A Little Bit Of Everything

There is a bit of snow starting to show up on the mountains. There has not been a good snow yet in town, but its getting colder and there will soon be snow covering the ground.
This last weekend the staff volunteered their Saturday to go to Nome and pick 5 palates of supplies includes soda and food to Brevig. Staff members loaded freight from Nome to the boat and from the boat to the truck and from the truck to the extra room for supplies. It was a lot of lifting and coordinating. It wouldn't have been possible without the help of everyone.
This is just a small section of how much material was moved that Saturday afternoon.
Chris took some driftwood from the beach and made cuts into and made it into a photograph display.
Another driftwood display!
The weekend we got married, we decided to paint all the walls facing north in the duplex. It looks wonderful and it is so relaxing. We made the color all by ourselves by mixing in a dark blue with white. I think it turned out pretty well.
My first baking creation! Blueberry Streusel Muffins. They look delicious and even taste good.



The next pictures are graphic. They are pictures of some seals that were hunted by the natives.












Seal hunting is a way of life and there is an abundance of seals around the area. They are used for food, for fur and for the oil. The seal oil is a delicacy that is used to dip walrus or meat into. You don't need much, just a tad or a dip, too much will hurt the stomach.
These were three that were there when I arrived, but the boat pulled up a bit later and brought in another one. That was one happy Eskimo family.

Other news. Chris is now the VPSO (Village Patrol Safety Officer) or "sheriff" of the village Brevig Mission.
I am coaching the co-ed volleyball team. I will post pictures after we have our first tournament.

Wedding on the Alaskan beach

Chris and I after our ceremony on Sept 18, 2010 and Noon. It was a beautiful day and the sun was out shining.

Our four-wheeler

The rings
These are just a few pictures, more will be posted soon.

From Home to Nome and Back

To get to Nome, the first thing to do is to load the 4-wheeler on a boat and go across the channel. The 4-wheeler barely fits on the boat.

This is what the boat looks like with the 4-wheeler on it. There is also the trailer in the boat.

Finally, on the road. It was a beautiful trip. 70 miles from Teller to Nome.

The road the whole time. Except on the way back it was raining.

Just a view from the road.

Trip up Sunset

We took the 4-wheeler out and followed the trail up to Sunset. Eventually the trail ends, but until then, this is what is sorta looks like.

The trail ends, and in its place is the river. We rode the river for most of the trip. It was crazy.
There is this old house that was built from a family that found gold in these hills. This is taken from an upstairs window. Muskox herds are all over the mountains, but this is the closest I've seen them. This was also the biggest herd I've seen so far. It was amazing.
Trees like this do not grow up in Brevig Mission or the surrounding area. These are brought over with storm surges from Russia.

This was just a cute little waterfall that fed into the river that we were driving in.

Classroom

Open are to learn and tables for students and then my corner table. Eventually the long desk will have computers on it! I even my own bathroom and sink.
The door to my classroom and the back wall.
The reading corner and my smart board, which is not quite working yet.
My desk and the back wall.
Me in my classroom!

Blue Berry Picking Adventure

The crew of blue berry hunters! We are ready!

We found some wonderful blueberries.


My wonderful bunch. The orange looking berries are called salmon berries. They are delicious with sugar and cream.

Working hard.


It is not easy picking blueberries. You have to really want them.

It was a success.

Unalakleet and Muskox

My and the other new teachers at Brevig, Barnabas and Gregg, walked along the tundra, through the marsh and up the hill to see Muskox. These animals are huge and beautiful. We got about 75 yards away.

The herd consisted of at least 20 muskox. They are hunted by the Native Eskimos but are not shy at all, therefore very easy to kill.

This is part of Brevig and the surrounding area.

For every person who climbs up this hill, they place a rock on the top of this pile of rocks. This pile looked like a person with a few arms and a head.

I have always wanted to get right up to windmills, but there was never the chance in CO. I didn't realize how bit the really were. Can you see me?

This is a river that runs in to the ocean in Unalakleet where the District Office of Bering Strait School District is located and where all the trainings are held.


After training a group of us decided to have a bom-fire down by the ocean and ended up hearing music and roasting marshmallows.

The beach in Unalakleet is made of rocks like in Brevig, but there is also a great deal of sand and huge piles of driftwood that stays along the roadside.

August training is over and school begins in less then a week. There is still a lot to be done in this 1st grade class.

First couple days in Brevig

This is my view from the plane as we flew into Brevig. Everything was so green and breath-taking. The clouds covered the top of the mountains and there were a few rain showers, but I was sitting in the co-pilot seat.

The shore of the ocean can be seen from my duplex and is covered with black rocks, all of which are perfect for skipping. Brevig is located between the ocean and the mountains, both of which is can be seen in the photo.


Fishing is a way of living up here. Almost every native family has a boat and a ATV which they call Honda. It doesn't matter what the maker is, all of them are Hondas. During the summer, families will go and catch salmon, seal, and crab and then dry it and have food to get them through the winter. Not many people work for money in the village, but most receive a check unemployment check or something from the government and then everyone gets a stipend check from Alaska in October every year..

My duplex is located about 100 yards from the school and I have a view of the mountains from my front windows and a view of the ocean from my back windows. I have a "mud room" in the entrance of the duplex which is where all the shoes are kept so they don't track mud into the house, then the second door leads to my house. It is two bedroom, but this is the "master bedroom."

First is the bathroom and then the kitchen and dining room. There is an oven, sink, and microwave, but no dishwasher.

The other way leads to the family room which is the same size as the bathroom, kitchen and dining room combined. It came with all the furniture, which was a blessing.