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| The muskies wanted in on our basketball game |
To get to the other side (where there are more yummy
willows, of course)! On my way
into work on Wednesday, I almost hit a group of musk oxen. The side windows on my truck were
dusted over and it was an overcast morning, so I didn’t see them grazing in the
middle of the parking lot entrance; five adults and two babies! One was so close I could almost touch
it, and with my window rolled down I could hear it snuffling and snorting. What an exciting way to start my day!
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| Hey there fella... |
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| This isn't zoomed in! |
One of my responsibilities this session was to cater
lunch. Usually our students eat
lunch at the Nome-Beltz High School cafeteria, however school ended last week
putting an end to this convenience.
Being the Culinary Arts instructor, it fell on me to provide lunches for
the month. I am still teaching
survival swimming and the American Red Cross course in the mornings, so I’ve
been getting creative with my menu planning. Quick and easy is the key! This session I’ve made BBQ pulled chicken sandwiches with
coleslaw, spaghetti with homemade meat sauce, and pepperoni pizza casserole. I always feel like I’m cooking enough
to feed an army, but our crew of eighteen wipes out the entire feast in less
than a half hour.
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| A typical lunch spread |
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| Testing out floatation suits |
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| Floating is fun! |
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| Immersion suit time |
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| Loungin' around |
Students are making great progress in each of their
courses. The CNA students are
getting ready to fly to Fairbanks to finish their training with clinical work
in a nursing home facility. The
Money Management students have been working hard to compile a NACTEC yearbook,
and are gearing up for their job shadowing experiences. The NCCER (residential carpentry)
students have been breezing through the construction of a small storage shed;
it’s hard to believe how fast it’s all coming together! This group remains enthusiastic and
hardworking, and it’s been a treat to pop in on each of these different courses
and see these kids in their element.
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| The whole summer session crew |
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| Floor is done! |
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| Not your average construction workers |
Saturday was Nome’s annual Spring Cleanup, and I lead the
taskforce on cleaning up campus.
Students were armed with yellow bags and latex gloves, and after a few
comparisons to being in jail, set right to it. After a couple hours of cleaning, we filled fifty-two bags,
and found a variety of treasures including a $10 and $1 bill, a kickball, a
baseball bat, and two birds’ nests filled with little blue eggs. For their efforts students earned a
feast of hot dogs, pop, an ice cream coupon, and the chance to win a
bicycle. At first I compared the
trash picking to an Easter egg hunt, however I quickly realized that they had
no idea what I was talking about.
I still forget where I am sometimes!
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| Before shot |
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| Finding bird nests |
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| You can barely make out the top of a blue egg |
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| After shot |
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| Loading up our truck to bring to the dump |
Although it’s still dipping below freezing each night, and
it was snowing on my drive into work June 2nd, there are increasing
signs of (dare I say it?) summer.
The sea ice is FINALLY gone for good, and the waves are back. Only a few ever-dwindling piles of snow
remain, and the roads are no longer muddy. They are however, incredibly dusty. So dusty in fact, that water trucks
must come and wet down the roads to help limit the sandstorms. Each day I am accosted by dust in my
eyes, nose, and mouth. Even with
the windows closed, dust coats the inside of the house with muddy footprints
are everywhere. I’m feeling some Grapes of Wrath references on a daily
basis; welcome to the dust bowl!
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| Looks inviting! Looks can be deceiving! |
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| Watering the dusty roads |
A friend from Nome is leaving next week, common in such a transient
place, but bittersweet nonetheless.
He is finishing up his second year at KNOM, and will be flying away next
Friday. His going away party was a
huge shebang, and it was amazing to see all of the connections he had made in
Nome during his short time here.
He said something both funny and poignant that stuck with me. I mentioned that he was off to conquer
bigger and better things, and he replied that never again would he be the big
deal that he has been in this small community in rural Alaska. Things are certainly winding down for
me as well – only two more weeks of teaching remain, let’s do this!
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| Farewell party at Alaska Airlines |
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| Lone tundra hare in the road - these things are massive! |
