Waking in Alaska: February 2014

Time is flying by as per usual. If I stop for a moment to think about how much time has passed since I moved into the village it feels like it has been so long yet not long at all. My Iowa roots are engrained pretty deep. Going home over winter break I expected to find that a lot had changed, that things would feel somewhat alien to me after living in isolation for months, but surprisingly it didn't. I slipped back into Iowan life so seamlessly it startled me.

However, there was something very different about it. The experiences I have had up here are so fresh on my mind I found myself talking about them frequently. I am always trying to relate things to my life in the bush. Even some of my vocabulary changed. I never used to call my grandmother "Grams", but it was the first thing that slipped off my tongue when talking about her. Just goes to show how adaptive I am as an individual, how we all are as human beings. We soak in so much of what is around us. Brings to light the necessity of surrounding yourself with stuff worth taking in. :)

Speaking of things worth taking in, here is a video a fellow teacher shared with me that was put together by some kids at her school not far from here last year. How incredible is that?!!!! Makes me feel so fortunate to be where I am and be surrounded by so many people who care about what they do.

The Special Education conference in Anchorage was awesome! I learned way more stuff than I could possibly remember, but I was very happy to be there and get more expertise in my field. The following weekend was our Valentine's Day basketball tournament. We had people here from all over the region to watch and play on the adult teams. I've never seen so many people in White Mountain. So much excitement for three days!

If I haven't already shared, I signed another contract with the district so I will be back in Alaska again next year. :) Very content with my decision! Most of the staff in White Mountain are hanging around, so we will hit the ground running next fall.

In retrospect, I suppose I haven't expressed much about the life I have left behind in Iowa this past year. I had a lot of conflicting feelings about leaving home. I love my family and friends to a fault, but I thought some space to evolve would do me good. There are some things you can't learn by staying in your comfort zone all your days. I think it's appropriate to give yourself some distance when the direction your going in life becomes unclear. Although, I am not so sure I needed to go all the way to Alaska to accomplish this end. ;) But I an happy I did. It is just like making a piece of artwork; looking at it from a distance helps you to see the bigger picture. Sometimes it takes removing oneself from familiarity to discover new things to be passionate about. And who knows, these new passions may help you to evolve into a more fulfilled, satisfied soul. It's the journey that matters anyways.

Keep that Positive.Mind.Set y'all!

Namaste,

Kelly Rae

I am in nothing but awe at the weather not only here in Alaska, but throughout the nation and other parts of the world. Here in White Mountain our temperatures have been fluctuating above and below freezing all month, causing our precious bed of snow that is required for safe travels by snowmachine and cross country skiing to rapidly depart. Only a week or so ago, a group of three travelers on snowmachines had to be rescued between here and Golovin because of slush and unfavorable conditions rendering them helplessly stuck en route between the two villages. One machine wound up at the bottom of a body of water, with its rider lucky enough to have survived. The trails are slick from compressed snow and repeated rains. Thank goodness for my cleats!

The weather of my native state has been more severe than here! I can’t help but laugh at the irony of moving to this state and excitedly preparing for the most extreme winter weather I have ever experienced, and then discovering the weather was rather dumped to the south where I had vacated. What a twist of events. This causes me to give a length of contemplation to what perhaps the summer will have to bring...

With the dawn of a new year, an incredibly helpful mentor that I am now in frequent contact with, and all the support I receive from my friends here in White Mountain, I have been feeling more at ease these past couple of weeks. I resolved that for the sake of my sanity, I ought allow myself to indulge in some acts of selfishness now and then, and have rebirthed my desire to read for pleasure with a visit to the city’s library- which is a place I had yet been! They have a surprisingly large collection of books for such a small population they serve, and I eagerly checked quite a few out and have begun reading. Since the beginning of the year, I have read four books already. This pleases me. ^_^

And as always, I must indulge in photography now and then, because it is such a beautiful world out there when you open your mind to all the possibilities. :) Here are some that were taken mostly this year, I believe. Enjoy!

A view from my living room window.

I stroll out on the river while the ice is still frozen and snow blankets it. It feels unfamiliar and exciting to look at your city from a new perspective.

Another view from my home on a bright, sunny day, when the snow was still relatively fresh-fallen.

Hard not to think what a wonderful world it can be when you get to experience true peace on it. I wish the same for every being.

The moon, low over the trees very near the school building. I love to observe how the snow collects on the pines in thick blankets after a snowfall.

I could not convince myself I had ever posted a view from my window out the school and thought some of you may be interested. With the sun shining I can see much of the town as well as the brilliancy that marks the trees from the orange glow. Any clear day allows a view of the mountains.

Our school has a lot of artwork adorning it, mostly from collaborations with visiting artists, but also from the native people volunteering their own collections to be put on display. The cafeteria has displays cases with some of these items, as well as a kayak on display up high on the wall made with a wood frame and animal hide. These are paper mache geese flying through the halls. There are also king salmon as well.

Here are some of the boats put to rest for the winter. There are many boats that have been abandoned, if not permanently, until their owners are able to complete repairs that are needed or sell them.

This house I imagine is one that was built long ago. It is typical that the earliest houses in the area were made in the style of log cabins and were one room. It appears abandoned just at the tree line of the area known as "the meadow", where I pass every day to get to the school and where the cross country skiing regional meet begins each year. I worry what the weather will hold for the tournament this year, and if we will be able to have it...

A woman in town is helping me to make my very first kuspuk, and it has been coming along nicely since the beginning of the year now that we are meeting more regularly to work on them. Here I have laid out about what it will look like when it is finished, although many of the seams have yet to be sewn. I didn't realize how much I truly enjoy sewing until now! Cannot wait until it is finally finished. I was so excited, I already purchased fabric for another one. =D

Village sunset. :)

Here is a view looking out of the bay from Golovin, after the storms had caused some flooding. We went there for a district training in November.

This is the mural painted in our school cafeteria! Go White Mountain Wolves!!!!!!

Here is the finished project that the artist-in-resdience from back in October helped the students to create. There is at least one ceramic tile from every student at the school bordering our lunch window.

This is one of my tiles, depicting a mountainous landscape and skies above. The artist brought lots of tools for us to use to add texture and underglazes for painting them.

And here is another of the main entrance to the school.

This stained glass mosaic adorns the main entrance of our building. There are some beautiful ones with regional themes in Unalakleet that were done by an Alaska native, but I don't recall if ours were done by the same artist.

The mosaic completed in the lunchroom was planned by the same artist that did our welcome sign outside our school with the students several years ago.