April Showers

Wearing my qaspaq

It’s almost May. Where has the time gone? Seriously, this year has flown by! I cannot believe that I only have three more weeks of school left!

This month has been wonderful. The weather has been warmer and we’ve been able to enjoy lots of outside time in the sun with occasional rain showers. But what’s spring without a little rain? April showers are necessary I guess…especially if I am expecting to pick my fair share of berries this fall.

We had a wonderful Easter celebration here in New Stuyahok. One of my coworkers invited a bunch of us over for Easter lunch. It was amazingly delicious! We stuffed ourselves full of food. Overflowing, even. The sun was shining gloriously all day. I spent sometime reading in my “backyard” wearing shorts and a tank top. Yes, shorts AND a tank top. Yes, I live in Alaska and it was that warm out. Then, we enjoyed some time outside just hanging out with our magnificent neighbors. I also made my first qaspaq thanks to a TON of help from the amazing, Brielle! My first ever sewing project is officially complete.

Enjoying the sunshine with the cutest 2-year olds

This past weekend I held my class sleepover. All year, my kids have been working towards earning this sleepover and the many fun activities that went with it. We had a great time playing in the gym, buying food from the student store, tie-dying pillowcases (that my kids made themselves), playing card games, board games, and computer games, watching movies, eating popcorn and blueberry pancakes, drinking root beer floats, and watching movies with a little sleeping in there too. We had a great time! It was fun hanging out with my class outside of the normal school day setting and it was a good way to help start wrapping up the year.

I tried to rest up a little the past two days. You know, catch up on all my lost sleep and I got some, but definitely not enough. I’m just hoping it gets me through the next three weeks :) This year has been a really great year. I could not have done it without my awesome neighbors and coworkers (who have even managed to feed me this weekend).

Laying out and reading.

The sleepover chart

Sleeping :)

March Madness

It’s almost the end of March already! How time flies! Two months from today, I will be boarding a plane and on my way back to the mitten for the summer. That’s just crazy! This year is flying by (though some days go much faster than others.

After sledding, we built a little snowman

I am so grateful for all of my experiences so far this year. God has taught me/is teaching me a lot about His people and myself as well. I have fallen in love with this beautiful place I call home! Winter has finally come back to us. We had almost no snow since my return in January until the beginning of this month, but we’ve had snow for about a week now and it’s been so wonderful! I’ve learned how to cross country ski and fallen in love with it! (I will definitely be investing in my own pair of boots & skis for next year!) We attempted sledding, but there wasn’t much snow when we made our attempt and the tundra was pretty rough leaving us beaten and quite bruised, but it was still fun!

We’ve had a pretty consistent group of girls come to worship time every weekend. Occasionally, there are visitors from basketball tournaments and such, but we have a steady group of girls from New Stuyahok that come weekly. It’s so much fun to see them come back week after week and to worship God with them. They LOVE song time and never want it to end. (If they had their way, I think it would go all night.)

Our boys’ basketball team made it to state! They won their first game, but last night, they lost what sounds like a game with some unfair calls/refs, but what can you do? We are proud of them and their accomplishment of making it to state! GO EAGLES! :)

Cross country skiing for the first time.

In other news, today is a very important day for my family and me as it marks the day my dad was born. Happy Birthday to the best dad a girl could ask for! :) Thank you for all you have done and continue to do for our family!

Livin' the dream...and skiing in the winter sun

Today begins our mini spring break. We have 3 whole days off! I hope to spend it lesson planning, reading, catching up on some tv, hosting some afternoon visitors (students), and watching a few movies I suppose. Looking forward to relaxing a bit at home and enjoying this wintry weather!

Peace, LOVE, and Happiness (for many, many reasons)

February 2014

And here we are…in February, the current month. I was only a few months behind :)

February has been an exciting month here in New Stuyahok. Not only did we celebrate Valentine’s Day, but we also stayed busy last weekend with several events including a spirit week, the New Stu Showdown (basketball tournament with boys and girls teams from three other villages plus our own), carnival, and a kiddy carnival.

Thursday, Friday, and Saturday were filled with basketball games galore. It was really fun to watch everyone play and have the opportunity to see kids I recognized from the past five summers of basketball camp, as well as coaching volleyball this year.

Carnival included many events, but the one I participated in the most was the Junior Miss Pageant. Several middle school girls participated in a pageant where they had to give a speech, perform a talent, and show off some formal evening wear. I had the honor of being a ‘judge’ for the pageant and it was so fun to watch the girls stand in front of the whole village and be brave enough to speak and dance and sing in front of them. (I definitely did not have that kind of courage at their age!)

We also were blessed by a short visit from our friends from Iliamna. They arrives Saturday morning to watch their sons play basketball in the Showdown, so we were able to enjoy their company during the game as well as during lunch and a relaxing time at our houses.

On Monday, we had a kiddy carnival where school ended a little early so that kids could participate in the “Kiddy Carnival.” There were many games and activities that were run by teachers and student council members and it lasted for a couple hours. The kids all had a blast and came to school the next day showing off all of the prizes they won!

In other news, this past Monday also brought forth contracts. I am excited to say that I will be returning to “Chief” Ivan Blunka School in New Stuyahok in the fall for another year! :) I am blessed to be to be a part of this village and surrounded by such awesome friends, new and old, who encourage me daily in my walk with God.

Last night, we had several kids from New Stuyahok, as well as, the boy’s basketball team from Port Alsworth over to our house for a great time of fellowship and worship. It was AWESOME!

Sending love and warm wishes to all of my friends and family who have been surviving this crazy winter back in the cold, snow-covered, lower 48! We finally got a little bit of snow here yesterday and enjoyed that (see some silly pictures below). It’s warm (36 degrees) and windy (always windy) again today.

We frolicked and played, the Eskimo way...

Walking in a winter wonderland!

PS. More great news that this month has brought is that my friends will be staying as well! Not only my coworkers, but also my roommate, Doni. Praising the Lord that He has shown her His will AND that it is to return to Stu again in the fall! She's a great aunt, an amazing roommate, and a wonderful adventure buddy!

Dec/Jan Update

December 2013

Wow. I’ve fallen far behind with this blog and I shall do my best to give an update of the last few months

December first…

December was a great month as I got to spend the first half of it closing out my first semester as a teacher in New Stu and the second half celebrating Christ’s birth and the new year with family and friends!

The first semester was a bit crazy as a first ‘full year’ teacher, living in a new place with many new faces, and coaching volleyball, but I loved every minute of it. Every insanely busy minute was wonderful and so enjoyable. I absolutely love being able to pour into the lives of the kids here in my class, on my team, in the hallways, or even on the weekends. They bring so much joy to my life and remind me why I came here in the first place…to show Christ’s love and hope in this place.

On the last Friday before Christmas break, we finished the school day making cards with finger paint and eating yummy treats. Then, once school was out, it was off to our house to get our bags and head to the airport to get to Anchorage.  We made our way back to Grand Rapids after a few delays here and there.

It was so great to see my family and friends! I celebrated Christmas with my mom’s side of the family in Michigan and then we drove to Minnesota/Wisconsin to see my dad’s side of the family. It was a very busy break, but thoroughly enjoyable! I loved every minute that I was able to catch up on life with friends (face to face).

January 2014

January…Well, I was blessed to be able to ring in the New Year with my cousins in Minnesota and then spent a couple more days with them before heading back to Michigan.

Winter in Michigan was getting real, so we departed for Chicago a bit early to ensure a safe drive a day early. I was picked up by the party van (aka the Owens’ van) and we arrived safely in Chicago the evening before our flight. We enjoyed some great conversation and fun times on our little trip and were off to the airport in the morning.

We arrived safely in Anchorage and did a little grocery shopping before heading off to Iliamna (a village nearby) where we stayed with friends for the night before flying into New Stuyahok. The weather was windy and the runway was icy, but thanks to our incredible pilot, and the Lord’s hand, we landed safely and all in one piece. I had a few days to plan and prepare (and attend inservice) before students arrived on Monday.

January is a bit of a crazy time here as the Russian Orthodox Christmas is celebrated on the 7^th and the New Year is celebrated a bit later as well on the 13^th, which just happened to be the first day of school. There were a few absences that day as many students and their families had traveled to nearby villages for starring. [I was able to witness a starring at a neighbor’s house where people from the village of many ages came, sang, greeted us, and ate. It was a neat experience (and helped me relate to my students better when they tried to describe it for me.)] The first few weeks back into our regular routine were a bit of an adjustment for the kids, but that is to be expected, especially with so many activities right before school.

The end of the month; however, brought an unexpected event. I am overwhelmed and so grateful to the many, many people who have prayed for my family, especially my mom, and have stepped in to help in any way they could, whether with meals or just their presence! It is SO comforting to know that my family is being taken care of even when I cannot be there. What a blessing it is to be a part of the body of Christ!

Catch Up

A whirlwind of events have happened since I posted over a month ago. I will do my best to catch you up on life in the bush during October and the first half of November.

Volleyball season has been going pretty well. The middle school volleyball season has just come to an end, so from now on; practices will be just the varsity players. There are currently 9 girls on my varsity team ranging from seniors to an 8^th grader. We have only played 3 weekends so far, but have been successful. The first two weekends, we were undefeated and the third weekend my team took 2^nd place in a tournament without me. The past two weekends we have been unable to travel to different planned tournaments due to lack of funding and bad weather. It has been nice to stay home and get caught up on school work I missed while I was gone, but I am definitely looking forward to going to a tournament this weekend, and I think my girls are too! Hopefully the weather cooperates for us :) The team picture below is missing a few players, but that’s what happens when you live in the bush and have to fly to all of your games…not enough seats on some of the planes.

School has been busy! I have been busy spending most of my free time lesson planning, or decorating my classroom. My students have been doing well lately. They are a great group of kids still. It has been fun to see some of my sixth graders involved in sports (volleyball and wrestling) and I’ve enjoyed getting to see them and interact with them outside of the classroom.

At the end of October, my grandma passed away. Thanks to many, many people, I was able to make it to Minnesota for the funeral. So many wonderful people pitched in to research and schedule flights, cover my volleyball practices and games, and give me rides to and from different airports. I am so very grateful to have spent just those few days with my family in order to celebrate my grandma’s life. She left a beautiful legacy not only for her children, but her grandchildren as well.

When I got back from Minnesota, I hit the ground running with getting back in my classroom, continuing my courses, and my coaching duties. The whole rest of that week, I felt like I was barely keeping up, but thanks to some supernatural strength and energy that could only come from God, I was able to finish out the week and start on plans for the following week. Now, having been home for two weekends without volleyball, I feel like I am finally catching up a little bit…not completely, but a little. One step at a time.

Also, over the past week, Robin, has been staying with us. It has been such a blessing to have her here, as I’m pretty sure she has been doing all of the cooking and cleaning in our house. I came home for lunch all last week to a delicious meal, and then home from practices to yet another amazing meal. We’ve been busy experiencing life in the bush with processing caribou this week. Though it was a LOT of work, it is totally worth it to have the red meat in the fridge, and it is quite delicious!

Sorry for the delay in posting Hopefully I will be more on top of things as the year progresses!

6 Day Week & Volleyball Season

It’s been a couple weeks since my first post, but things have been a little crazy here! This past week, we had a six-day week of school. Yes, six-day week of school. We had school yesterday, on Saturday. It was our last Saturday to make up (for now), so we are officially all caught up! It was actually a fun day as we planned a little culture day for our students. Each class rotated around to each of the elementary classrooms for about 50 minute time periods. 

I decided to host some Hispanic festivities. Basically, I put together a little PowerPoint about the Hispanic culture. I showed them where Mexico is compared to Alaska and then focused mostly on birthday traditions. We talked about what the kids here do for birthdays, what people do in the lower 48, and what traditions they have in Mexico. I also spent a few evenings making piñatas for the kids to smash in just minutes. It was a blast! The kids really seemed to enjoy it and they even learned a few words/phrases in Spanish. 

            Along with being a six-day week, volleyball started this week! For those of you who did not already know, I am the newest varsity volleyball coach at Chief Ivan Blunka School! GO EAGLES!! :) The first week went pretty well with “tryouts” and a little conditioning, but I’m hoping this week will go better as our varsity and middle school teams will be separated. I am really excited about this season and the opportunities that I’ll have as a coach. Our first game is scheduled for October 25^th at home, but after that we will be doing lots of traveling to other villages! :) As volleyball coach, comes the duty of fundraising for team travel expenses and such. Unfortunately, this means I am in charge of bingo tonight...Though this weekend hasn’t been much of a weekend; I’m excited for this next week of school and practice!

            I apologize for the delay in a new post, but this season of volleyball will just get crazier as games come and travel ensues. So, please don’t expect too many updates. I shall do my best to keep you informed though.

Before the Hispanic Festivities began

One of my sixth graders who cracked open the piñata

These adorable kindergarteners were so excited hit the piñata :)

Life

Thursday will mark 2 months of living in New Stuyahok, Alaska!

I am so blessed to be able to live here in this community! I am loving life in the bush and enjoying teaching the beautiful children here as well.

Loving life here doesn’t mean it’s easy, carefree, or stress-free. But that’s the beauty of this place. The stress I feel is relieved when I bring those burdens to my Heavenly Father. Daily, I have to remind myself that I am not in this alone, and daily He reminds me of this as well. I am also blessed to have an amazing group of coworkers and administrators who are walking beside me every step of the way and helping to “ease the burden” a bit as well. I’m not sure I would have survived the first few weeks of school without them, so thank you!

This weekend was a weekend of many firsts! I had my first day of Saturday School, made and ate my first akutaq with some students, visited Old Stuyahok and a few other sites along the way where we saw lots of eagles, a couple bears, and a porcupine. (Check out the pictures below if you are interested in seeing the trip to Old Stuyahok!)

It has been a long week with six days of school as a teacher, and another day of school today as a student. That makes a full seven days of school! Tomorrow I’ll be back at it again as a teacher! I am so excited to see what other adventures await me this year!

I’m not sure how often I will be able to update this blog as the volleyball season is quickly approaching and life is starting to get busier and busier, but I will do my best to keep you in the loop. 

My students

A beautiful day for a boat ride

Old Stuyahok

The porcupine