That's all folks

Alaskan flamingos!

It’s all over.  This year I’ve taught 333 students from 20 different villages across Northwestern Alaska.  I’ve helped these students earn 91 American Red Cross certifications, 74 food worker cards, 17 driver’s permits, 5 driver’s licenses, and over 130 college credits.  I’ve written 17 newsletters, taken over 2,000 pictures, and taught three courses as a college professor.  I’ve experienced my highest highs and my lowest lows.  All in all, I know that I’ve made a difference in the lives of these kids, however small and seemingly insignificant.

Printing off the finalized yearbook!

Pushing the shed to its final location

This week marked my final week at NACTEC.  It was surreal as I counted down my final days.  It went from being my last Saturday shift (a true celebration) to my very last day, which was quite bittersweet.  During my last lunch with students, I shared a tofu dish with them (faux tacos!) at their request.  They often see me eating tofu soup, and one students exclaimed, “If you tried muktuk, I want to try tofu!”.  I made two dishes; one with beef and one with TVP, and had the students guess which was which.  Believe it or not, it was a toss up and many students went back for seconds and thirds of my dish.  It was fun to share something like this with them.

TVP delight!

During the last day of Money Management, as students were frantically printing off the yearbook, I got the chance to supervise the students in that class.  To help keep up morale, I played the songs I had created last year for my 7^th graders with them, as one of them was about money management.  It was too funny; they kept asking if it was my real voice, and wanting me to replay it again.  This experience made me miss teaching in the traditional sense, and reinforced the fact that I’ve still got it as a teacher.

Final projects, thank yous, and some tunes

This whole week was plagued by crazy fog; I watched it roll in to engulf us each day.  Most days it was blue skies out at the Nome-Beltz campus, while downtown was totally enveloped in gray, misty fog.  All of us were biting our nails, anxious if the decreased visibility would impact our travel plans for Friday.  Fortunately, Friday was free and clear, and all of the students were able to fly away home after spending a full month here.  This year was filled with challenges, growth, and the accomplishment of things I never thought I could do.  I will never regret my time spent at this job, but it is a relief to be finished.

Fast moving fog engulfing us

Standing on the road - my view to the north

Standing on the same road, turned 180 degrees - my view to the south

That being said, this is the first time in all of my 26 years that I have no idea what I will be doing in the coming year.  I have worked tirelessly over the past 8 years, with all of my efforts pushing towards the goal of becoming a teacher and obtaining permanent certification.  Now that I've earned a bachelor's, master's and now have three years of full-time teaching experience, the world is now my oyster.  All of my job applications and interviews (most schools would not agree to a phone or skype interview) have fallen unanswered, and I find myself with nothing to do next year.  It’s both incredibly scary and an opportunity to stop and smell the flowers.  I’m looking to make the most of this time of my life, as it may not come again.

But enough with the dramatics!  I will spend another two weeks here in Nome, and I aim to enjoy every last minute.  This year has been a trip, in every sense of the word.  For now, it’s relax-o time!