That's It Folks

Well, as you can probably tell, Emily and I are no longer in White Mountain. We survived being chaperones but did come home Saturday night exhausted. We had a great time in White Mountain, it is the nicest rural Alaskan community that I have visited. People greeted you with a smile and a "welcome to White Mountain" rather than guarded stares. Being invited to dinners made the visit all the more special, musk ox meatloaf, caribou chili, and Eskimo ice cream, wonderful. The students were quiet at first as was to be expected, but quickly warmed up to us. I felt that I had begun to know the students, even after only a week. That would never happen in a school of a 1000. I also enjoyed seeing community members at the school everyday. At every lunch there was a table of elders who would eat with the students. That kind of community interaction is important for any school, but especially one in rural AK. I had wanted to teach in rural Alaska before this and it didn't change, in fact it made me remember why I like smaller schools. Thanks UAF and White Mountain for the opportunity to visit!

We've Been Infiltrated

Ashley The Teacher - The Students Learned About The ADF&G Aerial Wolf Control Program

Students Write The Pros and Cons Of The Wolf Control Program

Town, Up Close

Picture a school with 48 students K-12. Now picture 90+ students from Diomede, Brevig, Elim, Golovin, Nome, etc., in this same school. Finally, picture our faces as Emily and I discovered that we were listed as chaperones for the girls from Diomede and Nome. Not only is the school filled with 6 - 12 grade students, we have 7 of them staying in "our" room. Check out Emily's blog to see what we are hearing right at this very moment (for some reason this room is the cool hang out spot for many, many teens - maybe a result of how cool Emily and I are?). By the way, in addition to teaching today Emily and I got the chance to work in the kitchen as the clean up crew. Let me just say that our talent does not lie in the commercial kitchen, there may still be gallons of water on the floor from our clean up. Better go, I'm hearing the word "naked" one too many times...

Art and Ice Cream, What Can Be Better?

This Inupiaq Phrase Means: I Am From White Mountain, Of The Fish River Tribe

Emily and I learned this phrase in the Inupiaq classes we observed today. Also, the painted picture is done by a very famous artist, one well known throughout the world. Her name you ask? Emily Samargo. You may also wonder who posed for such a picture. Her name would be Ashley Hutton. This is an example of what Emily is having some of the high school kids do. In closing, I must add one very important note. I finally got the chance to eat Eskimo ice cream tonight! I have read about this dish for years and have always wanted to try it. Joanna, Jack's wife, made both blueberry and salmonberry ice cream and I tried both. For those of you not in the know, Eskimo ice cream is a whipped mixture of Crisco (at least Joanna made hers with that, not seal oil), white fish, sugar, and berries. Can't say that it's a dish that I would include at every meal, but I was so very excited to finally try it. Thank you Joanna!