This is the road we have to drive down to get to the hot springs...
Obviously it has been raining...
And the road is pretty flooded.
The hot tub!
Abandoned site of a church and orphanage
Abandoned church
Monday, August 26, 2013
Monday, August 19, 2013
Work work work
Before school starts this year I thought it best to get my flu shot and tb test. The flu shot was given by some yahoos from medical school who really did not make me feel very good about getting poked in the lobby area of the hospital. No tears though. I didn't realize when I signed up for the tb test that they would inject a serum just under the skin in my arm creating a disgusting bubble that eventually oozed moments later. How disgusting! It made me queasy just thinking about it. I asked for a bandage and they said it had to be left uncovered for the test to work. 48 hours later I am proud to say I do not have TB!
I spent 9 long hours working at school today, but I cannot really tell you what I accomplished. I feel like I did nothing but run around in circles. My boards are already done. My name tags are made. Cubby labels were already done. What do I have left to do? I must have altered and finalized and altered and refinalized my class list 5 times today. The final count (as of 5pm today) for my class is 20 kids! I have been assured that more will be added in the next few days as people come back from their camps and turn in their registration. YIKES! More than 20 five year olds sounds way overwhelming. I don't even have enough seats for more than 20! I guess I better start looking for tables and chairs. Tomorrow is back to school night which means I have to be decent looking when I leave my place at 8am and still look decent at 5pm. I'm thinking it will be a good day to wear a dress. Don't worry Aunties, my dress goes past my knees and I will be wearing flats. Once my cupboards are packed and tables are cleared off I will be set to put out name tags and I should basically be done. All that is left is planning for the first few weeks of school! It is already here! Ahhhh I've missed my classroom. I am sure I will feel differently in a few weeks when I spend most of my waking hours hidden away cleaning up and shuffling papers around.
I spent 9 long hours working at school today, but I cannot really tell you what I accomplished. I feel like I did nothing but run around in circles. My boards are already done. My name tags are made. Cubby labels were already done. What do I have left to do? I must have altered and finalized and altered and refinalized my class list 5 times today. The final count (as of 5pm today) for my class is 20 kids! I have been assured that more will be added in the next few days as people come back from their camps and turn in their registration. YIKES! More than 20 five year olds sounds way overwhelming. I don't even have enough seats for more than 20! I guess I better start looking for tables and chairs. Tomorrow is back to school night which means I have to be decent looking when I leave my place at 8am and still look decent at 5pm. I'm thinking it will be a good day to wear a dress. Don't worry Aunties, my dress goes past my knees and I will be wearing flats. Once my cupboards are packed and tables are cleared off I will be set to put out name tags and I should basically be done. All that is left is planning for the first few weeks of school! It is already here! Ahhhh I've missed my classroom. I am sure I will feel differently in a few weeks when I spend most of my waking hours hidden away cleaning up and shuffling papers around.
Sunday, August 18, 2013
And we begin year 2
After a summer in Minnesota, I am back in Nome, Alaska for another school year. I had a great time at home with my family and my friends. I didn't enjoy the heat so much, but I kept busy and that was great. I went to four Twins games and did lots of shopping. I did the Relay for Life with my team and I happily did not do 26 miles again. It was a great trip home, but I am glad to be back in Nome. My flights were great and I made it back in just under 12 hours. Since being back it has been beautiful most days. August, as usual, is a bit rainy and wet in Alaska. The ocean and mountains are as wonderful as when I left!
I've already made a trip to Teller and the Pilgrim Hot Springs since I've gotten back at the end of July. The road to Teller was a bit muddy because it was raining, but I managed to pick berries for the first time! I got about a gallon of salmon berries in the hour I was galavanting around the tundra. The hot springs were way to hot! 120 degrees is to hot to get into, but I happily did some exploring in the areas around the hot springs. I was covered in mosquito bites at the end of that 7 hour trip, but it was a great trip!
We had our inservice last week at school and it was terribly boring. I am not good at sitting and listening to other people talk for 8 hours. I did a lot of doodling and brought some stuff I wanted to get done in prep for my kids to come to school. My room is mostly ready. It is the cleanest looking kindergarten classroom at our school right now. It actually looks like a classroom and not a storage space. My bulletin boards are up and beautifully decorated. All my name tags and cubby labels are made and ready to be laminated. I was being a nice person and helping a new teacher put up a bulletin board, she had never put one up before, when I hurt myself. I jumped off the counter as I always do, but this time I landed less than gracefully and twisted my ankle pretty bad. I thought I had broken it because it still hurt like crazy and I couldn't walk two hours after so I went to the ER. I had X-rays done and there were no visible fractures so that is good. I got an air cast and crutches to use. After a few days I gave up on the crutches but I am still wearing my air cast. I am just glad I got most of my hard work done before I hurt myself.
Our staff went swimming in the Bering Sea on Friday and it was so great! Last year when we swam it was overcast and misting and the water was very cold. This year the sun was shining and the water was much warmer. I swam for quite a while out in the Bering. The cool water felt great on my ankle, getting out of the water was a different story. The waves pull you back in and the sand crumbles beneath your feet so it was a bit difficult for me to gimp out. We had hot dogs and brats afterward on the beach and a great big fire too. It was a beautiful day and I was happy to finally be able to go swimming.
I've already made a trip to Teller and the Pilgrim Hot Springs since I've gotten back at the end of July. The road to Teller was a bit muddy because it was raining, but I managed to pick berries for the first time! I got about a gallon of salmon berries in the hour I was galavanting around the tundra. The hot springs were way to hot! 120 degrees is to hot to get into, but I happily did some exploring in the areas around the hot springs. I was covered in mosquito bites at the end of that 7 hour trip, but it was a great trip!
Salmon berries from my trip to Teller
We had our inservice last week at school and it was terribly boring. I am not good at sitting and listening to other people talk for 8 hours. I did a lot of doodling and brought some stuff I wanted to get done in prep for my kids to come to school. My room is mostly ready. It is the cleanest looking kindergarten classroom at our school right now. It actually looks like a classroom and not a storage space. My bulletin boards are up and beautifully decorated. All my name tags and cubby labels are made and ready to be laminated. I was being a nice person and helping a new teacher put up a bulletin board, she had never put one up before, when I hurt myself. I jumped off the counter as I always do, but this time I landed less than gracefully and twisted my ankle pretty bad. I thought I had broken it because it still hurt like crazy and I couldn't walk two hours after so I went to the ER. I had X-rays done and there were no visible fractures so that is good. I got an air cast and crutches to use. After a few days I gave up on the crutches but I am still wearing my air cast. I am just glad I got most of my hard work done before I hurt myself.
Our staff went swimming in the Bering Sea on Friday and it was so great! Last year when we swam it was overcast and misting and the water was very cold. This year the sun was shining and the water was much warmer. I swam for quite a while out in the Bering. The cool water felt great on my ankle, getting out of the water was a different story. The waves pull you back in and the sand crumbles beneath your feet so it was a bit difficult for me to gimp out. We had hot dogs and brats afterward on the beach and a great big fire too. It was a beautiful day and I was happy to finally be able to go swimming.
Beautiful sunset in Nome, AK
Musk ox super close to my apartment
First walrus I see is dead and headless on the beach@
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