September 3, 2006

It is a gorgeous day here today. The sun is bright and there is a gentle breeze blowing. Another teacher and I took a long walk on the tundra. I am awed by the vastness. Some say there is nothing here. One must look closely to see all that is here. The birds are in abundance. There is a great variety of vegetation. Granted it is very small. Today we saw large flocks of Greater White-fronted Geese (to be added to my life list of birds seen) preparing for their long journey south. They migrate to the southeast Canadian prairies and the central flyway to eastern Mexico. We saw a Northern Harrier hunting along the river banks. It managed to catch some small rodent, but dropped it. I am guessing that the creature hit the ground pretty hard wondering what had happened. The Harrier did not give up, and was still hunting when we left. Another bird to add to my life list was the Short Eared Owl. There were many more birds that we could not identify especially water fowl.

September 2, 2006

Today the sun came out so beautiful and bright and within an hour the fog had rolled in and obscured everything. Now it is just overcast. I hope to take a birding hike later this afternoon. Someone told me that a polar bear had been killed near here. Nanook should have stayed farther up north. He wouldn’t have had much chance there either as anytime is hunting season.

We just completed our third week of school. I am enjoying the children and also learning more about how to survive here. Ordering all supplies is not something that I am used to. But I am learning the hoops one mistake at a time. Everything has to be flown in and that takes time. They tell me that nothing liquid can be mailed during the cold months, so I must really plan ahead. There are two large storage tanks for water. They hold about 4 1/2 million gallons of water. That must do the village for the winter as the source will be frozen.

Winter in the Arctic starts early and ends late. We have had frost most mornings and several snow storms; however, the snow did not stick. I guess the lake does not thaw until July so they have about six weeks to get enough water for the entire community to last all winter.

This village has come a long way in the last three years. Prior to that if was honey buckets and no water. I don’t know how that all worked. The timing is right for me. It is now served by a state of the art water and sewage system. Even with these improvements life is very different here and small things become huge. It is not easy to get the supplies you are used to having. I can see why many yards are surrounded by what looks like garbage to an outsider. That old oil drum may become a sled or be needed to hold something. Any piece of material may be needed later. I now save all empty containers, who knows when I may need an extra bowl or waste basket.

I was invited to a locals' for dinner last Sunday night. Lois from the Fairbanks church was here and took me with her. We had an Eskimo dish called Aluttagaaq. It is caribou in a gravy sauce. Actually it was very good. There was also homemade bread, rice and tea. A local airline, Haagland, is bringing me an order from Barrow.

I am having trouble drinking my lattes with powdered milk. There is a store here, but it has very little, and what is does have is very expensive. Example 3# coffee is $16.00. I thought that I needed vinegar but a small bottle was $8.00 so I decided to make due without and mixed my salad dressing with balsamic vinegar that I had brought.

August 20, 2006

I decided to visit church tonight. It was a real blessing and a great opportunity for me to become acquainted with the locals. It lasted over two hours, however I was not bored. It was mostly music. They have two guitars and a banjo also one fellow plays harmonica. There were several people who sung solos or duets. Their faith in Jesus was very evident in their songs, prayers, and music. It gave me time to reflect on the people here and how I have always wanted to see this area and to meet the Eskimos. I have read so much and now to come here and to be among the people is a great joy for me. I can hardly believe that I am actually here and that I have this opportunity.

Many of the songs were sung in Inupiat also the scriptures were read in both English and Inupiat. One lady said she was surprised to see me. I guess that I was meant to visit this little church tonight.

This afternoon I went for a walk to the dump. It was pretty cold but I was dressed warm and had a great walk. I picked some salmon ( aukpik) berries while I was out. It was quite a job cleaning them, but I have them done now. I had a bowl of them for dinner with cream. I also had ground caribou in my hamburger helper. The meat is a little strong, but was good. It is very lean.

August 15, 2006

Yesterday was the most beautiful day since my arrival on the Tundra. The view from my classroom is always beyond explanation. It just seems to go on forever. On a rainy day it seems like there are mountains in the distance. I forget that the space goes beyond my vision.

Yesterday the contrast between the cornflower blue of the sky and the deep blue of the river broken only by the expanse of the leafy green tundra, was a vision to behold. I went for a short walk to the edge of the tundra along the lake. I wanted to go farther but have been told that the brown bear has been around. I don’t know if that is true except that one was seen here a week ago. Sometimes I wonder how it is possible to be living in a place I had only heard about a few months ago. The reality is sometimes overwhelming. I am so thrilled for this opportunity to see these wonderful visions in nature and to meet the people of the community.

The children in my classroom are very sweet. They have their own unique personalities that I am trying to learn. There are some interesting things about their communication that I am beginning to understand. Yes is indicated by a slight upward motion of their eyebrows. They do not look right into your eyes and that is a sign of respect in the Inupiat culture.

August 12, 2006

The tundra is very beautiful. The vastness of the area is beyond my imagination. I have to picture a map in front of me to tell where I am in relation to my world. There is much growing on the tundra. It is just miniature, actually it is very green looking out the window. Again my classroom view is spectacular.

I guess there was a brown bear incident here last Saturday. Unfortunately for me, I went into my house and missed it all except for the retells from my neighbor. A bear came within view of some of the houses and seemed to be headed towards the village when someone saw it. They chased it on four wheelers using guns and arrows hoping to kill the animal. Some say the bear is wounded and out on the tundra. Our principal who saw it all said that it was not hurt. Locals are still saying to be careful. Darrell, my neighbor, and I walked way out one the tundra a few days ago. We were told later that people still think the injured bruin is out there. ??

We are starting the school year short two teachers. They have found people to substitute in those positions. Also one of our teachers is in the hospital, so another teacher's husband is going to fill in there. Life is very different here. Learning to meld the two cultures in a self-sustaining life-style will also be my challenge as I learn to live here.

There are so many changes for me. This is the first time ever that I have lived alone. Things that we take for granted in my old life become precious. Example was my telephone, a cup for drinking my coffee (hard to do in a plastic glass).

Atqasuk is the sight of an old coal mine. It was running in the 70’s. This is when the area was first considered a village. In ancient times it was used as a fishing and hunting camp, but was never a permanent location. There are remains of old sod huts located near here. The people here have a subsistence life style. They hunt for caribou that migrate through here by the thousands. There are white fish and grayling in the river. Occasionally there might be salmon, burbot and other fish. The locals use nets for fishing in the summer and they ice fish in the winter. I was told the frozen white fish is good raw. I doubt that I will ever be able to confirm that.

I guess the consumption of sodas is a problem here due to the high sugar content and the increase in diabetes among Eskimo people. It seems they are becoming addicted to the sugar. I tower above everyone in the village - including most of the teachers. I think that my height will work against me this winter during harsh living conditions, as the wind blows ferociously here, which I've already experienced it a few time.

July 28, 2006

Today I flew from Atqasuk to Barrow. There was a board member on the flight plus myself from Atqasuk. It was a charter flight with four people from Wainwright. The plane was a 12 passenger jet. Very nice. This time we flew above the fog. It was a nice smooth flight. I like flying in smaller planes. Compare tortion air drive to sports car feel. We are staying at the King Eider Hotel. It is very nice! I have a room to myself which was thoughtful of the personnel people. Charter flights, three meals a day for 5 days, hotel rooms at 269 Dollars plus. I’m not complaining as it is such an exciting adventure into the world. Everyone I have met has been wonderful. Just people looking for something different or for adventure, probably as many reasons as people. I am so grateful for this opportunity to see more of the world. Barrow is very interesting. There are no lawns as the short summer would not allow much to grow other than the natural tundra plants. The land right in Barrow appears to be mostly sand and mud puddles. It rains here a lot and the humidity is high right now. This northern coastal town is unique perhaps not that much from other towns in the same latitude. I am looking forward to walking along the coast. The ocean is visible from my hotel room. This is a two story hotel by the way. Homes are crammed in between stores and businesses. Sometimes it is hard to tell one from the other. The climate has to be hard on the buildings and their paint jobs. Tomorrow starts the first day of in-services. I am looking forward to all there is to learn. I pray that I am up for the challenges.

A brief note on life in Atqasuk

I am surprised at all the large buildings that appear to house large equipment such as road graders and fire trucks and I don’t know what else. All of the kids are within walking distance to the school. Right now the most widely used vehicle is the four wheeler. There are a few other pickup and small SUVs. It is over a mile to the airport and arrangements must me made for someone to be picked up. They tell me that someone is supposed to meet each flight in case someone needs a ride into town. That is the longest road here. It is impossible to go anywhere else with a vehicle. The tundra is vast and boggy.

The Meade River seems to be just there, I can detect no flow. There is a sweet little stream coming into it not far from town that I am told is good fishing. The water is clear and looks inviting to fish at least from my point of view.