlemen I kind of follow this pendulum perspective wit history and I never thought about applying it to religion. That we are constantly shifting between poles with time, politcally, we get a little conservative, however the more conservative we get the stronger the pull towards liberal viewpoints and it will follow until the liberal ideas generate enough response from conservatives to swing it back the other way. I love the pendulum approach and you can apply it to naything, take generations industrious generations followed by slacker generations followed by the industrious 0one who pick up the pieces of the slackers. It never occurred to apply it to religion, but the same patterns are there we could be experience the different sways between strength in devoutness versus weaknesses of actions and pleas for forgiveness. What is going to cause to the shift hmm ladies and gentlemen this si something for me to chew on right now I am kind of thinking some kind of calamity...I think I will try devloping this idea further in a later blog we wills ee what comes of it

Making Pens and revisting friends

Ladies and Gentlemen, I have been a little remiss in my posting and for that I apologize, however I have a feeling that I should be able to keep the rhythm going all throughout the summer, so please bear with me. These last couple of days have been packed meeting and relaxing with old friends. We play games of catch-up and I find myself feeling like this is what I have truly missed out in the bush. The friends, the family, it seems a whole different life I am slipping into, one I left when I took my excursion. I suppose it may have to do with the lack of responsibility I find myself with. For two months I don't have to worry about what I say, who I say it to, and what I do. The roughest part about bush life is the censorship you exert on yourself. It seems one is constantly surrounded by work 24/7 out there, it is rare to get a break, however back home your friends are at the ready with ears to hear your tales, everyone has their problems ladies and gentlemen, but man alive does it feel good to share them and kick them around.

On a completely different note I learned how to make a wooden pen today. My father has picked up another hobby, and it is crafting pens. Now not only was it an intriguing process and the different wood types incredible it kind of triggered a memory in my that my father said he would love to work with wood whenever he retires. He has a myriad of projects going on, finishing up one boat, building an 8 foot wooden boat for my nephew, and now the pens. Although my father has not retired he is still shifting into and developing his hobby. Now people say you should love your work, but love it all you want, there is still going to be stress from it. We all need an activity to balance ourselves, one that allows us to completely unwind and focus on something stress free. If we continually run ourselves through the gambit of work which only provides a necessary but only tangible reward of money, watch yourself, if all you are obtaining is a paycheck you need to try and make sure you are able to gain an accomplishment of self fulfillment in other areas. What these areas are, are highly dependent upon ourselves, for my father it is shaping wood, myself, I am not quite sure yet. I think I should keep my eye out for a stress free hobby of my own. If you folks have any suggestions I would be than happy to here them.

Stuck in transit....

Well Ladies and gentlemen, I have been silent for a while due to interent cancellations, however now that I am in an airport paying by the hour for a room I have been able to hop back into the fast paced world of cyberspace. Once I hit home sweet home I will set in with a doosie of a post. Till then...

Doors opening...

Well Ladies and Gentlemen, we had a couple of hiccups but overall the song was a success, I got up on stage thanked everyone and then my students came up on stage and sung with me. After the initial shakes, it was pulled together and at the end of Church people were shaking my hand and thanking me for talking. But it wasn't just the shaking and the thanking, their eyes, they were welcoming, as if given enough time there would be the opportunity to become close friends with everyone there. Doors were opened today, and I have a feeling that when I return in a couple of months some of those doors might be only slightly ajar,(due to tundra shifting:), however with a little more time and effort the welcome will be returned. Now most of you know that I am not a devoutly religious person, however I do feel it important to spend time doing good works and also to improve oneself with self-reflection. I find the Church the perfect opportunity to persue these aspirations, for while I cannot understand about 80% of what is said during the service, I am able to think about the past occurrances and behaviors I have adopted. In those hours you can think about a sick relative, the person next to you, or how a religion came to be adopted. Questions abound, and because religion is a relatively personal topic I only ask myself, not wanting to put anyone on the spot. I think it is something I could almost study as a hobby, I am intently curious about the "Why" certain behaviors exist, and for what purpose could they have been developed. It is like a puzzle without any edges and you are never sure if you even have all of the pieces. Now Ladies and Gentlemen, I am no theologian, but try to find some time in your hectic schedules to reflect on yourself, it doesn't have to be any religious worship, it can be through exercise, maybe step away from the computer or the tv or that killer book, and just give yourself a some serious self time.

Prettiest Flowers

Ladies and Gentlemen, the day is finally upon me to try and put together everything I have learned about singing Yup'ik into a presentation at the Church this Sunday. I have been practicing, however my pronunciation is kind of up in the air. To give you guys a sample of what it looks like I will try transcribing it for you.

Prettiest Flowers will be Blooming (Yup'ik)

Nunatangkertok Tangniktlutingtlu Nautsitare Pairusvigkamtnik
Unguva Nangkan Nantsumetnaitnaktsekuktlu Akwharpak
Kelagme Tankigtsilngorme

Chorus
Asinkukatsagait Nautsitat Nauluting
Tumyarakigtarat Awataitni
Tangnilkilriatlu Napa Utakauk
Akirtlainam Nerpemtsaniantlune
Aturarluta Naskerutirluta
Nunapagme Tlarpem Inglukngaitlke
Atorpagtsekukut Angilattlu
Tsanianetlu Unguamkwegtane

Kilagme Tamen Tokulriartangkirngaitok Nanekuanarkitlrianik
Petaitsekuk Nunakaugoktlu Kinkutlirkaulune
Narniktlutingtlu Nautsitare

Chorus

Pairtsugyakamkin Tauni Kuigem Tsaniani Ekuktlisngailgomtlu
Unuakaune Wetankigtsiarkaulutatlu Akwharpak
Tuaingunretorusngaunata

Chorus

It is quite a bit and actually the chorus is a duet piece which I hope my students will help me with as I thank the village out here for a warm welcome and accepting me into their homes and community this year. Just a handful of days left, and so much yet to do, grading, packing, cleaning, I approach these tasks with mixed emotions of missing Kipnuk for two months, and the anticipation of meeting old friends back home. The prettiest flowers will be blooming soon, an optimistic outlook on life to come, I might have to stick that in my back pocket for a rainy day...

Crafting shafts and plucking ducks...

Well Ladies and Gentlemen, life seems to be kicking itself into high gear, deadlines are swarming around me demanding attention, yet amidst all of this commotion I find myself having almost a sensory overload of new experiences. We had our last day of Culture week today and everyone that was there for all three days completly crafted a brass tipped harpoon. We had a village expert come in and teach us (myself included) all how to make them. We began with raw brass stock that we shaped over many hours with hacksaw and file until it satisfed our expert. I was almost like one of the students as I submitted my work for his review. He would inspect it and then diagram or tell me what I needed to do to improve it. It was an intriguing activity and throughout it all I am kind of confident that I know how to make a harpoon and I could teach it to someone else. I feel my studnets have a pretty good understandign of it as well and it kind of makes me consider, this is what teaching is, what has occurred over the last three days. I swear the most learning happened in these last three days than any other time of the year. My thought or goal this summer is to try and think of ways of replicating this experience, I can't just do harpoons every day, but what can i show the kids to try and involve them. WHen it is just you a piece of brass and a file, sure you can get all frustrated and try to go fast, but after you try it that way, you find that the way you were shown how before is actually more effective. It teaches patience, self experiementation, and then finally accomplishment as you complete your piece. I was positivly glowing after I finished my harpoon, I wanted to show it to everyone, "Look, I did this." It looked good and it was because I listened to a guide, by myself I probably would have went the way of frustration, procrastination, and incompletion. I feel I am on the edge of something here, but I am not quite sure how to follow through. I am ending the year on kind of a high note, I am having all of my students sign my harpoon and I am going to hang it up in my classroom for next year.
And if that wasn't enough I got invited to go pluck birds today which I followed up on. This was a peculiar situation out here there is a particular genderification of labor roles, men hunt and women clean. Is it archaic, yes, is it completly without merit, not really. Now before you all start pegging me as a misogynist let me try to make my case. Cohesion of a society is by far the most important goal in creating any type of community. Out in the tundra it is particularly important because you can't really survive for prolonged periods of time in the tundra by yourself. You need at least one, preferably more, companions to help you all get through the year. Gender roles developed, not as a means of submission or domination of a gender, but because this was the most practical way to survive on limited means. I'll go out and get more food, while you prepare the food I got yesterday. As long as I keep going out and you keep preparing we will get through year after year working together, if one of us breaks the chain, we both wont survive. Thatw as the origins now what we have today is something slightly different, an economic factor of survival was thrown into the mix and is almost as important as actual food. Survival has become more complicated one the one hand, however with the complications it has allowed for an ease of access of food. Hunting is much more productive with the advent of motors, shotguns, and rifles. We can go farther catch more and return in much shorter periods of time. This has created an imbalance in the spheres, hunting is vital for survival, but it doesn't buy stove oil to heat the house. As more women tend to work in order to supplement their family with an income they find themselves coming home to 20 or 30 dead birds that need to be cleaned. This I have found out is a huge chore, I was only able to clean two birds in about an hour and a half (and when they passed inspection I was given a C-). Granted my teacher was able to clean six birds in the time it took me to clean one. While food is essential for survival, the offset of food costs it provides is the strongest hindrance for allow change to occur. Having to clean all of these birds is a couple of hours worth of work after you day job could be pretty frustrating,(it is a good thing the bird you ar eplucking is already dead) however this discontent almost breeds change. There will be a new resettling of the dice just how they will fall who knows. Some of the women out here joke about leaving their men for men they have heard up north who help with some of the prep work. In every joke there is a grain, or for this case lets say a plume of truth. As each layer of feathers come off the question inwardly asked, is "how much more of this can I take?" When the answer reaches zero the phoenix of change is born out of the ashes of the former lifestyle. Call it the women's movement if you want but at the end of the day ladies and gentlemen we have to achieve a resettling or balance of our own that doesn't leave the other wanting. What is this idealistic partition of responsibilities? I'll be honest, I have no idea, I live alone out in the tundra, but it might start by asking yourself "What can I do to lighten the burden upon my companion?"

Maqii is the best...

Ladies and Gentlemen, I am exhausted, and I think I am getting hooked on steaming. The smell of the wood when you enter the maqii, the hiss of the water as it evaporates over the rocks, and the enveloping heat that forces sweat to come out of every pore and run down your chin in many rivulets. Every knot in all of your muscles will be worked out by the heat, it settles in and just relieves every ache you have. We steamed for long tonight talking about teaching, weather, egg hunting, and bird hunting. I have been in a sauna before coming out here, but maqii takes the cake. My body is so relaxed right now that even the typing of keys with my fingers seems an exhausting task. It is too much. I am going to retire for the evening keeping it short and sweet, I hope I wake up tomorrow in time for school,I have abusy day of harpoon crafting ahead of me...I need to see if I can makea maqii back home. I would invite you all over and you could experience the extreme relief (and smoothness of skin) a maqii gives.

Spaghetti Sunday

Ladies and gentlemen, I fear this evening I shall have to be rather brief, today was kind of a lazy day I relaxed and taught some of my students who came over how to make spaghetti, pretty simple but I showed them a couple spins on it. I had them try some balsamic vinegar to put in the sauce, and when they thought it was too sour you should have seen their eyes when I put sugar in the sauce. "Sugar? Broz you must be joking" Well then I got to thinking we could make this a little more fun so I grabbed some chili powder and had them taste a little bit. They got a kick out of it so we put some of that in,I followed that up by opening the cupboard and grabbing a half opened bag of chocolate chips and started tossing them in and my students stared incredulously "Chocolate chips?!?! they just couldn't believe I would put chocolate chips in the sauce. When we taste tested it they assured me that all they could taste was the chocolate, mind over matter, but I just chuckled a bit and added a little more of our other seasonings. That is the great thing about cooking there are so many flavor combinations sure you can go by the the recipe follow it to the gram, but the truth of the matter is if it doesn't taste right you are going to have to veer off anyways. Although I have a pretty bland diet, I like to cook for other people and do a little showing off but I tell you it was excellent with these kids, they stuffed themselves silly and said it was delicious. My options are pretty limited up here in terms of ingredients but I was able to throw together a crystal light lemon and basil chickenover rice that wasn't half bad, it is amazing what you'll try to spice up meals now and then. For those of you that have stuck through with me throughout my oatmeal endevours, I am down to just 2 of the original 12 containers of Quaker Regular Oats. It looks like my 50-60lb order was almost on the money for the year. This next week promises to be an interesting one of harpoon making and it looks like I might top it off Sunday by singing in Yup'ik to the entire Sunday evening congregation. I have a serious week of practice ahead but it promises to be enjoyable, I'll kepe you folks posted, until then think about veering off the "Recipe" and see what you come up with.

Hmmm actually if you have a recipe that you particularly enjoy post it on the comments and I will see about putting together a collection of recipes maybe a Cooks corner of sorts.

"Food tastes best in Tundra"

Ladies and gentlemen, man alive is it difficult to finish a post once I begin. I have a smattering of half started posts that I had to leave in the middle of without fully developing the idea. I have just gotten back from an entire day spent in the tundra. I have experienced the kick back of 12 gauge against my shoulder, took aim and fired again, however those Nuqluqs are crafty and somehow they always seemed to dodge with lightening agility the shot I put out after them . I then was able to disembowel it to keep it fresh and waited for eight hours in the tundra. Just laying on a mossy knoll covered with lichen and taking it all in. During the long wait my partner and I pooled our provisions and I traded some coffee, dried apricots, and triscuit crackers, for dried tom cod, assalaq(eskimo fried bread), and akutaq(eskimo ice cream.) Ladies and Gentlemen it is incredibly true, food tastes better in the tundra. My buddy's gram told him to take food he didn't like out with him into the tundra he didn't enjoy, and when he tried it he thought it was the best food he had ever eaten. I have to admit I at first kind of smiled along and thought that hunger would have flavored the food, but man when I dipped the fried bread into the akutaq I thought it was pure bliss. I am kind of a half fan of akutaq, it kind of depends on who makes it sometimes it is a hit or miss, but man I'll be jiggered, it was the best combo I have placed in my mouth. I may have to set up an appointment with the Culinary Wizard himself and see if we can develop a flavor that is somehow related to extreme exertions in 35 degree weather. As I was laying there though I ate a couple different lichens, and more labrador. The stuff can kind of grow on you after a while. It is kind of liberating to get out of the village, I have been kind of trapped between work and home work and home, and it seemed like I really couldn't move from the confines of the 200 yard area due to excessive mud. However the trusty mudboots paired up with my partner in crime wearing waders we were able to navigate the coulple mile journey without any sinking occurring. I don't think I am ready to start exploring by myself because you really need to know where the rivers and deep water is at. Most of the time the ice cant support you at this part of the year and knowing where you are at can be the difference of 6 in drop or a 4+ ft drop. I soaked in quite a bit of sun today, the first time I have tanned in such weather, well I shouldn't really say tan, more like a light cherry tomatoed. My face has that familiar warmth emanating from it that I tend to associate with this time of year, I just didn't expect to feel it while wading through snow and ice. I am also beginning to be able to discern different birds by their call, because that is the first clue that the type of bird you are looking for is approaching. All in all there are quite a few things you have to keep in mind the wing span, how quick or slow they flap, and obviously size, but the call is your best friend. When you are always scanning the skies it seems to get pretty tough to continually pick out the birds, and every now and then one will sneak up on you. While I was without luck this venture once agian I have added a bundle to my repetiore of knowledge concerning hunting.(it was non existant prior to the week.) Til next time ladies and gentlemen, man I wish you all could have tasted it, I suppose I will have to try and figure out how to get all of you out here...
I am going to have to pick up some waders and camoflauge gear when I am back home for the return trip up here. I could really learn to love going out all day and just relaxing waiting for the bird to turn up.

Avoid the dark spots....

Well ladies and gentlemen I had success today on a couple of fronts. Academically I seem to have gotten a couple of kids fired up about the spending of the Corporations money in Kipnuk and how nothing is really coming of it. Millions of dollars are getting dropped here and there and certain structures like a washeteria have been sitting half built for years now. 4.5 Million dollars for a new airport, lights on the runway and such, still nothing, no change. My students seemed to have gotten a little miffed and we sent some business letters to the corporation inquiring as to what was going on with the funding. I was tempted to use the kids original letters without improvements in language and punctuation because you could hear their voice very clearly through their words. However I was slightly torn between trying to get the Corporation to respond and having them mock my students out right. So we improved language a little bit, made it sound more professional and I will see if the COrporation chooses to respond. They might not or they may I honestly have no idea, however they way things are kind of run out here it seems like it may be able to put Tammany Hall to shame. Ignorance is bliss, and without any accountability the Native Corporation can run roughshod over these people. The first step is becoming aware of it. I feel that maybe some of my most important instruction has come in this last week. We have worked on how to fill out a job application and what goes into each box, how to officially request information, and how to increase our local awareness for events. I am pretty proud of my students, a lot of the times I feel this education out here is almost a sham in preparing the students for any kind of realistic job outside of the Bush or Bethel. If you cant work your way around the application itself how can you hope to even get considered for employment. There are huge gaps in the education out here and I am going through the first throes of trying to figure out of how not to just get by, but how can I get these kids honestly ready for life after highschool. This summer I am going to have to do some serious evaluating of what practices to ditch and what to fight for. But once again I am jumping ahead.

I had an incredible trip on the tundra today. ALtough it began with me stepping/sinking about two feet into a river I learned some valuable lessons, "Always avoid the dark spots." I spent the remainder of the trip squishing about until we ran into another villager on a snowmachine and he noticed my wet pant legs. He said he would be right back with something that would help. My student and myself continued onward and when he returned he had in his mitts lots of grass. he told me to remove my socks and boots and wrap my feet in the grasses. I tried it out and then put my socks on over the grasses and into my mudboots. Although it was initially very scratchy as the grasses got a little worn it was actually quite comfortable and dry. I stayed out on the tundra for a good number of hours after school and I was amazed at how the tundra smells. It has quite a pleasent aroma as I was getting low as possible while my student took aim at the geese flying overhead. It was wet and raining while we were out but man I felt Like I could walk through anything in those mudboots. (Just as long as it wasn't a river) We walked about two/three miles outside of the village and after running into many of my students who werent in school that day I eventually got a little too chilled and decided to call it a day around 8:30 PM. It just so happened that I was able to hitch a ride on a passing snowmachine and went Qatuq for the first time. Qatuq is when you go across water on a snowmachine, and it seemed likle we were almost stuck for a little while, but with a little rocking and shaking we were able to get free and continue on homeward bound. It was a fun little adventure and I got to spend some quality time out in the tundra, it is so soft, I felt like I could just go to sleep out there. Inhaling those pleasant fragrances of labrador, mosses, and lichens. We landed only one goose but I got to see some dead cranes, live cranes, owls, ptarmigans, all types of birds, as my student patiently allowed me to point out everything that seemed to be flying. He drew the line when I pointed out an airplane however, apparently Mr Broz can be a little dense at times. It was kind of an action packed Wednesday and hopefully I coast this week from here on out. Til next time ladies and gentlemen, and remember, "Avoid the dark spots"

Bushed...

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am not sure what it is but the wind seems to be blown out of my sails, I got in contact with some friends and family yesterday and my mind seems to be two weeks ahead of me. I had only a handful of boys in school today. Almost all of them were out subsistence hunting. I got invited to go out tomorrow afterschool and hunt ptarmigan with some of my students and who knows that could give me the umpf i need to kind of stay in the game.

Took a little break to watch some Crocodile Dundee, man I must've seen it somewhere around 20 times or so, but I get a kick out of it all the same. From the Bush to the city, it is what I have to look forward to in by the end of the month. It made me wish I had some cool hat with the equivalent of crocodile teeth in it, however I couldn't really picture any claws or the like actually footing the bill. I think I will start practicing throwing my remaining canned goods in preparation for the apprehension of cutpurses. I have diced tomatoes galore out here, but we are using the empty cans as braces for our harpoons that we are going to be making next week. I will be sure to keep you guys posted then, now to just get through this week.

Water water everywhere...

Ladies and Gentlemen I finally showered! Man alive it was incredible, nice and hot and steamy. They were able to fill our water tanks so it looks like we are in the clear for water here on out. I am going to try and enjoy the privilege as much as possible because next year I shall go the entire school year without running water. I will be living in the village housing assuming the prospective new teachers follow through. Although there are the initial discomforts of no water, honeybuckets and what not, once you get used to it, which I imagine eventually I will, you can use it as an opportunity to connect more the students. Having running water seems to place me on a different plane as the students and once it is removed, I will be further away from the other teachers and closer to the kids. The teachers up here are all right and everything, however the students need someone to help them bridge the gap. As long as I am in the fortress of teachers I am unreachable, except in dire emergencies (like needing a sponsor for open gym) when the older kids would feel comfortable enough to come to teacher side of town. The teacher housing is generally overrun withlittle kids throughout all hours of daylight. Now I understand why, some of the teachers feed them and for some of the kids this is not only a huge benefit, but almost a necessity. While this helps ameliorate some of the immediate problems it does little for the long term solution. I like helping my kids out, if they are caught in a bind I do what I can to try and ease the pressures. It might make me a hypocrite but when I do it I feel like I am given a chance to build a stronger relationship with the student. The stronger the bond the stronger an impact I can have on them and maybe put some wheels in motion to get some things changed out here. I am reminded of the words from my older brother, "No one can make you do anything, you decide for yourself how to act." I cannot force these kids to listen to me and make them stop chewing or destroying their bodies through other means. I can only present a path I would choose to them, and if I am strong enough of character that they can identify themselves with me, they have the opportunity to follow. The character building, thats what I can experience out away from the teachers, away from running water. I have to admit that it was one of the sweetest things today to just wash all of that grime away, but maybe I will look into building a "maqii" or steam shack. It is intriguing the things I find myself dependent on, as more things are removed I think I gain an appreciation of the prospective newfound independence. It is 11:05 PM, foggy but daylight is still kicking around. I am hitting the hay but I shall catch you folks tomorrow.

Tie day, Prom Night

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Tie day was a huge blast! I highly recommend it as an activity as this year winds down for a close. It wasn't a huge lesson or anything, I just explained about concepts of professionalism and I brought in all of my ties. I taught the kids the windsor and the double windsor knot, or as I framed it for the kids, the "basic style" and "Pro style." Everyone, boys and girls participated and I was able to get each of them to get the Pro style knot down. Some of the kids wore the ties until the end of the day. I feel that this might be one of the most useful skills I have taught my students, however none of them actually own a tie so I think this summer I am going to see what kind of ties and dress shirts I can rustle up. From what I heard last year the boys basically wore everyday clothes to their prom "because they didn't care" however after today kids were asking me for some of my button up shirts to wear. Well all of mine were dirty and water is tight, so I busted out a pot full of snow and I washed a handful of shirts one at a time in a pot for noodles. These kids are interested in looking sharp, I think it just is lack of opportunity, the nearest place to buy or see a tie modeled is Anchorage, five hundred miles away. I know I fele good when I dress up, I want my kids to experience that as well, it builds confidence, also maybe a little chest puffing because "Man alive, I look good." As a sense of self pride and self worth is fostered and developed, my students will be able to take the first steps against the complacent feelings of helplessness.

Well ladies and gentlemen I had to put this post on pause for the Prom... all in all it was a huge success. The kids looked phenomenal, my cooked button ups all got used as did all of my ties. My kids did me proud they all looked sharp, and I honestly couldn't tell who some of them were. It was an awesome experience. One of the students really liked one of my ties, it was one with winnie the pooh and tigger on it which I wore to my eighth grade graduation dance. He wanted to buy it off of me, but I was thinking I haven't worn that particular tie in a good while so I gifted it to him. That made me so pumped, that could be the most beneficial thing I taught the kids, and they enjoyed it. As this year winds itself down I find myself growing more attached to my kids, especially the ones that are graduating. We are having 11 graduates this year, and man I have threatened to fail a couple of them just to keep them around for another year. Half of me wants them to stay in the village after they graduate and the other part wants them to go on and finally pursue their lives. Man if this is what it is like after only one year, what is going to feel like when the kids who freshmen now graduate. This is an odd sensation, I am kind of torn, I know I should be happy that they have succeeded, but I am kind hit with the feeling that friends are leaving. Bah, there was no prep for this in undergrad...

Burning the midnight oil

Ladies and Gentlemen,
I have procrastinated a wee bit and have to finish all of my assignments for a class so I shall be brief, I have discovered that I can wash my hair in 6 coffee cups of water. Over and out.