HILTON vs hilton

Ummmm...let's take a moment to complain... The district did a really good job welcoming us in Anchorage, bringing us into our our rooms, at $200 a night rooms. We were in luxury.

Now...the Hilton has been downgraded............ In the past 48 hours, I'm being generous, I have gotten 7 hours...total. The first night, I swear to you it got down to 35 degrees in my room. My friends here laugh at me because every time I complain it goes down about five degrees... So I fell asleep around 2:00am because I couldn't stop shivering. Matt pretty much got annoyed with me by then because I kept complaining.

Then, I told the director of sped that we didn't sleep because of no heat, so she made sure we had some. ASK AND YE SHALL RECEIVE. My room was 85 degrees when I climbed into bed. :) that was okay. I could work with that. But it STORMED last night. And the window was loose so every time the wind came through, the window banged against the side of the building and woke us up again. Got to bed around 3:00am. Yay. Then I would wake up every half hour because of the banging.

And the pillow/bed gave me a bit of a headache. I took some migraine mess around 4:00am, but it wasn't good up until then. I finally decided I didn't need two blankets anymore and used one as a pillow. That's when I finally fell asleep for a few hours. Yay. It has been fun sleeping.

Then I got to take a shower (camping style) in the shower that the curtain didn't close all the way with hair everywhere. Eeeeeeek.  The rain water was leaking through the roof into the shower I was taking, so it would be really warm, and then ::drip drip:: cold rain water!!! :)

Overall it's been great, I just wish I had a little more sleep:)

UPDATE

UPDATE FROM LAURA IN EMMONAK, AK WHILE I'M AT MOUNTAIN VILLAGE RIGHT NOW UNTIL THURSDAY...

YAYYYY!!!!!

PD In Mountain Village

Today we're starting our SPED training in Mountain Village (another village where our district headquarters are). We got on the plane at 9:10am and traveled to Alukanuk, Pilot Station, and ...another site I can't remember the name of:). Then we made our way to Mountain. We sat around and talked for about another hour and a half to wait until everyone else could get here on their flights.  It's nice because they're not trying to waste our time during this PD. They are on the thinking of if we need to learn it, they gave us time for it, and we can teach it to each other while they're teaching us. I really appreciate it.

Front row!  I got a good view of the monitors...

Notice that in the little planes use seat belts that go around your chest...scary much?

I thought it was pretty with the shadow right there on the grass...

My favorite part of the Bush planes is the tail pick.  They put it down so we can get out of the plane and make sure it doesn't flip over while we walk toward the back.

We had some cheeseburgers for lunch. Yuuuuummmmm. Then we went and learned about our IEP software for the computers. While we were there our director of sped asked if we might want to go to a bonfire tonight. Of course!

Here's the breakfast at school this morning.

So we went to the store, had dinner (meatloaf...ew...but made really well...I just don't like meatloaf), then went to the bonfire! My first ride on a 4 wheeler ever! How fun! We got splashed and hit with twigs; Josh wasn't too gentle for our first times. But it was really nice of him to take us. Then we came out n the beautiful river. I nev wanted to leave! We played football, listened to music, and watched the fire. We ate some s'mores! I dropped my chocolate...:( Lara Leigh told me to eat it anyway...so I did.  It's the Bush...

First ride on a 4wheeler.  You can see me in the mirror...That's Zoey riding in front!

Me and Amanda riding the 4wheeler

Katie driving the second 4wheeler full of riders! :) Phoebe's on the left...

Amanda, Me, and Lara Leigh at the Bonfire.

Phoebe taking a fake 4wheeler pic.

And my fake 4wheeler pic:)

Lara Leigh and Phoebe doing jump shots!

All the warm-state people in their warm coats and hoods...Me in my light sweatshirt...

Oh Katie...You're always so perky...

Phoebe wanted the football...

Amanda tossing the ball to Charles

Heizman!

What a perfect bonfire?

Sunset in Alaska:)

All the friends gathered:)

I got to learn how to drive a 4 wheeler! And I didn't flip it (::cough:: Leah)! Josh was very nice on teaching a few of us girls on how to drive the 4 wheeler. We will have to make him dinner or buy him a beer in Anchorage sometime.

Oh Leah...why did you drive so fast through the mud puddle?

Then we had the fun trip home on the cold 4 wheeler in the dark. It was so pretty with the moon and the headlights! Headlights...I haven't seen them in so long...

Josh driving the first 4wheeler home

Gorgeous night with my friends...

Now I'm staying at the LYSD Hilton. It's...Bush Hilton:). I'm excited to be here and be with everyone. I'll upload pictures and videos tomorrow!

It doesn't get its name by similarity...

Terms...

Mom let me know today that some of the terms I use on my blog, you might not all know.  So I figured I'd put those terms here.  And I'll keep updating them.  I'll put people's names too.  If you ask about anything, I'll update here so everyone can get the info!  Thanks Mom for the idea!

ELL-English Language Learners...basically it's students whose first language isn't English and it makes learning more difficult in school because they might not be as fluent as we, as English as our first language people, are

Secondary School-middle school and high school

Elementary-K-5 grades

IEP-Individualized Education Plan...it's the paperwork and/or the meeting I have for my students in special education.  It's basically what drives my job.  It's usually about 10 pages long, and it includes the demographics of the student, the time they need to be with me in special ed, for what services (math, language arts...), how we can accommodate them (shorten their assignments, give them extra time on tests, read things to them...), and a few other things go on it.

Yup'ik-the language and tribe of the Native American/Eskimo people in my village (the people like to be called Eskimo, where in other areas, they get offended by the term)

PD- professional development...it's the meetings that just the teachers or staff go to. No kids. Sometimes it's just teachers at my school, sometimes all staff, sometimes it's just sped teachers...

SPED-special education...it's what I teach people.

Instructional Leader-principal; we call them IL's here, so the Assistant IL or AIL is the assistant principal

Phoebe-my lovely roommate!

Nate/Nathan/Mr. Erfurth-new teacher who teaches high school social studies (married to Sara)

Sara/Mrs. Erfurth-new teacher who teaches high school language arts (married to Nate)

Laura/Mrs. Warner-kindergarten teacher, she's been here for a year already, owns BooBoo

Tom/Mr. Gobeske-my Instructional Leader; he's originially from Michigan (likes U of M...booooo); has been living in Washington State for the last long while.  His wife still lives there.  He has 3 boys, who are grown and have jobs.  This is his second year in Emmonak, but first year as the IL.

Scott/Mr. Carter-my Assistant Instructional Leader; he was the principal in Kuwait...the last 2 years.

Catching Up

***UPDATE***
I have finally had the time to go back through and reply to everyone's comments!  Thank you so much for them!  I look forward to them everyday.  I read them, I just wasn't having the best of luck getting them to post.  I do get an email everytime someone comments, so please keep them coming!  It makes me feel so good!:)

Sooo...I've been VERY busy this past week.  Everyone said I'd have so much downtime when I got here, and I'd be so bored.  I sent so much stuff (totes still have yet to get here...we're 4 days over the expected arrival date) here to entertain me, and I can't find time to relax!  It is a busy job!

Okay, so yesterday I slept until 1:00pm, but that's because I was really tired.  And today I woke up at 9:00am.  That's impressive.  And yes, I've been trying to relax when possible, but it's almost as if there's no time to get anything else done when I decide to relax for an hour.  Hmm...I guess I'm just complaining for the sake of complaining... Sorry.

The sun came out yesterday and today.  It's brief in it's time out, but it's beautiful when we get to see it.  It usually stays at about 55 degrees out here.  I might wear a light sweatshirt to work, but quickly take it off when I get here.  The weather is actually kind of nice...according to me.  If you ask Phoebe...it's freezing.  It's worse than her winter:).  It's fun to see her walking around with her winter coat, hat, and boots on all the time.  It's 55 degrees.  It's not going to be too good when it hits 30 below zero!!! :)  I'll help her through it:).

Getting out of our movie Friday night...10:30 at night.

We've been trying to watch Castle the past few days.  Another teacher lent the first two seasons to Phoebe.  She had never heard of the show before.  I'm realizing that I haven't seen the early episodes.  It's nice to have that entertainment.  We were running out of movies on our top-wanted list on her external hard drive. 

I took some pictures of people teaching.  I wanted to show that we really do teach!  But Nate is an alternative style of teacher...:)

Why Nate is on a desk...we do not know...

Phoebe and I had a visitor the other night... He got out of his mom's house (across the hall from us) and I found him.  She was sleeping, so when I knocked she didn't hear.  We started to get worried she wasn't doing well after a while so we woke her up.  She was fine.  Just sleepy.  He snuck out when she went to do laundry.

Riley playing with Goose.

Walking through town, you find interesting things...here's a gas storage tank that they're moving onto the other side of the building because we're extending the high school.

Right outside of school.  The big white tank is on a truck.  It shouldn't be there.  It's a street right there.

First Day of School

So yesterday was my first day of school. I met...most...of my kids. It's very hard to find them all in 7 different classrooms when they all move all the time!in the last two days we've added...4...? students to my list. It's been pretty busy and different the past two days. The craziness feels like the craziness of the second month of school in Michigan instead of the second day of school. :)

Right now we're watching Ocean's 11 in the library on the big screen TV. We have Movie Night planned for every Friday night at school. All the teachers are invited. We have different events planned around the year for all of us. It's to keep us entertained and having fun throughout the year. Laura would like me to add that we're eating lots of popcorn, candy, and pop. I'm perfecting my stress eating:).

I made snickers cookies today. I've been telling everyone about them. I didn't make them the usual way. I improvised...took the sugar cookie powder recipe and added a little brown sugar and peanut butter. Actually, they turned out very well. I cooked them for the perfect amount of time. :)

Snicker's Cookie! We do get some delicasees...

IEP's

Wow...I had my first IEP today.  It was definitely a learning experience to have IEPs in a different state.  I think the parents and I will collaborate well so I'm excited.  We got my Mr. Prime Beef yesterday!  I'm so excited!  Over 80 pounds of meat sent to us! :) It has been raining and muddy for the last two days.  That is Laura's contribution to the blog.

Phoebe would like me to tell you all that I am making steak for dinner.  We're very excited.  Yesterday I made cookies (sugar cookies), but Phoebe is requesting that someone send ingredients for Snickers cookies.  I have told everyone how good my Snickers cookies are, but I don't have mini Snickers or brown sugar.  So, Mom, I will need some:). 

Yuuummm...Steak

Notice that it's so big it can't fit on the plate...it's 3 different meals for Phoebe and I.  Yum!

They have been cleaning out my classroom/weight room.  All of the hand weights have been taken out, and one of the big machines.  Now they need to take out the elliptical, treadmill, and bench press.  I need to make my room presentable to the students!  They come tomorrow!

I'm excited to meet the kids.  I've met quite a few around town walking, at the store, or they have come into the school.  I don't remember a lot of their names, though!  I will be leaving Monday to go to our district headquarters to have a training on our IEPs.  I'm excited to go and see other people and another school.  But I'm not excited to sleep on the floor...

It is Sara's birthday today.  Happy Birthday, Sara!!!  Please everyone tell her "Happy Birthday!"

Talk again soon!

Migraines and Heat

So, yesterday, Sunday, I woke up with a migraine.  I haven't had one in a while, so I can't really complain.  I can tell that it's one of the vertebrates in my neck that's out.  Ouch.  So, I pretty much laid down and slept all day trying to get rid of it.

Today, we had Suicide prevention training.  We learned that the national average is 10 in every 100,000 people ages 15-24 commit suicide.  Alaska Natives are at a rate of 60 in every 100,000 people.  We really need to watch our kids and try to help them.  With the lack of sunlight, things to do, psychology and other factors, it's really hard for the kids out here.  I really enjoyed the training and I hope this will help our students in the future.

It's 46 degrees out today and very cold in the school!  Brrrr!!!  We met with the Sunshine Committee and came up with fun things to do during the year.  Phoebe and I are in charge of sports.  How I got roped into this...I have no idea.  Sara's doing Friday Movie Nights.  Yay!

Laura teaching me that my high school classroom will not have heat...:(

We have food in our cupboards!  Thanks to my Fred Meyer order (5/8 of the order) and Phoebe's packages that came in, we are doing well!  Our friends are jealous!

Yes...that's 100 packets of Phillipino Ramin Noodles...

Love the Tang

Overflow Cupboard

I found out that there is Bush Subway here!!!! Yay!  I called them, and they take your order a day in advance, you have to have at least $100 order, and he can't take the order to the plane between 11-2pm.  I asked why and he replied with, "I'm the only one who can drive and I have to manage the store, too."  I love the Bush.  Only here would that answer make sense.

Speaking of things that would only make sense in the Bush... On the parent/student contact forms, there are two lines that I didn't understand what they meant...

CB? VHF?

 I understand what the Phone # is, but I couldn't figure out what the CB# or VHF# is.  Then I asked another teacher.  It's their radio number.  That's phenomenal.  Again, only people out in the Bush would understand.

I got more boxes too!  I got my potato chips, kitty litter, and cat food!  Yay!  Phoebe was getting worried on the smell.

Phoebe trying to move our packages...not working well...

I wanted to put up a picture of me actually working too!  I've been working the whole time, but I haven't been able to take a picture.  Luckily, Phoebe took one of me today:).

Doing paperwork in my classroom.

My First "Sleeping In" in 3 Weeks

I wanted to sleep in late today...Phoebe was up and around at 9:30 making breakfast so I couldn't sleep anymore:(.  I did take a 3 hour nap later on, but I'm still tired.  This Alaska weather/light is messing with me.  I watched Lord of the Rings (luckily the first one thanks to Matty) last night (only 1 hour and 8 minutes because I couldn't understand and had to ask Matt waaay too many questions).  I went to bed at 1am.  It was the first time I'd gone to bed after dark in 2 weeks.  The first time I had seen dark.  It was weird.

We went to the post office today and I got my package from Mom and Dad!!!!!  Thanks Mom and Dad!!!!!  It was full of great supplies!  Goose really liked his present:). 

I was too excited.  I opened it halfway in the car on the way home.

All the stuff from Mom and Pops!

Gorgeous sheets!

Yup, Jess.  Those are your cards:)

Pics of the family so I don't forget them!

We also had a potluck at 5:00pm for dinner.  It was so good.  I feel like I'm going to throw up.  I ate too much.  It was a welcome for all the new teachers.  Thank you so much everyone for cooking us dinner!

YUMMY food cooked by the other teachers and staff!

Laura assures me he looked like a dog last year, when he was a puppy...I don't believe it.

Let's see, I better get my packages soon, because this is what it looks like when I look for them online...

Not okay with everything being in Jackson, MI....

I would like to say "Hey" to all the families of my co-workers who have decided to dissert their blogs and join mine.  I have been trying to get them to stay as up-to-date as myself, but it hasn't worked.  I will try to let you know how they are doing also.  :)

A Loooooong Visit to the Clinic

So this morning I woke up and Phoebe wasn't in the bathroom like she always is (she gets ready first...I'm not the morning person). So I started to get ready and she called my name and I looked into her bedroom. She was laid out on the end of her bed. She didn't look so good. She told me she was dizzy and when she tried to walk she felt like throwing up. I got her some water and took a shower. After I got out she still didn't look good. She said she would need help walking to school. I informed her that she wasn't going. He needed to just lay down and try to stay still. I thought she had vertigo. I had it once when I was in St. Joe. It stinks! I went to our PD day and told our principal that she wasn't feeling good and he wasn't going to be coming in. He was of course worried and said that it was fine. We had some discussions and learned a bit about the new procedures at school that would be changing with him as the new principal. We then broke up into groups to come up with a school slogan. I asked if I could check on Phoebe.

I walked to our house and asked how she was. She said she walked to the bathroom and had to throw up. Okay, now we're going to the clinic.

The clinic's symbol. Yukon K_____ (something in Yup'ik I can't pronounce) Health Clinic

I called the clinic and they could get us into the clinic in "a half hour" (it's been 1 1/2 hours so far). The assistant principal drove us to the clinic after I wheelchaired her through the boardwalk. Haha. It's definitely different here. I told her thank you for getting the clinic experience first so I could learn the ropes:). We're waiting to go back to see a nurse practitioner (or who they have here for the day). They've checked her vitals. We're sad. She hasn't lost weight yet:(. We thought we'd be down at least five pounds by now! :) I'll let you all know how she's doing when we hear more news and get to go back.

In the waiting room..Phoebe couldn't sit up:)

UPDATE: So after 2 1/2 hours of waiting, they called Phoebe back and the nurse practitioner did all the tests on her and ran a strep test (and it was negative) and she has...vertigo. Told ya:) She also said she had a little sinus infection that could have added to it.

Phoebe couldn't sit up here either:) The NP helping her out and giving her meds.

UPDATE2: When I got home after putting the blog up, Phoebe was up in the kitchen cooking.  She said she felt better since she took the medicine and wanted to cook dinner.  She's such a dork.  We ate, I unpacked a little, and then she went to bed and I'm at school on the Internet again.

YUM. Filipino sausage.

YUUUUUUUMMMMMMM. Phoebe's homemade eggrolls.  You are soooooo jealous.  Bobby and James got some.  They were VERY lucky.  They understand why I'm so lucky now.

I joined the Sunshine Committee yesterday. It's not an official committee. Just something to keep the teachers occupied and having fun throughout the weeks and months. They scheduled a pot luck at school for the teachers on Saturday for dinner to welcome the new teachers. I'm excited! We also received "Stanley Cups" as new teachers yesterday at our meeting. Our principal wanted to make sure we understood we were passing these onto others and didn't keep them forever. It's a Cup not a Trophy. Trophies get many made. Cups are passed around from one good person to another. I thought it was a good symbol of what we were doing here. A lot of people come and go so we're passing reigns or "Cup" to each other.

My Stanley Cup

As I'm sitting here with nothing else to do, I'm thinking of the little things I wanted to mention. I wanted to let everyone know that Emmonak means "black fish" in Yup'ik. I also wanted to share the lovely poem that our friend Paul, from Scammon Bay (a new teacher this year) made up to remind us on how to pronounce "Emmonak."

These chicks from Emmonak

Were speaking Ebonics

I wanted teach them phonics using mnemonics

But thy were too demonic

Isn't that ironic?

Oh the little things that make your day out here. :)

I got packages today! No Mom and Dad, it isn't the one you sent me. It's the ones from Fred Meyers. 5 out of the 8 boxes they sent. I think the post woman was just sick of bringing them back to me. I'll go back for the rest tomorrow. I LOVE that the one day I get packages, Phoebe can't help me bring them in. All the days I spent carrying hers in...:) Oh well. More dinners for me made by my great chef. That's the worst part of her being sick! I don't get awesome Phoebe cooking! I'm going to the restaurant tonight with Laura and a foster mom in the community. I don't know if I can afford it, but I'm trying to socialize and make connections to the community...

5/8 packages from Fred Meyer.  I'm so excited to have food and snacks!

UPDATE: I didn't go to the restaurant because Phoebe was up when I got home.  So I ate what she made me.  I didn't want to go out while she was up and moving.  She did well!  I'll socialize some other way another time.  And hey!  I saved money!

I wanted to show the picture of my ALASKA ID!!!!  I can't get it to switch directions, but you can see.  Take a look!

Alaska ID.  I'm officially an Alaskan

Here is also our coffee table that you have heard so much about.  It comes up to us while we are eating.  So we eat every night on the couch while we have dinner and a movie! :) I even got popcorn today so we can have popcorn and a movie too!

Best coffee table ever! With the best food ever! Don't worry, we got a new couch today.

I'm on bed number...4.  I think I might keep this one.  We're on couch number 3.  We gave Bobby and James some food today for moving all of our stuff so many times.  Thank you so much to them!