The Golden Hour...

That hour before sunset as summer approaches and the skies are clear. It is nearly ten o'clock, and the sun is shining in my eyes. It won't be dark for another two hours. I am enjoying my favorite evening of the week-we have just gotten back from a walk in the brisk spring air, and it is time for reflection.

We are asked to do a lot of reflecting in this business, and that is something that I am still coming to grips with. I understand the need for some, but we reflect on nearly every aspect of the life of the school, and it seems a little silly sometimes.

We will begin packing this weekend, as we have prom and graduation coming up on the next two consecutive Fridays. Things will be busy. A head start will be a good idea. But for now, it is Friday, and the sun is lighting a beautiful evening...

Back In The Flow of Things...

Back in the classroom for the first time in a few days...kids are either busy or distracted. There are only a few weeks of school left to go, and I can't blame them all that much. I wish it weren't so, but that is kind of unrealistic. The weather is gray and rainy, which might mean that it is the perfect night to go walking around the village and calling on parents. Or not. Hard to tell. This weekend we will need to start packing this place up. There is lots to do, and we are not going to have much time after the school year ends. I would happily have waited longer, but the airfares get worse and worse the closer that one gets to Memorial Day. So, off we will go, most likely exhausted from the dash that it will take to get out of here. I still need to remember to get a rental car for the summer, and a hotel for the overnight in Anchorage. Many things to do...

Home Again, Home Again...

Back on this side of the river again after two days of training in a violence/substance abuse/bullying prevention program called Second Step. It seems worthwhile, and I plan on using it in my junior high classroom next year. I thought that the training, which was for trainers, was very effective, and I will try to do some training in our school in the fall.

I also managed to visit both grocery stores in Bethel, do a phone conference for AKT2, the remainder of my data class, fold laundry, wash dishes, and eat dinner, all by 10:00 pm. A lot crammed into a day that started at 4:50 am.

I hear rumors that my kids missed me. I could have stayed for another day's training for elementary students, but I felt the need to get back to them, because I missed them, too. Go figure. It's good to be back.

Betheling In April...

Just made the grueling flight across the river. Laundry is done, although I left a big bunch of dishes behind. I feel bad, but some people had other priorities. They were good priorities, but they kept me away from doing dishes yesterday. Then Joe called up, whispering the magic word "maqiq" in my ear. By the way, talk about a hot one. A couple of us are still smarting because the floor was so hot...we did, however have some good yuks about that situation.

I have two days of training starting tomorrow, so I am in the Long House at Bethel tonight. The two of us just seem to be coming and going lately...one returns, the other departs. I think this will represent the end of that for now, at least. I got to drop over to Shogun for delish shrimp fajitas...luxury in the Bush.

Schooling tomorrow, channel surfing tonight. I'm not sure how much I miss TV. Not so much in many ways.

Back At It...

At the end of a busy weekend and the start of a busy week. I got the Empress and the kids last night, which involved two runs up and down the river. Although the path to the river was less than desirable, the track on the river was amazing. It was flat and fast. We had to go downriver to go north, because the last word that I had was that the slough upstream was not good. I managed to scare the hell out of at least one student by jumping a pressure ridge with a sled in tow. Long story.

Today was time for lesson planning, dog walking and napping, and finally a maqiq this evening at Joe's. Hot. The damn floor was hot. I mean real hot. We were laughing as we winced and yelped. Sometimes when the pour is real hot, you need to get right down on the floor. That was an exercise in misery itself. Adam and I stood aside while the Yup'ik guys went in for a real boiler. They came out looking like lobsters. It was still major fun, and I was glad that I got the call. I will miss this stuff over the summer.

Tomorrow is a classroom day, then I have to figure out how to get to Bethel for two days of training. I also have to figure out where to stay. Of course, if my emails did any good, that issue may already have been addressed by then. Then it's back on Wednesday night, when I have both an AKT2 meeting and a class for three hours. This might be a challenge to juggle...

Less than four weeks to go. I am excited, but also sad at the prospect of leaving. I will miss my students. I will, however, enjoy seeing family and friends again. Not to mention the chance to ride my bike.

mmmm...Coffee Is Life...

...and that is why I am sitting here typing at 6:49 on a Saturday morning with sleeping dogs surrounding me, and a hot cup of coffee on the nightstand...if I had any eloquence whatever, I would write a prayer of thanks to the coffee gods. Because without coffee, life would be impossible. It is such a pleasant way to start out any day, even the bad ones. In fact, it is possible as I reflect that a cup of coffee may have been the only pleasant thing about one or two of the days in my life.

But let's not sound even remotely negative. Life is good. My baby is coming home, and I don't have to be a single guy anymore. I find that state to be vastly overrated. Some folks like it. It's just not for me, and I have had a long time in which to figure it out.

Time to get on with the day and prepare for the return of the Empress...

Friday and Waiting...

For my baby to come home...tomorrow night marks the welcome end of my bachelor week. It hasn't been bad or anything, I am just glad for it to be over.

We are done for the year four weeks from tomorrow. We did more development activities today. I sense a feeling of exhaustion on everybody's part. The end is nigh. Our dean of students and his wife are moving across the river to Oscarville, where he will be the site administrator. Both of them seem happy about the move, and I wish them the best in the new project. That opens up a position here, and much speculation. I suspect that most of the staff are wondering how the new changes will shape up.

I took my kids outside today, and they seemed to enjoy it. It is not as warm as it was a couple of days ago, and they thought it was funny that I showed up in insulated overalls. I thought it was funny when they started complaining about being cold. I told them to bring outside clothes yesterday, and offered them a rain check on the whole project until better weather showed up, but they wanted to go. It was really a beautiful sunny day by the time that we got outside, but just a little on the windy, nippy side. We did see some interesting sites around the village, like the old grave site, and the location of a former qasgiq, or men's house, as well as the location of the old airport.

My goal is to try to get them to see the village from the point of view of a stranger, as well as their own. I plan on having them write about it and hope that they can make that leap. We did some video practice as well, because we are going to try to make some short movies in the next few weeks. They may find that they like it.

Time for bed. I need to get on the bike and my homework in the morning...