It is finally Friday afternoon! It has been a long week and I am looking forward to a quiet weekend. The kids and I seem to have a roller coaster of good days and not so good days. They are good kids, but don't like to be challenged. This makes it hard to teach them! Plus, there seems to be a group of them that are into bullying each other. This shows up mostly in my last period class, which sometimes means I leave school discouraged. For the most part though, things are going pretty well.
It got to a muggy high of 37 degrees today. Yesterday as we were taking our daily walk to the post office we saw some signs of snow. It won't be long now. I am already wearing my ski coat that usually sees me all the way through the winter. Honestly, I'm worried about the cold. I'm going to try not to be a wimp, but I don't really like being cold.
We have been enjoying our time with the other teachers. I don't think we would be making it without their support and friendship. Last weekend Ryan and I hung out with two different couples and both nights were enjoyable. Our single friend Misty comes over to watch Palin politics with us and she is always entertaining.
Ryan and I are now both Liberty University graduate students. I am going to be starting a Masters in Education with a specialization in school counseling. I start class on October 20. I have to admit it was exciting to order textbooks. I even ordered a Liberty sweatshirt. What can I say? I'm a nerd and I'm glad to be back in school.
Earlier this week I was making a mental list of things I was missing...
slowly changing weather
changing leaves
Target
Thursday morning staff meetings at Frontier (limited to 30 min)
my cute red fall coat (I wore it once here and it wasn't warm enough)
neighbors and their new babies
jogging in the country
church
Subway for lunch on Thursdays
Friday's off
the mountains
Indiana festivals
book stores
"The Office" parties
Dazbog coffee
the Loft
family
traveling
Walker Mowers
football games (never thought I would say that)
Red Robin french fries
Vanilla Lattes
On the other hand, here are somethings I've been enjoying here in AK
evenings with my husband
our cute apt
reading novels
being a 2nd year teacher
online shopping
packages (you are all so generous!)
Netflix
baking
magazine subscriptions
the treadmill (sometimes)
reduced cleaning time in the apt
Bible Study on Sunday
game nights with the ladies
Eventually I'm sure the lists will balance out. :) Until then...
Friday, October 3, 2008
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Labor Day
I meant to write yesterday, but I never got to it. Things are in full swing here. We are now into our third week of school. Last week didn't really count, however. It was "Sea Week." So we spent three days out on the tundra, walking, fishing, and berry picking. It was a good couple of days getting to know the kids better and interacting with them outside the classroom.
In class things are going pretty well. I am having to adjust to the kids learning styles. They have a hard time synthesizing and analyzing anything on their own. It makes things difficult and I have to do more hand holding than usual. But, I will get used to it and they will get used to me. If I didn't have sixth graders I would be happier. :)
This weekend Taylor and Angela Hayden came to visit us. They are a SEND couple that live in Sleetmute, AK. They are both pilots and have their own plane, so they flew over for two days. It was great to see them and have a diversion. They also brought us enough salmon to get us through the winter! On Sunday morning, the four of us flew over to Hooper Bay for church. The plane only holds two people, so we had to take to trips to get over there. I was the "cargo," which means I just made the cargo weight limit and I sat in the back without a seat. Thankfully the ride was only 15 minutes.
It was great to be able to go to church. The service was two hours long! We sang for about an hour. One of the elders prayed in Yu'pik. It was a good service. We had lunch with some of the other SEND missionaries that live there. It was nice to see them and they are doing some exciting things in Hooper. We are going to try to get a Bible study started here fairly soon.
It is continually an adjustment here. It is strange getting used to a simpler, quieter life. With no church, no places to go, and no family, there are many evenings and weekends at home. I am thankful for Ryan and for his company. Ryan and I are both applying for grad school to fill some of the time. :) I am sure things will pick up as we get to know people and take on responsibilities.
Thank you for your prayers and support! I'll try to post some more pictures soon. Until then, Ryan did put some on his facebook that you can check out.
In class things are going pretty well. I am having to adjust to the kids learning styles. They have a hard time synthesizing and analyzing anything on their own. It makes things difficult and I have to do more hand holding than usual. But, I will get used to it and they will get used to me. If I didn't have sixth graders I would be happier. :)
This weekend Taylor and Angela Hayden came to visit us. They are a SEND couple that live in Sleetmute, AK. They are both pilots and have their own plane, so they flew over for two days. It was great to see them and have a diversion. They also brought us enough salmon to get us through the winter! On Sunday morning, the four of us flew over to Hooper Bay for church. The plane only holds two people, so we had to take to trips to get over there. I was the "cargo," which means I just made the cargo weight limit and I sat in the back without a seat. Thankfully the ride was only 15 minutes.
It was great to be able to go to church. The service was two hours long! We sang for about an hour. One of the elders prayed in Yu'pik. It was a good service. We had lunch with some of the other SEND missionaries that live there. It was nice to see them and they are doing some exciting things in Hooper. We are going to try to get a Bible study started here fairly soon.
It is continually an adjustment here. It is strange getting used to a simpler, quieter life. With no church, no places to go, and no family, there are many evenings and weekends at home. I am thankful for Ryan and for his company. Ryan and I are both applying for grad school to fill some of the time. :) I am sure things will pick up as we get to know people and take on responsibilities.
Thank you for your prayers and support! I'll try to post some more pictures soon. Until then, Ryan did put some on his facebook that you can check out.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
So it begins.
School started on Friday, with much disorganization. Things are certainly different here. Its kind of a fly by the seat of your pants mentality. But, we got through the first day and school really started on Monday. It is going to be a challenging year. The kids are fairly typical middle schoolers. However, there are some definite differences. One strange thing is that most of the kids come to school with absolutely nothing. They go from class to class with no books, no pencil, no backpack, no folder, nothing. I think it isn't so much a money thing as it is habit to expect the school to provide everything for them. I gave them homework and they folded it up and put it in their pocket. I might try to do something about, but the other middle school teachers seem to have just excepted how things are. Its a hard balance between trying to improve things and realizing that it isn't going to be Colorado.
My kids have been giving me a hard time about wearing "nice clothes" and were asking me why I change clothes everyday. Another kid said it was because "thats what gussiks do." (The kids wear jeans and the same sweatshirt everyday.) It is different being the minority.
Ryan is currently packing to go moose hunting. He is going with our neighbor Ulrich (the mayor), Ulrich's son Aaron, and another teacher Matt. I am glad he has the opportunity to go. He has been looking forward to this for a long time. I'm sure it will be an awesome experience for him. However, it might be a lonely weekend.
Keep praying for me as I teach these kids. Today during class I was praying that the Lord would help me learn to love them and to desire to teach them. Also pray for me as I deal with a new way of life. I was missing Target today. :)
My kids have been giving me a hard time about wearing "nice clothes" and were asking me why I change clothes everyday. Another kid said it was because "thats what gussiks do." (The kids wear jeans and the same sweatshirt everyday.) It is different being the minority.
Ryan is currently packing to go moose hunting. He is going with our neighbor Ulrich (the mayor), Ulrich's son Aaron, and another teacher Matt. I am glad he has the opportunity to go. He has been looking forward to this for a long time. I'm sure it will be an awesome experience for him. However, it might be a lonely weekend.
Keep praying for me as I teach these kids. Today during class I was praying that the Lord would help me learn to love them and to desire to teach them. Also pray for me as I deal with a new way of life. I was missing Target today. :)
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Chevak
We have now been in Chevak for five whole days. We were supposed to fly from Anchorage to Bethel and then from Bethel to Chevak on Thursday evening. However, when we got to Bethel, our plane had left for Chevak without us. So, we got a taxi and found a bed and breakfast in Bethel. Bethel is a town of about 7,000 people. They even have restaurants and a Subway (restaurant). We stayed at the Brown Slough, which turned out to be a really nice place.
Friday morning we sat in the airport for almost two hours before we finally made it on to a plane to take us to Chevak. I missed the morning new teacher inservice, but got right to work on my classroom. Apparently the thing up here is for teachers to order as much stuff as they possibly can and cram it all over the classroom. Needless to say, I had quite a bit of organizing to do. I have things in pretty good order, but the room will continue to be a work in progress.
Our apartment is also a work in progress. The teacher before us moved out in May and four men lived in the apartment through the summer. So you can imagine the condition we found it in. After cleaning and unpacking it is also looking much better. We are waiting on the key to our connex so we can store all our boxes. Also, my mom is kind enough to send some slipcovers, which will much improve the couches. It is a new challenge to figure out what to eat with only part of our groceries here. Today we got our pans, which helped the cooking considerably. I am looking forward to the arrival of our coffee pot. (There is a coffee shop here, but I have only seen it open once.)
I am learning that every school has its challenges and this one is no different. It is interesting trying to navigate my way through the new teacher process. Each day I overhear something new that is required of me that I didn't know about. Someday, hopefully soon, I will get to be at one school more than one year so I can feel like I know what is going on!
The people and the teachers here are nice. I am a both excited and nervous to meet my students. School starts on Friday!
Friday morning we sat in the airport for almost two hours before we finally made it on to a plane to take us to Chevak. I missed the morning new teacher inservice, but got right to work on my classroom. Apparently the thing up here is for teachers to order as much stuff as they possibly can and cram it all over the classroom. Needless to say, I had quite a bit of organizing to do. I have things in pretty good order, but the room will continue to be a work in progress.
Our apartment is also a work in progress. The teacher before us moved out in May and four men lived in the apartment through the summer. So you can imagine the condition we found it in. After cleaning and unpacking it is also looking much better. We are waiting on the key to our connex so we can store all our boxes. Also, my mom is kind enough to send some slipcovers, which will much improve the couches. It is a new challenge to figure out what to eat with only part of our groceries here. Today we got our pans, which helped the cooking considerably. I am looking forward to the arrival of our coffee pot. (There is a coffee shop here, but I have only seen it open once.)
I am learning that every school has its challenges and this one is no different. It is interesting trying to navigate my way through the new teacher process. Each day I overhear something new that is required of me that I didn't know about. Someday, hopefully soon, I will get to be at one school more than one year so I can feel like I know what is going on!
The people and the teachers here are nice. I am a both excited and nervous to meet my students. School starts on Friday!
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
In Alaska!
Well, we are in Alaska! On Sunday evening we made it out of our house with four suitcases, one gun case, and four carry-ons and onto the plane to Anchorage. The last two weeks in Colorado were not quite what we anticipated, but the Lord is good. With the help of my parents, we were able to ship the rest of our things to Alaska and pack up our house. It was a crazy time, but we were able to see many family members and friends and to say goodbye.
After a night in Anchorage, a SEND pilot came and picked us up and we flew to Glennallen, AK for the SEND Alaska Annual Conference. (Ryan actually got to fly the plane) Every year all the SEND Alaska missionaries get together and so for the last two days we have been meeting missionaries from all over the state. There are some really nice people and it has been good to meet them. We have especially enjoyed getting to know a few other young couples, some of whom are teachers. Sadly, even though we will be in the same state as they are, we will probably not see them until next year at Annual Conference.
Tomorrow we are driving to Anchorage with some veteran shoppers to stock up on supplies. On Thursday we are flying to Chevak...finally! We are getting anxious to be there and to get to work. It has been a long journey thus far and we are anticipating many more challenges ahead.
Please keep us in your prayers as we head into this time of transition.
(also I tried to post pictures, but the internet connection isn't so great, so I'll try again later!)
After a night in Anchorage, a SEND pilot came and picked us up and we flew to Glennallen, AK for the SEND Alaska Annual Conference. (Ryan actually got to fly the plane) Every year all the SEND Alaska missionaries get together and so for the last two days we have been meeting missionaries from all over the state. There are some really nice people and it has been good to meet them. We have especially enjoyed getting to know a few other young couples, some of whom are teachers. Sadly, even though we will be in the same state as they are, we will probably not see them until next year at Annual Conference.
Tomorrow we are driving to Anchorage with some veteran shoppers to stock up on supplies. On Thursday we are flying to Chevak...finally! We are getting anxious to be there and to get to work. It has been a long journey thus far and we are anticipating many more challenges ahead.
Please keep us in your prayers as we head into this time of transition.
(also I tried to post pictures, but the internet connection isn't so great, so I'll try again later!)
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Getting ready
Sorry for the silence! The reason we started this blog was to be able to keep everyone updated on our work with SEND international in Alaska. Now that we are soon heading out, I will try to be better about keeping the blog current.
The last two weeks we have been in Farmington, MI in the "Member Orientation Program." We have been in classes all day, learning about the organization, discussing cross-cultural issues, and preparing for departure.
We are flying out of Denver on August 3 and heading to Anchorage. We should get to our village on Thursday, August 7, just in time for me to begin new teacher training on Friday. It is hard to believe that we are actually going to be in Alaska in a matter of days! It has been a long process to get there and we are excited that we are finally going to make it.
Once we get to Alaska I will hopefully have some fun and interesting stories to share. Until then...
The last two weeks we have been in Farmington, MI in the "Member Orientation Program." We have been in classes all day, learning about the organization, discussing cross-cultural issues, and preparing for departure.
We are flying out of Denver on August 3 and heading to Anchorage. We should get to our village on Thursday, August 7, just in time for me to begin new teacher training on Friday. It is hard to believe that we are actually going to be in Alaska in a matter of days! It has been a long process to get there and we are excited that we are finally going to make it.
Once we get to Alaska I will hopefully have some fun and interesting stories to share. Until then...
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