21. Before Winter Break.

I took these last few around 3pm. Below is the edge of the river near school. All fall it has been cracking and refreezing with the ebb and flow of the tides. It's pretty much solid now. Thoughts about these sorts of things- like the interplay of tidal and seasonal forces- have been consuming me less lately as I've been thinking more about visiting home. I leave for Philadelphia tomorrow.


MOVIE CLIP 1, Blizzard on Election Day: [.mov for Mac] or [.avi for PC]
MOVIE CLIP 2, Blizzard from House: [.mov for Mac] or [.avi for PC]

20. Tundra Technology.

Here's an Elder giving a talk to the middle and high school. His words are being understood in three different languages simultaneously.
Most of the students are hearing him speak in Yupik. Sophie translates in to English so that the American Sign Language interpreter (via satellite in Seattle),

can translate it back to the village in sign. It's unusual that the teachers get to hear English translations when an Elder speaks, so we were trying to take advantage of the opportunity by huddling around Sophie as she softly repeated his words in English into the microphone. Video conferencing is used for a lot of things in the school.

In one class, there is a math class occurring on one satellite unit (see LA Times story), while another unit is used for translating what is being taught in the first. A few weeks ago, we were supposed to have another staff development day in Bethel. All the new teachers in the district were again supposed to be flown in from their villages, but as nature frequently has it here, flights were grounded due to fog. Instead of canceling or rescheduling it, we were delivered the staff development via videoconference.

There is currently a night school pilot's license class being offered every Wednesday night. I'm sitting in on it and hoping to pass the ground school test in May. The satellite communication company (gci) that handles the videoconferencing also handles internet communications. All the lap tops are connected wirelessly.

Another multi-million contract was signed for the next three years with GCI last week. We looked at a number of bid proposals, including AT&T. Cost and dependability were some of the biggest factors. I volunteered to be a teacher rep. for the tech committee, so I got to be part of that decision. Wireless communication is essential. A number of rural school districts in Alaska still don't have videoconferencing, but it's becoming a staple.

19. Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving at the Moravian Church. Everyone was invited.
Ryan Kuehlthar is my partner in crime who teaches on the other side of the room divider from me. He's also my guest photographer for this entry.

I realized I forgot my camera after I had already run back once to get my plate, fork and cup... so Ryan said I could use his pics. I was getting a little tired of putting the camera to my face as much as I had been anyway, which partially explains why it's been a while since I've posted. The community Thanksgiving feast was held at the Moravian Church just across the lake from my house. A good population of the village was there; almost everyone is starting to look familiar. The food was great... it was a giant potluck of Eskimo delight. Food was placed on tables set up the entire length of the center isle. Other than the macaroni and Jell-O, almost all of it was different from what I'd typically see at a potluck back home.

I honestly liked everything I tried. Here, Tom is using a sled to tow food he and Cynthia brought to the gathering. In the middle is Katie, Ryan's wife. Notice the old truck in the brush... Sunken about a third of the way in the mud, it's the only "road" vehicle in the village. In Alaska, the bigger rivers that connect villages become state highways when they freeze. Someone must have left it there a little too long into the spring a few decades back. It looks like a classic, if not antique.

17. Accumulation.

Each was taken in the midafternoon from my livingroom. Top, right was durring the blizzard on Election Day. Now that the lake is frozen, it's a much shorter walk to the store.

16. Fun draising.

This is the third 8th Grade Pizza fundraiser for the Jr. Alaska Close Up trip to Juneau in January. It's a state program designed to give students a look at state government from the inside. It costs a lot to travel by plane, so we need to fundraise.

Pizza is fun to make. In the photograph on the right, Nicole, standing to the left, organized it. Lots of people chip in to help... Katie, (with the rolling pin) organized the Halloween party on Saturday the 30th. The Halloween party was a GRAND success... We decided earlier to hold school on the Saturday before Halloween just for the (ehhem...educational) party. Ryan and I were in charge of the scary room. For the most part, I was the head on the platter.

We had black lights, a strobe and a fog machine. There were all kinds of carnival games, face painting, etc., and at the end we went back to our rooms for pizza and a piñata. Everyone really came together and the kids had a great time. Last year, a teacher in Tunt took his class to Seattle through fundraising. His name is Josh Gill, and he plans to do it again this year.

Today, as Nicole and I were making pizza with our class in the kitchen, Josh was in the multipurpose room with his class

managing a community bazaar. There was soft ice cream with real Carmel melted from Carmel squares, pizza from the best (well, only) pizza shop in town, a book fair, and tables, rented by members of the community to sell all kinds of things... all in the name of fundraising. I bought a hat at the bazaar... it's made from seal skin by a woman who lives in Tunt and it is extremely warm and soft. The craftsmanship on these items is spectacular- and to wear them is to have the purest comfort experience possible. The coat was amazing... so warm, and it felt tough and sturdy. If you are interested, some of these

things are for sale. The woman who made the coat is asking $2500.00. From what I've heard, this is fairly reasonable. Sealskin products are illegal for non-natives to produce. If you are interested in having a sale arranged, I ask that you make a donation to our trip fund on top of what the artist is asking. My email address is at the bottom of the page. I've been wanting to do the Disco Tunt post for a while. It's also a fundraiser. More on Disco Tunt another time...

15. Blizzard Ballot

I'm registered in Pennsylvania, and I signed up for an absentee ballot in September. It didn't come until yesterday, so I filled it out and sent it back as soon as I received it.

After a little deliberation, I decided that since my ballot wouldn't get to PA in time to be counted, I should see if I could vote here. So I went to the community center; and as it turned out, I was able to vote (at least provisionally). The people running the voting booths at the center were very helpful and knew exactly how to handle my situation almost instantly.
Today was a hard day to be a voter in Tunt.

We had our first blizzard of the season. I realized we were having a blizzard when the school began shaking. Around 2:30, I first noticed the wind howling louder than usual outside.

I didn't think much of it until the floor started moving... I looked to the window and it was all white.

This is me in front of the school, pointing in the direction of the community center. The last picture was taken from the same exact location and at about the same time of day as the one from Center Tunt, From Livingroom. The blizzard got even worse later in the day.