Goodbye Sun

Velma's Classroom

12/2/06
I did get to Fairbanks, at 7:30 P.M. Friday. It was nice but much of the time was spent grocery shopping. We are unaccustomed to buying for a month or more, but are getting better at knowing what to buy, and getting along with what we do have, and doing without that with which we want.
We have asked ourselves many times, “what are we doing here, in a place so isolated in many ways, a place where we need to get vaccinations, a place where the sun sets permanently for a few months?” What are we thinking? There are many things here that we do like. The first is the simplicity. Here it is pretty much about how to survive the day. Going into the big department stores in Fairbanks gave me perspective as it didn’t take long for me to start thinking about pretty towels, matching bedroom décor, all the things that use to take up a great deal of my time.
The long winter night is here! And we head into the darkness for awhile. Not only are we traveling at a third the speed of our equatorial friends, but we are going to do it with no headlight. The sun no longer rises above the horizon, but there is a beautiful glow across the sky and several hours of light that will continue to diminish until December 21, when it will be the very darkest.


For many years I have taught units on the Arctic and the Inupiat Eskimos. Russ and I must remind ourselves occasionally where we are living, that we are as far north as you can go and still be in the United States. It is awesome to actually be here in this place of so much stark beauty, I never thought that I would actually be here, and I had no idea what it was really like nor what the challenges would be. Trimmed from my life are much of the “things” I thought I needed. Now staying warm and having food is a priority. I do worry when my coffee supply runs low. I have a latte machine, and my latte is the highlight of my day. Don’t get me wrong, we do have a microwave, freezer, washer and dryer, frig, running water, etc. Life is not really like it was 100 years ago. I’ll never know if I could have survived in the hostile environment. This is probably harsh enough for me.

11/24/06 Well here I am still stranded in Barrow. Now I am checked out of my room as they need to clean it, and I need to go someplace. I just read what I last wrote, the lofty comments on trees and roots and bending. I had a moment, extended moment, bordering on self pity. Suck it up girl and remember that there are far worse things that could happen. It is time to get back on track! I called reservations for Alaska Air and was told I could get on the morning flight going stand-by, turns out I could but this flight goes to Anchorage and I would have to pay the extra to reroute back to Fairbanks. In the rush of thinking I am leaving, checking out, eating, etc. I lost my phone card. We have looked everywhere, its gone. There must be a phone card spirit here running off with my card. The hotel people have looked everywhere. No card! I had just used it, a moment later it was gone. I am now borrowing Charlie’s card number so I can call if necessary. Everyday I learn something new about (surviving)life on the North Slope. So many things that I took for granted, just don’t happen here. People say can’t you just jump on some puddle jumper and go to Fairbanks. Guess what! Everything here is a puddle jumper. Alaska Air is the only flying service that really goes anywhere this time of year. Most people don’t consider this a winter vacation destination. The other flying services pretty much just go to the villages. With their circuitous flight schedule, it could take days to get to Fairbanks.

11/22/06 Life is unpredictable and living up here at the top of the world has given this fact new meaning. Our long anticipated plans to go to Fairbanks for Thanksgiving have been altered. Russ made it but I am stuck in Barrow for two days. Everything ultimately comes back to the weather which can change rapidly. Russ had the misfortune of getting a chip in his eye so he left early this morning to get it taken care of in Barrow. The health aide at Atqasuk couldn’t get it out so he waited until Wednesday morning to come to Barrow thinking that he could take care of this and then we could meet and go on to Fairbanks. All good and well, until the fog rolled into Atqasuk and all air travel was on weather watch. Weather is king! Now Russ is in Barrow and I am in Atqasuk. I finally got out at about 6:30 P.M. Now I am in Barrow and Russ is in Fairbanks. He went on as it appeared that he may not get back to Atqasuk. I have since learned that there are no flights going anywhere from Barrow until Friday morning. I am comfortable and warm. I have an invitation to join the ticket agent and her daughter for Thanksgiving dinner . Being up here has taught me many things, not least among these is gratefulness. People are generous and helpful. This will be an interesting Thanksgiving, certainly not what we planned, but who knows what the possibilities are. This will be my first Philippine Thanksgiving. Someone said that we must grow roots deep like the mighty oak, but I think that we need branches like the willows that grew in our yard in Idaho. Willows that my dad planted; that when the wind blew, left the yard a mess of small broken leaves and twigs. There stood the trees strong and only slightly bruised, but showing new growth within days.

11/19/06 The sun is rapidly disappearing. It now rises just above the horizon and skims along there for about two hours and then it sets. There is beautiful extended twilight both before and after the sun sets. It will set permanently after the twenty-second, and the days will get darker until December 21, the sun will return around the middle of January. It is about -17 without the wind. I am sure the very cold is yet to come.

11/12/06 We have about six more days of daylight. I won’t say sun as it is rarely visible. Yesterday it was only a soft pink light in the sky. The temperature now is in the teens and lower going into subzero. We have several inches of snow but the blizzards make it hard to tell just how much. Conversations with the locals are often very humorous. They have a great very dry sense of humor. The language barrier also makes for some difficult conversations. Many of the elders speak only Inupiat. One day Russ and I were walking to school, very much bundled up. As we started up the steps, Sam came by on his bike wearing shorts. He asked us what we were doing? We said we were going in to warm up. He said he didn’t need to warm up as he was an Eskimo. I guess it is all a matter of perspective. It just occurred to me why everyone has such nice skin. They haven’t abused it in the sun, like some of us, as there is such a short time when there is sun. Medical care is practically nonexistent. The health aids only have a few weeks training. They take notes and then call Barrow. There are first responders here. I don’t know how much they are trained. Emergencies are flown to Barrow. There have been two funerals here both within two weeks. They were both held at the school so school was closed. The funerals are a community event. I played at one of the funerals. It was very interesting. There were four others musicians with guitars. They really play and sing beautiful gospel music. I struggled as they play by ear and I am totally a note player; However, I did begin to catch on as to how they are doing this. They do have a method. Someone in the group looks at the music, and can tell that There is gospel music playing at the grocery store. They sing gospel music for hours several time a week at church. We were told by a whaler that all that saved him was his beliefs. This story has been repeated many times by both the elders and some younger people. The missionaries were hugely successful in Christianizing these people. I have learned much about faith from their stories and beliefs. In many ways the people here a caught between two worlds. The wanting what the whites (tunniks) have, and how to achieve that goal. In some ways it is amazing that there are places like this in America. Most of the people live a subsistence life style. I didn’t know what that really meant until I lived here. It is true that they use the abundance that is here, even though at first it may seem so barren especially to an outsider. Living with the season is a challenge even now. Much money has gone into developing the village as far as modern use of energy. It takes a great deal to keep water, sewer, and power working. The ground is frozen year round. The pipes are above ground and must be protected from the severe cold. Getting and receiving mail is also a challenge. Our little post office was closed for over a week. The postman had to go to Anchorage because his daughter was in jail. He just locked the door and flew out on the first plane. People were getting very upset as they had checks in the mail, packages, other important items and no way to get them. When the postman got back, it took him several days to recuperate as the rumor goes, he had been drinking. Aside from this it is difficult as planes sometimes can’t fly for days. There is often low hanging fog either here or in Barrow. Russ sent a package to me back in September. It has yet to arrive. Sometimes mail takes two weeks to get to Montana. I don’t know where the hang-up is. Its seems to me that the whole mailing system and the flying schedule is pretty dysfunctional. Even if the weather is okay, planes may or may not come and certainly not on the posted schedule.

11/4/06 It has been almost a month since I have entered anything in my journal. Time is either going very fast, or as Curtis says, I am going slower and the time is whizzing by me.

10/8/06 Doors open, opportunities come, changes are what this is all about. Russ is joining me on this adventure and creating his own adventure. He was offered a job two days before his departure back to Billings. There was not much time to weigh the choices! He declined the job, but was made a better offer. He finally decided to take the job and now after the dust has settled, we are Alaskans at least for now. Sun lovers going north for the long winter night doesn’t seem like a logical move. Feeling the rapid weather changes, watching the sun disappear, trying to stay upright as the wind beats against our bodies, brings back memories of our youth, Russ on the eastern Montana plains and me the mountains of Idaho. The one big difference here is the loss of sunlight for three months. We are now losing about fifteen minutes of sun. I won’t say sun as it is usually overcast. We now have about four inches of snow. Everyday the long winter night gets closer. It will be nice to have Russ to walk to school with me. There are lots of street lights, but blowing snow or fog often affects visibility.

10/1/06 Each day the winter night comes closer. It snowed all day yesterday, and the snow stayed on the ground. There is a skiff of ice on the lakes and ponds. It appeared over night. It has snowed before, but this seems to have to stay until next June. The temperature has been right at 32. It is time to get out the long johns, parka, snow boots, etc. My room at school that has been so warm for the lasts two months, is getting cold. The sun pours in the windows, but that is all changing now. We had Saturday school yesterday. It was a day for parents to come to school to help plan their child’s learning program. Like most parents everywhere, they are doing the best they can to help their child. Russ is here for a two week visit. He got to Barrow a day late as his original flight from Billings was rescheduled for the next day. This posed a problem on the Barrow to Atqasuk flight as there are few planes coming in of weekends. However, I was able to get out and surprised him as he deplaned in Barrow. He had no idea that I would be waiting there. It is really nice having him. He is enjoying his visit. He has been involved at helping with various things at the school. We are always short-handed. Last night he and I went for a walk on the tundra. The fog was very thick, but it was nice to get out and walk. We were thrilled when a white snowy owl appeared on a post near where we were walking. They come here to eat the lemmings and other mouse like creatures. I think they are called voles, etc again the language barrier as prevents me from learning the English name. No airplanes landed on Friday due to fog, but they came in yesterday.

9/17/0 Sunday was another lovely day. We went to church in the morning. It was such a treat in many ways. The service was led my an elder. His deep faith was very evident in his short message. He briefly gave a testimony as to his beliefs. It would not be possible to listen and not be moved. Some of the service he did in Inupiat, but for the most he spoke English, probably out of consideration for Jody and me. He talked about the 40’s and not having any food. He talked about drinking heavily, and that his belief in Jesus was all that saved him. In the afternoon we went for another long walk. It is amazing what is out there on the tundra. There were grayling in a small stream. They looked to be about fourteen inches long which means they could be about twenty to thirty years old as they grow very slowly in this cold climate. We saw thirteen willow ptarmigan (another one for my bird life list). My dream of an Arctic adventure did not include pop cans tossed where they were emptied or candy bar wrappings piled where the wind set them. My adventures in Alaska up to this point gave me no clue as to how costly things are here. I also had no idea how hard it can be to get food let alone fresh vegetables and fruits. The only dairy products in the local store are ice cream(rarely there) and ultra pasteurized milk which requires no refrigeration until opened. There are many planes scheduled to come in here on a daily basis, but will they be able to come? I think that unpredictability will be the way in my near future. There can be a great deal of fog here. It is very hard to schedule in-service or other meetings, as the weather can change everything. I have an order coming from Barrow, but no planes flew in here today. I have no idea when my order will come or how to plan to pick it up. I guess that will get taken care of someway. We are losing about ten minutes of light each day. The sun sets now and I actually saw the moon a few nights ago. The long winter night is getting nearer. I wonder how I will do, if my internal clock will stay tuned. I have a full spectrum light that is supposed to help with SAD. It is called a Happy Lite. I am counting on it. The teachers who have been here for a few years seem to like the dark or have adapted to the changes.

9/16/06 Saturday dawned beautiful and sunny. I guess this is a real treat for the Arctic as it is well into the Arctic Autumn. It was warm enough to go without a coat. This time last year there was river ice and the ponds were pretty much frozen. Jody and I took a walk along the river. There are very few birds around. I guess they are sensing a change. Most water fowl are gone except for a few loons. We were called to the edge of the river by an eerie cry that we had not heard before. There were sea gulls around, but this wasn’t their usual sound. It was the mournful cry of a lone Pacific Loon. She was swimming slowly and deliberately up the river. She only stopped mourning long enough to catch her breath. We assumed it was a female when we discovered two smaller loons caught in a fishing net that was strung part way across the river. There was nothing that Jody and I could do but feel helplessness, and sadness as we imagined the less than pleasant ending of the loon family. I’m sure this scene plays out many times a day in the wildness of this country. As if on cue, we both turned away and headed back to the village, listening to the haunting sound.

9/10/06 I guess there were indeed brown bear around as one was killed recently, about three miles from town. The polar bear was actually much closer. This is not typical polar bear country, but I am told that global warming is forcing many changes first noted here in the north. One of those is the loss of pack ice along the coast forcing the bears to roam inland looking for food. They would normally stay on the ice and hunt for seals and other ocean mammals. I would love to see a Polar Bear(Nanook), but if I do it would mean that it had come too close to town and others would also see it and it’s life would certainly be over. There are some observations noted after teaching here for a month. The language barrier is bigger that I had expected. The people know many things by their Inupiat name putting me at a disadvantage. The children have had limited experiences with the world outside this small land-locked community. They do not understand many concepts. The idea of trees for instance. Many have never seen a tree unless they have traveled south. Many are afraid of them as so many movies have trees portrayed as something evil as noted in many popular children’s movies. Pandemonium breaks out in the classroom if a fly gets into the room. Some ancient beliefs about the flies is that they have powerful abilities to cause harm. I tried to read Charlotte’s Web. The children seemed bored with the story. They had seen the movie, but the book has more complex language and only uses the auditory sense to understand. It is important for me as a teacher to find ways to help them develop awareness of words and their meanings. As the children grow up, their future will lie more and more on their awareness of the world and their place in it. There are few jobs here and little opportunities unless they become aware of a greater world. How long can life stay like this in a small village isolated from the world that has many modern amenities, but few opportunities? It seems to me that education is the future for these communities. They are caught between two worlds. Still with one foot in the old and one in the new. How do they mesh these two into one? Much is being done to accomplish this. They are being taught a new understanding of their past and given many opportunities to learn about the present and the future. There are advances being made in locals taking over more of a leadership roll. Hopefully they will become the teachers of tomorrow, as the school is the largest employer in most North Slope except for the oil industry. One tradition that demonstrates the traditional Inupiat values is the way the babies are carried. They are carried either on the mother’s back in the hood of her coat or in the front of her coat. These traditional coats (kuspiks) are well designed for this purpose. I haven’t seen a single baby carrier since I have been here. I did see one stroller and that belonged to a teacher. One of the traditional Inupiat values is the respect for family. They also greatly respect the elders. This is demonstrated by letting the elders eat first at any gathering. Letting them go first. Making sure that they are cared for. This belief is modernized here by the use of meals on wheels, and a bus that gathers towns people each day and brings them to the school for lunch.