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| Hiking to Tom's Cabin with Matty! Notice the icy stream |
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| Weird ice heave looks like broken panes of glass |
This week I drove (and fish-tailed) on my first snowy Alaskan road, experienced a couple days of freezing rain, and felt the appreciation and glory of a rare sunny day. It may have topped out at 40 degrees, but it felt warm as summer and the beach was calling me. The breakers in Nome provide the perfect conditions for beach glass, or “gillies” as they’re called here. A leisurely stroll always results in a pocket full of clear, blue, green, brown, and sometimes even purple(!) glass. I realize they’re just busted up beer bottles, but I still get a thrill finding a good piece. And it’s always fun throwing those that are not quite ready back into the sea for another go round.
This week I also experienced the unique changes caused by the influx of PFD money. Despite the rigorous application process and limited acceptance slots, many students cancelled at the last minute once their checks were cashed to go shopping in Anchorage rather than attend NACTEC. After multiple student cancellations and scrambling to refill spots (it’s important for funding that we operate at full capacity), our second group of high schoolers is in. Many of the students that ended up coming brought huge portions of their money with them (one girl brought an envelope with nine bills in it; each a hundred dollar bill!). We made daily trips to the airport to pick up hand-carries, all of which were significant amounts of cash. Hand-carries are a quick and cost-effective method of transporting mail and packages; at about $1 a pound, items can be put on a flight leaving a village and delivered to another airport in a matter of hours, sort of like our version of UPS. So basically, money was simply no object this session.
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| Can you spot the repeats?! |
Having a disposable income may have influenced the way homesickness played out this week. Many of our students experience homesickness, as they come from very small, tight-knit communities where they have the run of the place. The structure of NACTEC and metropolis of Nome is a social and cultural shock to their system. Homesickness is not a ticket out the door, and once here, the only way students can leave is by breaking a non-negotiable (violence, running away, drugs) and always at their own expense. In past years if a family cannot pay for the return ticket, the student is actually enrolled in the high school here in Nome until they can come up with the money. It’s no joke, and they cannot re-enroll for a full year. This session however, having the money to fly home wasn’t a problem. One very polite, bright, and capable girl was sent home for being caught with tobacco two times (she intentionally turned it in each time), because she so genuinely missed her 1-year old daughter. While she was here, her homesickness spread like wildfire, and even I was reminded of how much it hurt to be so far away from familiarity. It was a struggle to keep all of the students here, but fortunately we only lost this one student to the siren call of home.
On the flip side, many students have developed coping mechanisms for being away from home, and are frequent flyers at NACTEC. These strategies are good practice, providing them with the skills necessary for one day leaving home and attending a vocational school or college. Like gillies, every time they jump into the crashing waves of NACTEC the sharp edges of homesickness are smoothed out a little more, making it easier to function in a new place. This week I welcomed my first group of repeat customers; five boys and one girl had rejoined us for another round. It’s thrilling to meet and teach new students, but it was refreshing to have some veterans helping to guide the group in the right direction. And let me tell you, I would take any help I could get this week. In-session weeks are always extra hectic, but my schedule was even more jam-packed than usual as I’m teaching my first “core-intensive” class this session; Careers in Education. I’m used to working hard, but this job is certainly another animal all together.
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| Morning workout at the Rec Center |
Here’s a rundown of a typical day: up at 5am to run, into work by 7am to clock-in and catch up on emails. Each of the four teachers must submit a “daily report” at the end of their shift to inform the rest of the teaching team about current student dynamics, successes and potential problems to address, so it’s important for me to review these before diving in to a new day. It’s amazing just how much can change during one shift. After my briefing, room checks begin at 7:30am, and I must ensure that all beds, rooms, and pods are in perfect, almost military order. Next I shuttle the group over to the rec center for their hour-long morning workout in two shifts; I was usually just getting into our spirited roller skating tag matches when it was time to begin shuttling them back to the house. Once back, it was straight to the classroom for an hour of Red Cross First Aid training, with an alternate assignment given to those who’ve “tested out” and don’t need to receive the training again.
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| Bandaging our impaled objects |
It’s at this point that my structured instruction usually ends, however in teaching a core intensive my day was just beginning. My Careers in Education class was comprised of five girls ranging from 9th to 11th grade, all interested in working in the education field. While I’m used to teaching 80 minutes worth of material at a time, our class lasts 4 whole hours each and every day. I always plan more than I have time for, but even for me, this was a huge chunk of instructional time to make relevant and consistently engaging. Although my means of transportation was limited, we did get some opportunities for in-class job shadowing and interviewing professionals in the field. Those that know my teaching style know that I’m a huge proponent for hands-on learning, and this week was no exception. I never got home before 4:30, I’ve forgotten the feeling of prep time, and I ended each day utterly exhausted. That being said, if even one of these girls is inspired to follow their current dream it will have been more than worth it.
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| My lovely Careers in Education ladies! |
Other course offerings this session included Video Technology, Aviation (being a bush pilot is a glamorous and attainable dream of many students living in the villages), and of course Driver’s Education. The foundation for our wind turbine has finally set up, and on Friday it was all-hands-on-deck in assembling and standing up our 45’ wind turbine, which is now fully functional. Students also worked to install a program measuring the average power generated, wind speed and intensity; all viewable from the comfort of a flatscreen inside the house. What a sight to behold, and a tangible reminder for these students of what they can accomplish.
For the second time I worked on a Saturday, and I’m getting used to the subtle differences of weekend work. To my surprise, many of the students set their alarms (one boy set his for 5am!) so they could start the fun as soon as possible. Throughout the day I learned how to Eskimo wrestle, some naughty Yupik words, and how to make a bird call by whistling through my teeth while also buzzing my lips. I learned that there’s a new fad in the lower-48 of feather hair extensions that’s significantly affecting my students; the demand is huge for the grizzly saddle hackle feather that is also necessary for tying a certain type of fly in this area, making it near impossible for my students to now obtain these materials. A means of survival vs. looking trendy; America you never cease to amaze me. The afternoon was spent garage sale-ing, and students filled entire garbage bags with clothes, books, toys, and dvds for themselves and their families, all for $5. They may have money, but a bargain is a bargain!
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| Eskimo wrestling win! |
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| Grizzly Saddle Hackle Feather |
