A mission was bestowed upon me. I was supposed to go out for a night on the town in fantastic Nome. My roomie and I went strolling through town Saturday night. We saw a costume contest and the first bar and it was hilarious. People are completely ridiculous all the time and when they are dressed up and drinking it gets even better. We made our way to three different fabulous nome establishments. We picked the right person to sit by at the second place. He kept dropping $50 and buying everyone around us drinks. I have so many left over drink tokens because they don't give you a drink if you have one in front of you and I'm smart and keep a full drink in front of me so I don't get crazy. So I basically have free drinks for the next month or so! We met some super funny guys that we went dancing with and laughed so hard. If you ever thought people are strange looking, come to Nome and watch them dance while dressed up in halloween costumes. LAUGH OUT LOUD. It was a successful evening though. We went out, we laughed, we walked home safely just me and my roomie. It was great.
I also carved a pumpkin at home and at school with my kids. You all know how much I love pumpkins! The pumpkins were ridiculously expensive but I just couldn't say no to a cute little orange ball of beauty. I am excited for my first holiday in Nome and the most important holiday to me! I am going to wear my black tutu to school on Wednesday and face paint to be a kitty cat :)
October is Fire Safety month in case you didn't know. The amazing volunteer firemen of Nome came to Kindergarten to teach us some safety tips and what to do in an emergency. They came fully dressed in their fire gear and crawled around on the floor with the kids and even did stop drop and roll with them. It was the cutest thing I've ever seen. We even got to go on the firetruck! The kids were so excited except for two little girls; I held one quivering little girl the whole time. These girls didn't even want the fire hats at the end of the trip! It was an experience though and I'm glad we got the opportunity to see the truck and all of its glory!
Our house full of animals! We have two cats (Topper and Kigiyuk) and we have a new little pup! He is something like a german shepherd, rotweiler, lab, husky mix. He is a little mutt and adorable! My roomie from school got him for free from someone who had gotten him right before his wife had a baby. They soon found out that a puppy and an infant was way too much work so we got the puppy. He is black with brown feet and eyebrows. He has a white spot on his chest and on his little butt. He is almost potty trained already and loves his new mommy. I am of course the aunty and he likes to bite me all the time. He eats hair and licks up noses and nibbles on hands. I have little puppy bite marks all over my hands but he is getting a little better since I grab his nose and say NO! every time he bites. His name is Kamik (come-eeek). It means boots in Inupiaq :) And of course my Olive is coming in November with Kimmy! Two cats are leaving November 3 and my baby is coming November 15. I am excited for my baby to come. I miss her lots and seeing my roomie with her new baby pup makes me miss her more.
Hello Minnesota! I have in fact moved into a new place. I am living with another teacher from school and another woman named Jenny! The other Jenny is actually moving home to the lower 48 in a couple weeks so we are already looking for a new roommate to fill her spot which is harder than we thought. Most people that respond are either men, women with children escaping a man, and/or women who are looking for a place to bring drunk natives home to. So, we are trying to talk some teachers into bailing on their current leases to move in with us. I am getting Olive in November when Kimmy comes up and my current roomie is looking for a pup to get to live with us too!
I have gotten a box from Forest Lake! Thank you for all the special treats. I am so happy to have rice and soup to make! It is hard to go to the grocery store because I don't know what I want, need, should have. I try and make lists but all I come up with is milk and cereal. I still cannot get used to how much food costs so I don't get things I want, just what I need. Milk and cereal. I still have crackers, apples, granola bars, noodles, mac n cheese and potatoes. I go out to eat once a week to have "real food" so I am getting enough Iron which I guess is important. I promise I am happy and healthy though! I keep spraying everything with lysol and bleach and wash my hands enough to make them dry and need lotion badly. I've got a smile on though! Ear to ear! Someone here even calls me perma-smile :D
Love from Alaska!
I am going to start ordering food from walmart.com but until then:
If you could please send:
Hangers
Whole wheat pasta
Intense moisture lotion
Chocolate!
Ramen or easy mac
Vitamins
Sticky wall hook things
Pasta side mixes
Dish soap
Cinnamon rice cakes
Chunky Peanut butter (it costs like $10 a jar!)
Canned corn
Pickles
Banana peppers
Jalepeno peppers
Bagel thins
Cleaning supplies
Kitchen towels/rags
Hand/Face towels for in the bathroom
What a busy last few days!
My tooth extravaganza: I'll start with last Thursday. Sometime after school part of my back molar broke off. It hurt like hell afterward and is still super tender. I tried calling a dentist on Thursday and Friday but apparently the white people dentist is only open Monday-Wednesday, sometimes when the dentist feels like coming to work. I called the hospital dentist because it hurt and I figured I should get it fixed before it got infected. They told me I couldn't come in because I am not a native. So I went all weekend with half a molar hurting like crazy and eating mostly noodles and mashed potatoes. Saturday night I couldn't sleep because it hurt so much and I had to take some tylenol codeine to fall asleep finally around 7:30 am. Today I went to school after taking tylenol gel caps, took three ibuprofen at lunch and was ready to pull my teeth before school was over. The principals wife (my alaska mom) took me to the hospital ER after school to get some pain meds and hopefully move up my dentist appointment from Wednesday Oct 17 to sometime this week. I got the meds and an antibiotic because now it looks infected. Now I am drugged and feeling better.
So fresh and clean: Friday I cleaned and organized my room and stayed in all night watching movies on tv. It was great and relaxing. I did my laundry and made my bed with clean sheets again. I got a great new bed topper on Sunday to help fix my super lumpy bed. It is 4 inches of magnificent foam that molds to my body making it so much easier to sleep. I was so happy last night and it was hard to get out of bed this morning. Clean sheets and a comfy bed :) yahoo Today Kayla and I moved all the living room furniture to one side, put down baking soda, vacuumed, moved all the furniture to the other side, baking soda, vacuumed, and moved it all back. We dusted like crazy and washed the walls and heaters. We took the random nails and screws out of the wall. It smells fantastic in our place now and it looks amazing. NO more pet smells and dust everywhere. My mom would have been appalled by all the pet hair and dust. I emptied the vacuum container three times! It is amazing in here though.
Strange new experiences: Saturday I was super lazy until I went to the NRA fundraiser dinner in town. I have never seen so many Nomites in one place! I think the whole town was there. My ticket was paid for by my superintendent and so I got free entry and dinner. Steak, shrimp, baby red potatoes, dinner roll, salad, veggie medly, and cheese cake. It was hard and slightly painful to eat but I couldn't pass up a delicious dinner like that! It was hilarious to see so many people going crazy over so many guns under one roof. I don't think I've ever seen so many guns being handed out like cotton candy at a circus. I didn't buy any raffle tickets because it was $50 for 15 for the cheapest "package" to win prizes. I did bid on some beautiful handmade that I was hoping to share with my mama but some jerk ass out bid me with 3 minutes left. I've learned not to go to the bathroom at the end of an auction. Had I known it was ending I would have waited and peed my pants. I did get a bunch of door gifts though for my daddy :)
I'll keep you all updated on my dentist adventures in Nome!
Love and happiness from AK
I have successfully moved into my house up here in Nome. My new friend moved with me and we are so thrilled to be in town! She is a special education speech teacher at the elementary school where I work. It is a delightful 3 minute walk to and from school. We live on the second floor of a house. We have our own entry separate from the downstairs. We have free laundry too!! And a great big tub :) Yesterday we walked all over town signing up for cable and internet and paying our bills. Ugh...but we officially have a place of our own. It feels fantastic to have somewhere to call home in Nome. However, the bed I have been sleeping on for the last week is super crappy. It is thin and lumpy and squeaky. I put two sheets and a comforter under my fitted sheet to try and give it a little more cushion...no such luck. I might need to visit the arctic chiropractic soon.
Since my boxes still haven't arrived that have my blankets in them I am in desperate need of blankets. I have two with me, but let me tell you, it gets cold at night. I am going to walk back across town today to go to the quilt shop "Whimsy Shop" and get some fleece to make a blanket. On my way I suppose I will be brave and get a flu shot at the hospital. There have been quite a few people out this week with the flu. Nome Public Schools needs substitute teachers! If you have a hankering to move to Nome, come on up! You don't need a degree or anything to sub for a day and you still get paid.
