The Glories of the Kenai...

We spent yesterday doing the Alaskan adventure part of this trip. We took the seniors on a boat trip out of Seward, including a trip to Fox Island, and a cruise around Resurrection Bay. The trip was centered on wildlife viewing, and we saw a plethora of species. The list included humpback whales, Steller's Sea Lions, dolphins, mountain goats, puffins, black-legged kittiwakes, and sea otters. The kids seemed to be pretty entranced. We saw a bald eagle sitting on its nest, and a couple of them hovering over the water and hunting. It was a pretty full 4.5 hours, and we had a 2.5+hour ride each way. All were pretty tired by the time we returned to the hotel. As of this morning, some of the girls are still asleep. Today is a museum day, with trips to the Alaska Native Heritage Center and the Anchorage Museum planned. Tomorrow will mark a visit to the H2O Oasis water park, a favorite on the Anchorage circuit. I fly the kiddies back to Bethel on Thursday.

So far we are all still alive, and everyone is still in possession of all extremities. As to possession of faculties, that is another thing.

More Adventures In Anchorage...

I mentioned that I was originally in Anchorage for a class that I need to renew my Alaska teaching license. Before I left, I was contacted by the AKT2 program, which is how I got the license in the first place. They are introducing a new group of candidates to the classroom segments of the program for the next few weeks in Anchorage. Several of the members of the first class, including me, were asked to come and talk about the realities of the teaching life in Rural Alaska. It was nice to see some of my comrades from 2009. We spent a couple of hours answering questions and trying to be as helpful as we could be. With any luck, we were of some service to this group. I think that the three grizzled veterans enjoyed the interaction with this year's rookie class.

I finished the class on Friday, and completed making submissions to finish my AKT2 portfolio. Saturday brought the invasion of the Napaskiak senior class of 2011. Tomorrow we are off to Seward to ride on a boat and see what we can see. Today started out with a little shopping. I hope that everyone is enjoying themselves, and who knows, they may be...

So, This Is When It Started To Get Complicated...

We drove down to the local Pet Smart, where the dogs were going to board. I whipped out my paperwork to show that good old Dan was as healthy as a well-tended dog should be. The very nice young man asked me politely if I could tell him about Dan's Bordatella status. That is a vaccine that is apparently very necessary for doggies when they stay in kennels. As I found out, not every veterinarian gives these shots as a matter of routine. Yes, we had no vaccinations...not for that, anyway...semi-frantic consultations, and a quick improv...fortunately, there is a nice place that we stay in Anchorage with our dogs, and the had a room open for the two of us.

So Dan and I spent the week at the Puffin Inn, which was probably a little nicer for him. He didn't get stuck in a kennel by himself, and I felt that I should hang around the room a little more so that he was not too lonely. Not a bad workaround all together.

The class for which I had come into town early proved to be a real pleasure. It is basically an Alaskan history course taught by a Russian Orthodox priest who has become well known in the state. His focus is largely on setting up the background for the distinction that he draws between the the Russian period and the American time. Very interesting, a good story told by an excellent storyteller.

Now the seniors are here and we need to go and take them around. More on the story to come...

My Adventures In Oz, continued...

We got to the airport in PKA ready for (if not a little early for) the 9 am flight to Bethel. And then we waited. And waited. And...well, you get the picture. Nowhere fast, and for over an hour. Fortunately, my flight from Bethel wasn't leaving until 2:45. I was even able to get the wonderful Mary Noes to meet me at the airport with stuff for the upcoming senior trip, because I had to stay there with Dan the wonderdog. The flight for Anchorage got off on time.

Great, right? Truly. There was some beautiful scenery to be seen on the flight down once we got past the clouds. My bags came out quickly on the baggage belt. I offered a ride to one of our local citizens, who happened to be in town. Yep, everything was going just fine...

Where Did We Leave Off?

To begin with, I am hideously out of it this morning-barely functional. I keep waking up at 4:30 or so, and I am missing the village and my friends back home. For reasons that I do not wish to contemplate, I have locked myself out of my hotel room on two out of the last three days. My head seems to be stuck in a dark place, and it could use some light and fresh air.

It is, fortunately, a beautiful, sunny day today. I hope to make some use of it at some point. We are in class until 4:30, and I am committed to a trip to Wal-Mart with one of our residents who came into town with me. I also need to work on finishing my remaining two submissions for AKT2. My hope is that I can get that stuff done today, and free up some time tomorrow for skylarking around out in the fresh air after we finish.

Since the last post on this thing, I have helped get as much of the house packed up as we could on Sunday and Monday. Naps kept creeping into the picture, as we found ourselves sleepy at the strangest hours of the day for no discernible reason. I think it is kind of a catch-up kind of thing.

Tuesday was the day for my egress to Anchorage, along with one of the clutch of dogs that call us feeders and walkers. That was the germ of the adventure that was to be my day on Tuesday...more about that in a later post. We (the dog and I) made it to the airport in PKA in one piece and on time. That was the beginning of the end of easy for that day...

This Is A Request Number...

...and you know who you are...it is late, and I have class tomorrow with Father Oleksa, and I really enjoyed today's session, and I want to be on time, and so I am not going to have that much to say tonight. But I have heard the voice of the people, at least part of them, and I will get up and about it tomorrow without fail...I promise.

Packing...

...is when you realize how much crap you have sitting around that you were just too lazy to deal with in the past. Even a small house with only two people gets crowded with crap. We are dealing with it now, as we need to before we leave. And we need to deal with much of it now, because I am leaving Tuesday morning. That still gives us most of the day tomorrow, so I see no reason for panic just now.

We checked out for the year late yesterday afternoon, so we are officially done for the year. Both of us were pretty tired, and I was seriously thinking about a very early bedtime when the call to steam came from Joe. I was glad to go-the third time this week. I got moderately cooked, and walked home watching the sunset at 11:35 or so. It was a good feeling, and I could see us hanging out here some summer, or at least hanging around longer that we have.

My pup had another in a series of nighttime seizures last night, and I have switched to having him sleep in his travel bag. He usually wets when he has a seizure, and the small pad is easier to deal with than the blankets on the bed. Poor little guy. He seems OK after the incidents, but I think that he will have to get medicated in the not too distant future. I am reluctant to start too soon, because he will need blood and liver function monitoring when he does, and that is kind of tricky out here. There may ultimately be no real choice.

I am enjoying my first full day of vacation, even if it involves packing and moving. We are moving at a relaxed pace, and there is no lesson planning in the offing for nearly three months. Nice. That alone makes this Sunday a day of rest...

Done, almost...

The kids have been gone since yesterday. We are in the slow slog of cleaning up, checking out, and packing up. I got a few totes hauled over today and they are stored in the gym. The room (mine, now) is empty, and all of the desks are stacked and the bookshelves are covered. I have made up the lists of my future goals and the things that need to be fixed. Joe says we will steam one more time this weekend before I head out to Anchorage. I went over there last night and he and I sat around between rounds in the steam room and shaved our heads. Pretty funny.

I saw our SBA scores, and they were pretty much what I expected. I had a couple of nice surprises, and no awful shocks. I hope that I have not screwed any one's young life up too much, at least not for the time being. It feels surprising to realize that the second year of this endeavor has passed, and that I will start my third year in August.

Now we will get serious about getting the rest of this place in totes, and I need to finish off with AKT2 this weekend, although I have until the 31st. I hope to get together with some of those folks during my upcoming sojourn in Anchorage. Summer vacation-it's just around the corner...

Breakup...

The river is flowing nearly freely, from last observation. That was Friday night. Chunks of ice were still floating down stream, but the main channel seemed to be mostly open. There is a report that there is ice still in place upstream near Aniak, but that seems to hold no special threat at this time. No flood watches or warnings are posted for the Kusko as of earlier this morning...

Coffee...

The best thing about the morning? Not really-my guess is that waking up alive would win that title. But it comes in a very comfortable second. Or third. Breakfast also finishes highly. But coffee has to be in the top five, anyway. It certainly is the most necessary thing about it. I know of people who are concerned about their coffee-dependent state. That seems unfortunate, largely the result of crappy press coverage of silly pseudo-science stories. The occasional need to reduce caffeine consumption cannot be ignored, of course. But I suspect that it is the exception, rather than the rule. Considering that it is a habit that I did not acquire until early adulthood, it is one of my favorites. I am not terribly concerned that it is, clearly, a habit...

This Is It!

We are nearly done-actual classes on Monday and Tuesday and Wednesday morning. After that, we will have year-end parties and a community get-together. Two work days after that, and that is it.

There will be lots of time for reflection (self-criticism?) as the week goes on. For now, prom and graduation are over, and the work is nearly done. I can get ready to go to Anchorage for some more school...

Update:

The river is moving! The ice is moving down the main channel over towards Oscarville, at what looked to be a decent clip. There is a little bit of a jam by where the slough that the village sits on flows into the main river, and the slough was rising a little. A group of us went for a walk down by the airport, and the level in the slough had risen noticeably from what it had been a couple of hours previously.

Things are not so well back upstream: the village of Crooked Creek was hit hard by rising flood waters behind an ice dam downstream from the village. The damage is bad, and the water is still high. For more information, the Anchorage Daily News has this follow-up: http://www.adn.com/2011/05/11/1857898/kuskokwim-flood-rose-so-fast-residents.html

While we were down at the river, some of us began "washing" our hair in the ice-choked stream. It is apparently meant to wash away impending illness. What the heck, I thought...so I washed my hair, too. I will hope that it does some good.

On the way back from the river, we stopped to listen to frogs croaking in one of the ponds. A flock of geese flew overhead. One of our group said, "Look at all the soup!" Ya gotta like life in the Bush...especially in the springtime...

Spring Is Back...

Yes, it is, and the ice is beginning to move. There are stories of severe flooding back upstream. The ice down here is kind of rotting in place, although I just heard that the main river ice has shifted over in Oscarville. Methinks that things will happen quickly from here on. The average breakup date since statistics have been kept is May 12, which is tomorrow. I have popped the window in the living room open, and we had the bedroom window open last night. It is still too early for bugs yet, so the fact that there is no screen is of no especial importance right now. I want to remember to get some tent screening for our return, because that will be during no-see-'um time, and it is a miserable thing if they get into the house.

We have temporary neighbors living next door that are working on the teacher housing project, and they have a fella who is kind of their den mother. He coordinates for them, and cooks the meals. We were sitting out on the porch visiting and waving at people who were coming by. Very pleasant indeed, and it beats the living hell out of television.

My kids have been very busy for the most part, getting things done before the end of the year. They have proven to be remarkably industrious, and some of them have frankly surprised me (in a very good way). It will be tougher for them to focus as the next few days go by, but I really feel that they are doing well overall.

We are finished one week from tomorrow. This year's adventure is nearly over, but there is already reason to look down the line.

Chuggin' Through The Week...

Halfway (or a little better) through Wednesday, and the momentum is starting to go downhill (in a positive way). We are going to have to reconsider our senior trip costs, but I don't think that will be the end of the world. I will talk with seniors today or tomorrow about that. Back after lunch, and a little more math testing and then a couple of periods between me and the end of the day. At the end of the day, there are officially six more days to go. The reality is somewhat shorter than the official version...This is starting to get exciting.

One More Monday To Go...

...and then it will be time for vacation. We are all getting itchy, kids and staff alike. I am still trying to get some good stuff across to the kiddies, but it isn't getting any easier. We will just keep plugging.

Breakup sounds as if it is near, and there are reports of flooding upriver. It remains to be seen how the situation will eventually sort itself out around here. A lot of the ice seems to just be deteriorating in place. I would like to see the kind of spectacular breakup of which I have heard, but I am not an especial fan of ice dams and flooding, on the other hand.

There is no other real big news at the moment. We just have a lot of stuff to get done, and we just have to get it done. Nothing fancy.

Eight more days with students. Two work days for me after that. I hear it calling....

The Sound That I Hear Every Morning and Evening...

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Wilsons_Snipe/sounds

Misnomer...

The "short nap" turned out to be two hours...that is not my afternoon nap profile as a rule. It suggests the end-of-the-year tiredness may be more significant than I thought. My regular tendency is toward short, twenty-minute catnaps that are refreshing. This was more akin to a drugged state. Even an hour after I got up, I am feeling kind of groggy. We are approaching that time of year where it will be possible to get some real rest. I am starting to think seriously about what summer feels like...

The Luxury of a Quiet Sunday...

This is the first day in a number of them that we did not have to be somewhere or do something first thing in the morning. This is not to say that they have not been pleasant days. It is to say that it was a pleasant change this morning to luxuriate over a morning cup of coffee and know that I was on no particular schedule.

We have attended to some business. There were the Mother's day calls, and I got real energetic and put away the snowmachine for the season. I also brought over a bunch of totes (yep, totes!) from the storage building, and we have embarked on the task of filling them up with the contents of the house. We have a little less than two weeks before the school year is over, and the teachers will all have to move their belongings into the gym for summer storage. My understanding is that the piles will ultimately be moved into the new housing when it is ready.

The apartments seem to be coming along nicely. I am hoping to get one with a view of the mountains in the distance. They have two actual bedrooms in them, which means that we are going to be in a position to host visitors for the first time in the two years that I have been out here. We will likely be starting to put subtle pressure on a few people.

Breakup seems to be slow and steady this year. We got word that the river is breaking up around Kwethluk, which is about twenty-five miles upstream. The slough is mostly open, with the ice having sort of melted in place. No spectacular ice jams or anything. My guess is that the main river will be open in the next week or so.

It strikes me at this point in the day that the perfect thing to do now is to take a short nap, and I think that I will do just that.

The Year Winds Down...

A very busy time it has been. We managed to get back from Bethel a little early last Sunday, which was advantageous, as we had lesson plans to complete. Of course, our lesson plans are getting much simpler as time goes on, because a lot of what we are doing at this point in the year consists of catching up and completion.

Monday marked the beginning of prom preparation week, with a different set of projects nightly. There was a lot to do, but the crew was pretty reliable and worked together well. We actually got some of the more complex tasks done a lot earlier than we had been dreading. Of course, there were some last minute complications, but they seemed to be few and easily dealt with. It was tiring to be sure, but it got done, and that was the goal.

We also had some visitors this week, and despite the intense nature of the week's activity, it was great to have them here. Stephen Blanchett, one of the founding members of the group Pamyua, and Jack Dalton, an actor and storyteller, came to spend the week with the kids performing, telling stories, and even writing a song or two based on the work of a couple of our students. They performed one of the numbers live on Wednesday. It was funny, and it was sweet, and it brought me a smile and a tear at the same time. They visited with my class for four mornings, and we had a great time listening to stories, doing some acting warm-ups, and even a little Yup'ik dancing. Even me. We hope to see them back again, and I hope that they can figure out a way to put their little ditty into a recorded form somehow.

Prom was last night, and it was busy and hectic and tiring. The kids were cute and the girls were pretty and the boys were handsome and dressed in their ties and tuxes. My bride and I managed to get through it and still stay married. This morning there was a big mess in the gym that the kids came in and eliminated in a couple of hours. I spent the day at the office, because I apparently have time to make up (due to district inservices). I will spend the next two Saturdays there. When the last Saturday is over, so is my school year. Time grows very short-less than two weeks until the end. We will have some more adventures after the end of the year, but summer vacation is nigh.

And now, as the work week ends, I think that it is time for a cuddle and some sleep. This is going to feel nice....

That Was Quick...

It is almost Friday, and the week has gone by quickly. We have been spending lots of hours getting ready for prom, and we have had some cool guests at the school this week. More details to follow once the craziness has slowed down a notch...

Hello...

It's been a while. Today is the first Monday that we have had to work with for some time. The kids are appropriately scattered-it was a beautiful Sunday, and the light stays ever later. We have visitors in the school, and there is some question and excitement about that as well. Stories will be told and danced in the next several days. I am going to try to get the kiddies to take a look at doing some poetry this afternoon, and we will see how that goes. I suspect that excitement and focus on studies will continue to battle for the next two weeks, with excitement winning more and more often as the end of the year draws closer.

We spent the weekend off in Anchorage, and it was a pleasant change from day-to-day reality. Now, we will deal with the reality of prom preparation, and visitors galore. It will be an interesting week...