In-service and after hours

Training in Unalakleet has been so informative my brain is growing wrinkled from all this pedagogical contemplation. (This belief of course stems from imagination more so than science, as our brain sadly does not actually develop more wrinkles as we learn, but a girl can dream!) I have been rather content with the training we are receiving as a district. People flew in from different parts of the United States to train us. My group's particular two-day reading workshop was led by a facilitator from Phoenix, Arizona. Just listening to her guide us toward understanding the significance of and rationale behind our adopted Success for All reading curriculum caused me to gain a lot of confidence in its potential for greatness. The school I will work at in White Mountain already has a pretty stellar reputation for fostering an appreciation for learning in its students, and so I have some big shoes to fill!

Class sessions for teachers run through the morning and into the early afternoon, when we are released of our duties and relatively free to do as we please. One night this week we traveled down to a local church camp for food and recreation. The food service workers that came with us did a marvelous job preparing all that food! We had fresh blueberry pie, steamed veggies, cucumber salad, and for those with a carnivorous spirit there was chicken cordon bleu and grilled salmon. A few of the more brave teachers slept over at the campground and grilled some more fresh caught salmon over a bonfire. I had fun hiking some of the trails and observing the fast current of the river as it meandered about the landscape. People fished, kayaked, played frisbee, ate food, and in general had a great time. Even some of the SFA trainers came to enjoy the experience! The mud of the trails became a prominent topic of conversation as we made our way about the camp. ATVs had been running people back and forth between the beach of the river and the chapel. In the process designated pathways in between grew more and more mushy as the evening progressed. I luckily only slipped and fell once, a pretty good number for me considering my track record with gravitational instability. ;)

 The town has two local stores and a couple of places to get sit-down food. One is called "Peace on Earth", and a group of us ate there for dinner this evening. I couldn't help but laugh at the cleverness: the basis for the business's phone number was the word "cheese".  The vegetarian Greek pizza was phenomenal, and I will be happy to ingest more of it as it pleases me over the next couple of days. Thank goodness for left-overs! Our first day in town we tried the local coffee shop for some good eats. Both stores have some of the artwork and crafts of the native people for sale. I have some seeds planted for some holiday gift items already, not to mention things I envy to own myself. The traditional garb in Alaska is so beautiful, I hope to learn how to make some. A few colleagues and myself went to a sale at the community center Saturday when we got out of our session early. There were baked goods, post cards, earrings, clothes, and more. I am now armed with a couple of post cards and probably more baked goods than any healthy human being should ingest in a month. Half of them are already gone. ;)

New teachers at the in-service have bonded in so many different ways since arriving. We have eaten together, joked together, explored the town, picked berries, sang karaoke, done zumba, and loads of other things I probably am not even aware of! People have fished and swam and watched movies. We have walked along the beach admiring the horizon line, the waves, and the beautiful pieces of sea glass that wash up on shore, called "gillies". (I likely spelled the Inupiaq word incorrectly.) Our downtime has been fairly enjoyable. Imagine all the teachers in the world who do not have these kinds of opportunities to get closer to one another before they begin their year working in cooperation with one another. How fortunate are we?!

My time here in Unakaleet is about halfway through and the realization that school will begin promptly in a matter of a week and a half is setting in. I am so excited to start work!!! After so many years of hard work, it is rewarding to finally feel like I have arrived. I couldn't have done it without all the friends I have made along the way. "I get by with a little help from my friends!"

Business envelopes are new on the inventory heading home, as well as some lemon juice I picked up at the store, some books from our textnician, rocks from the beach, driftwood, and celery root. I also hope to buy a sweater before I leave, as my one and only sweater I have with me is not sufficient for the weather here. It has been windy and rainy. You would laugh if you could see the way I have been pulling my bright blue, button-up knit sweater over my head during heavy rain as though it could offer some kind of protection. There is a mind movie for you right there... True comedy!

Thank you for reading my blog! Leave comments if you would like.

Namaste, Kelly

And because someone asked... Namaste is "a common spoken valediction or salutation originating from the Hindus in the Indian Subcontinent. It is a customary greeting when individuals meet, and a valediction upon their parting." [Wikipedia] This phrase is commonly used in the U.S. by those who participate in yoga, among other things. I was taught that in addition to being a common greeting, it is also a representation that "the love and light in me honors and respects the love and light in you". I choose to believe this is true. <3