Some catching up to do!

The glorious view from a nameless peak in Nome

I’ve spent 1 full week in Alaska, and I feel as though I’ve fit a month’s worth of excitement into the past 7 days.  Let me rewind a bit…

264.1 pounds.  This is the total weight of the 12 packages I sent to Nome to get me through the year, containing just about everything.  A random sampling includes a 4 month supply of old fashioned oats, 16 pairs of wool socks, 5 bottles of shampoo, and my home-sewn comforter made out of my favorite t-shirts.  Getting these packages into the post office was an adventure in itself.  Each unsuspecting customer that walked through the door had a physical reaction to my mountain of boxes.

After letting a few lucky folks take care of business ahead of me, I decided enough was enough and I didn’t want to spend my entire day waiting for a lull.  The mustachioed postman helped me through the process and after 15 minutes or so of weighing and toting boxes, he handed me a 3 foot long receipt with a $312.08 price tag.  To alleviate the initial shock I tried to put it in perspective; I must’ve shipped over a hundred things.  This means it only cost a few cents to ship each teabag, maybe a dollar per sweater and a few bucks for each container of laundry detergent.  Not so bad.  Now I just can’t wait until the boxes actually get here; wearing the same four outfits is getting a little tired and my electric toothbrush is in desperate need of a charge.  And I’ve forgotten what’s in the boxes so I guess it will be like Christmas when they finally arrive.

The plane I took from Chicago to Anchorage

My travel from Albany to Nome was comfortable and uneventful, despite the fact that it was my first time flying alone.  I flew first to Chicago in a single seat with no one next to me, which was canceled out by my 7 hour flight to Anchorage surrounded by 5 children under the age of 3.  One particularly feisty girl spent the trip kicking the back of my seat.  To maintain my sanity, I closed my eyes, took some measured breaths, and pretended I was receiving a luxurious Swedish massage, free of charge.  Believe it or not, this line of thought worked out quite well and I think she even worked out a few kinks for me!

My first view of Nome

Once in Anchorage I spent my 4 hour layover walking outside to get a breath of fresh air, then going back through a few extra levels of security as I had forgotten to empty out my water bottle before re-entry.  I was taken into a special area for questioning and water bottle analysis, and eventually set free sans-water.  I’m sure my travel etiquette will improve with experience.  The final leg to Nome was an almost empty plane, and a great end to a long day.  Upon arrival, while we were taxiing to our gate the pilot made an announcement that made me smile; “Welcome to Nome, welcome home”.

The NACTEC house where students stay during a session, with Anvil Hill behind

After spending a night in Nome in the NACTEC residence house (complete with heated floors!) I was bounced back out to Unalakleet (pronounced you-nah-cleat), the hub of the Bering Strait School District, for new teacher orientation.  During check in at the airport I was surprised when the desk clerk asked my weight.  I was told later that this was meant to ensure that the plane was adequately fueled, but I still think he should’ve offered to buy me dinner to be privy to such information.  I flew out in a 9 seater, with only 3 passengers onboard and the back half of the plane filled to the gills with cargo.  I was concerned about turbulence having never flown in such a small aircraft, but it was the smoothest, and most beautiful flight I’ve ever experienced.  My breath was taken away by views of mountains, cliffs and ledges, streams and the endless ocean without the distractions of roads, houses, or any sign of human occupancy.  Alaska truly is an untouched natural paradise.

View from the puddle jumper plane

Once in Unalakleet, I was immediately surrounded by likeminded, enthusiastic, and positive people.  The first man I was introduced to was the principal from Stebbins, a man named Piq.  He was smoking a cigarette with long grey hair, and a feather earring in one ear, yelling “WE WANT YOU!”, grabbing my arm and dragging me away from my boss.  He proceeded to tell me about the importance of Family and Consumer Sciences in his village, and how all of his students need someone like me in their lives.  What a stark difference from the belittling comments and assumptions I’ve encountered professionally in the past.  And this trend has been consistent since my arrival in Alaska; how refreshing to be surrounded by student-centric people that understand and relate to why I took this job, and place a significant value on the skills that I share with my students.

All of the teachers attending orientation stayed in classrooms at the school, and slept on air mattresses crammed into corners, closets, and even under the teacher desk.  Twelve girls stayed in the small kindergarten room with me, and I had to keep reminding myself as I wandered the hallways with my shower caddy and towel in hand that in a week this facility would be full of kids!  The building was brand new construction, and consistent with all facets of the district; extremely modern and progressive.  The breakout session that impressed me the most discussed the district’s 10+2 plan.  Students receive all of their core content in their first 10 years of school, leaving the final two to customizable plans.  Line item paths for their future are developed on an individual basis, and their progress can be monitored online to ensure that each student leaves high school with a specific job certification (and oftentimes an actual job) or admission to a college with ample scholarships.  Not a single student is left to wonder, “What do I do next?!” or “How do I get to where I want to go?”.

So as enlightening and inspiring as this conference was, my favorite part was undeniable; our first staff development activity.  Jay, the principal of Unalakleet took my boss Doug, the other new hire at NACTEC Rod, and myself out on the river in his boat, recently flown in from Anchorage, to fish.  As a greenie to Alaska, I naively set up my New York pole and began fishing.  It wasn’t long before an Alaskan silver salmon bit and ran, and boy did it ever!  My drag was set so low that I’m pretty sure that fish took my line out at least a half mile before I reacted.  After a serious struggle and my pole almost breaking in a half, the danged thing spit out the hook and I was left in bewildered awe; this wasn’t New York fishing anymore, that’s for sure!

My first Alaskan Silver Salmon!

Once I was hooked up with a more suitable rod and reel I was back in the game, and ended up landing 3 beautiful and bountiful silver salmon, without a hint of streaking (the longer the fish are in the river, the more streaks they get in their coloring, and the less pure their meat).  If only I could say that my success carried over to my boss.  Throughout the evening lines got tangled, fish escaped out of nets and dove under the boat, too many people hooked fish at the same time, and except for a couple foul hooks and throwbacks my boss left with one trout.  It was almost comical.  Needless to say we ended up with ten salmon between us, and started filleting around 10pm, with full daylight.  The reward of our adventure was peppered and smoked salmon, right out of the river, straight into the smoker, and smack dab into our bellies.  To say that it was delicious would be almost insulting.

Learning how to fillet; this was at 10pm with 2 more hours of daylight left!

Other highlights from my stay in Unalakleet included the annual district fun run, which was 5 miles down a mountain in the cold pouring rain with a million dollar view.  I passed hundred foot wind turbines, mountains, roaring streams, the Bering Strait, pens of sled dogs, and curious villagers; and I took second place to boot!  Also during some down time from meetings, Rod and I wandered by the playground and watched some of the local kids playing.  We stood by the fence, and it wasn’t more than a minute before a few of the bolder children came over to investigate.  Soon we were deep into a game of tag with those few brave kiddos.  Three kids turned to five, and five to ten, and pretty soon our game of tag had erupted into a town event with kids young and old joining in.  This simple occurrence was amazing to me; it was clear that our interaction with these kids was rare and special.  I can’t imagine this type of innocence and pure joy occurring in New York between complete strangers from such different cultures.

I ran right past these windmills during the "fun run"; wind turbines are common and lucrative in Alaska

Despite my past enjoyment of my new travel experiences, it was totally trumped by my flight back to Nome.  Our travel plans were delayed due to heavy fog, as planes could not safely take off due to the weather.  A ubiquitous mentality when discussing Alaskan bush travel is “Hope for the best, plan for the worst”, because travel plans are at the mercy of Mother Nature.  After waiting in the small airport with over 20 other stranded teachers for hours, Rod and I were suddenly called and rushed to a plane as the conditions had momentarily improved.  Flights had been reshuffled as the weather at each final destination was varied, so we were put on a different flight than originally planned.

The airport!  A little different than Albany International...

Due to the impromptu nature of our new travel plans, we were the last two people to fill the seats in the plane; requiring me to fly in the copilot seat.  The view was incredible, but I must admit that I was terrified of bumping the foot petals or yoke accidentally and sending us into a death spin.  Christian, the same pilot that flew me up to Unalakleet only a few days prior, was manning the plane and hooked me up with a headset so that I could listen to all communications between the airports and pilots.  He even set it up so that I could speak with him without interfering with other transmissions.  It was actually quite entertaining.  I heard pilots talking smack about who could fly in which type of conditions best, who was going on vacation when, learned some fun facts about Nome, and got a full dose of expletives.  I guess pilots talk like sailors.

I got to sit in the co-pilot's seat, shown on the right!

Back in Nome at last, the weather continues to be glorious; 60s, sunny and clear.  Everyday after work Rod and I take advantage of this and go hiking and berry picking.  We take the NACTEC truck (purchased for $1 from the oil company, beat to all heck) and traverse roads with potholes at least two feet deep (a few bumps cause me to leave the seat completely!) and drive until we see a mountain we’d like to climb.  The first time we were walking over tundra (which feels like walking on a spring mattress) I was quite worried.  My only experience with this type of terrain was when I climbed Katahdin in Maine, where it is illegal to step on the tundra because it is too fragile an ecosystem to be tromped on by the many hikers of that trail.  I couldn’t believe that I could just walk on the Alaskan tundra without a worry or care!  It still boggles my mind that I’m able to pick a random peak to climb, gather berries, and walk in places where it’s entirely possible that no other foot has ever fallen before; all without ever seeing another person or any indication of developed life.  I’m honestly jealous of myself.

On the summit of a mountain on one of our daily hikes

It’s amazing how much I’ve learned about Alaskan life just by talking to those that know it.  So far I’ve learned how to use an ulu (a traditional rocking knife) to process animals, the fact that a brown bear, grizzly bear, and kodiak are all the same animal, that dried fish can be used to soothe teething babies, and that Chicken, Alaska was so named because we outsiders couldn’t spell the name of the state bird, a ptarmigan.  I am completely surrounded by good hearted, supportive, funny people that genuinely care about my wellbeing.  As much as I plan to give and share with my students, I know that I will learn and experience more than I may ever be able to give to them.  It’s been one week and already I feel that my life has been forever changed for the better.  What a positive start to what will undoubtedly be an impacting and lasting adventure.