Outside the snowing is pinging on the windows, and Nome is in a blizzard warning. I would be lying if I said I didn't want to have a snow day tomorrow! We had a lazy weekend, nothing that HAD to be done which in my opinion is the best kind of weekend. Saturday morning we went to a small craft fair. Andrew bought some coffee from the Ski team that was selling Nanook Joe for a fundraiser. Saturday night I went to a Christmas party out at our friend Erika's house (the one with the honey bucket). It was a really fun night decorating cookies, eating lots of food, and doing a white elephant Christmas exchange. Apparently in Nome white elephant means nice gifts (which I knew before hand thankfully). I brought some caramel corn, caramels, and English toffee that I made. I got a really pretty piece of pottery one of the other girls made. Someone else got a onsie for a baby that said "Future Nanook" that she had no use for so she gave it to me.
We have a 4 day week this week, and leave on the 9:39 pm flight on Thursday. We travel to Anchorage, leave Anchorage at 1 am, get to Portland, OR at 5 am, and leave Portland to Minneapolis at 6:37 am. Hopefully we will arrive in MN at noon on Friday. We have started to pile stuff into a corner, getting it ready to pack up. Hopefully the week will go quickly as we are both quite excited to be coming home. We both are looking forward to seeing everyone and I am looking forward to being in a place with more food choices. Nome is somewhat limited as far as gluten free foods.
Some of you have been asking how I have been feeling lately: thank you! I am feeling better lately. I haven't thrown up since Thanksgiving which is wonderful. I have a doctor's appointment in Plymouth for a week from this Monday. We are hoping that the doctor says that everything is AOK with the baby.
Safe driving to those in the storm areas. I have heard from a couple people that it is pretty nasty down there.
See you all in a week or so!
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Busy Busy Busy!
Most weeks Erin and I sit around and say, "Did anything happen this week that we can write about?" Well, this week there has been quite a bit to write about.
There were 9 volleyball teams in town this week for the regional tournament. Because there were so many teams some of them had to be housed in classrooms. Because I have a such a large classroom the Barrow team slept in my room. They kept the room clean and their stuff didn't disrupt my classes. But the fact that games were going on all day on Thursday and Friday meant that the kids were whining, "We want to go to the volleyball games, we want to go to the volleyball games." Sadly Nome came in 4th and are not going to State :(
On Thursday our refrigerator, which was supposed to be new last year, started over heating. Little did we know this was the beginning of a very loooooong weekend. The Assistant Superintendent put in a work request and personally told the maintenance guys to give us a clean, working refrigerator. On Friday afternoon we came home to a covered in MOLD! It was disgusting. Needless to say the Assistant Superintendent was piiiiiissed. He did however go above and beyond by spending about 2 hours helping me clean the fridge. I spent another hour taking off the doors to the refrigerator and the freezer, and putting them back on so they opened the right way for our kitchen. The temp. of the "new" fridge keeps going up and down drastically but it seems to be leveling off. AND, the problems just keep on coming, when they turned the cold water off so they could un-attach the ice maker from the old fridge they didn't turn it back on and broke the lever to a point where we can't get it to turn on either....sigh. It's been a long weekend.
Ending on an uplifting note, we took some time today to put up our Christmas decorations. It looks very warm and cozy in our Nome apartment. It smells amazing too, Erin and I made caramels and toffee Saturday night, they're pretty damn good if I do say so myself.
11 more days and counting till we come home to see everybody! We can't wait. It's 1 degree here and the sun is only up for about 4 hours, but it's home.
There were 9 volleyball teams in town this week for the regional tournament. Because there were so many teams some of them had to be housed in classrooms. Because I have a such a large classroom the Barrow team slept in my room. They kept the room clean and their stuff didn't disrupt my classes. But the fact that games were going on all day on Thursday and Friday meant that the kids were whining, "We want to go to the volleyball games, we want to go to the volleyball games." Sadly Nome came in 4th and are not going to State :(
On Thursday our refrigerator, which was supposed to be new last year, started over heating. Little did we know this was the beginning of a very loooooong weekend. The Assistant Superintendent put in a work request and personally told the maintenance guys to give us a clean, working refrigerator. On Friday afternoon we came home to a covered in MOLD! It was disgusting. Needless to say the Assistant Superintendent was piiiiiissed. He did however go above and beyond by spending about 2 hours helping me clean the fridge. I spent another hour taking off the doors to the refrigerator and the freezer, and putting them back on so they opened the right way for our kitchen. The temp. of the "new" fridge keeps going up and down drastically but it seems to be leveling off. AND, the problems just keep on coming, when they turned the cold water off so they could un-attach the ice maker from the old fridge they didn't turn it back on and broke the lever to a point where we can't get it to turn on either....sigh. It's been a long weekend.
Ending on an uplifting note, we took some time today to put up our Christmas decorations. It looks very warm and cozy in our Nome apartment. It smells amazing too, Erin and I made caramels and toffee Saturday night, they're pretty damn good if I do say so myself.
11 more days and counting till we come home to see everybody! We can't wait. It's 1 degree here and the sun is only up for about 4 hours, but it's home.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Thanksgiving Week
It's very cliche-y but this by far my favorite time of the year. We have so much to be thankful for this year, it's nice to have a holiday to remind ourselves of that. Thanksgiving plans as of now are dinner at our friends Tara and Loren's house (Tara is a teacher in the Junior High and Loren is the president of the Wells Fargo). There will be a bunch of teachers there and should be a fun day. We may stop by another friends house for breakfast, but we will see how the cooking process is going. We are bringing the turkey and an assortment of gluten free goodies (which sort of seems like an oxymoron). It will be a short school week Monday -Wednesday, and then Wednesday after school, Andrew and I are chaparoning the Junior High Sadie Hawkins dance. It's bound to be a good time :)
Last night we went to a house warming party of a teacher, Erika and her boyfriend Tyler. Looking around the room at all the people there, it seemed that there would be very few places in the world that people would all be wearing their snow pants and boots, eating moose meat kabobs, playing with sled dogs, carrying babies in their jackets to keep them warm and quiet, and enjoying every minute of it. Outside there was a huge fire and people playing bean bag in the dark. The most unique part of the evening was that if you needed to use the restroom, you had two options. 1. find your favorite quiet place outside and become one with nature or 2. use the honey bucket inside which was a big 5 gallon bucket for you to squat on. There is running water in the house, but no sewer or septic tank.
Here is a short list of the things that we are thankful for this year, feel free to add your own:
Jobs in the same area that we both find challenging and enjoyable
a new baby on the way
safe and clean housing that is affordable
family
new friends that make living here worth while
old friends
our health, and the health of our families
a childhood that was 'functional' and stable
an education that allows us to experience new things
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving everyone! We hope to talk to lots of you Thanksgiving day at the various celebrations.
Last night we went to a house warming party of a teacher, Erika and her boyfriend Tyler. Looking around the room at all the people there, it seemed that there would be very few places in the world that people would all be wearing their snow pants and boots, eating moose meat kabobs, playing with sled dogs, carrying babies in their jackets to keep them warm and quiet, and enjoying every minute of it. Outside there was a huge fire and people playing bean bag in the dark. The most unique part of the evening was that if you needed to use the restroom, you had two options. 1. find your favorite quiet place outside and become one with nature or 2. use the honey bucket inside which was a big 5 gallon bucket for you to squat on. There is running water in the house, but no sewer or septic tank.
Here is a short list of the things that we are thankful for this year, feel free to add your own:
Jobs in the same area that we both find challenging and enjoyable
a new baby on the way
safe and clean housing that is affordable
family
new friends that make living here worth while
old friends
our health, and the health of our families
a childhood that was 'functional' and stable
an education that allows us to experience new things
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving everyone! We hope to talk to lots of you Thanksgiving day at the various celebrations.
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Long week
Happy weekend! It feels that the closer you get to a holiday break, the longer the days go. One more full week and then a half week until Thanksgiving.
It was a stressful week at school. There was a bad stomach flu going around so lots of students and teachers out. There is an extreme subsitute shortage so other teachers have to fill in whenever possible. In addition, one teacher's wife had a baby, and another had to leave for a family emergency.
In the junior high we had 3 students arrested for distribution of marijuana which is really sad at such a young age.
Saturday we hung out with James and Amy. We went to a different resturant which I dubbed the Ding Dong of the extreme north. Very small town diner that had great food.
Andrew took his kids on a field trip on Thursday to a financial fitness seminar. He and the students said it was good information, but the lunch was the best part of the day. It was too much information in one day for them. There are so few options for field trips for kids up here that you have to jump at the opprortunity when possible.
Good news for our friends Caleb and Sarah. They have been moved out of the dorms that the school owns, and into the apartment building! No more shared bathroom and kitchen for them. They are both excited to have their own place and we are excited to have them as neighbors.
It's our week to cook dinner, and then our Sunday night assigned time to do laundry.
Hope everyone has an excellent week and is gearing up for Thanksgiving!
Erin
19 degrees
It was a stressful week at school. There was a bad stomach flu going around so lots of students and teachers out. There is an extreme subsitute shortage so other teachers have to fill in whenever possible. In addition, one teacher's wife had a baby, and another had to leave for a family emergency.
In the junior high we had 3 students arrested for distribution of marijuana which is really sad at such a young age.
Saturday we hung out with James and Amy. We went to a different resturant which I dubbed the Ding Dong of the extreme north. Very small town diner that had great food.
Andrew took his kids on a field trip on Thursday to a financial fitness seminar. He and the students said it was good information, but the lunch was the best part of the day. It was too much information in one day for them. There are so few options for field trips for kids up here that you have to jump at the opprortunity when possible.
Good news for our friends Caleb and Sarah. They have been moved out of the dorms that the school owns, and into the apartment building! No more shared bathroom and kitchen for them. They are both excited to have their own place and we are excited to have them as neighbors.
It's our week to cook dinner, and then our Sunday night assigned time to do laundry.
Hope everyone has an excellent week and is gearing up for Thanksgiving!
Erin
19 degrees
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Long Time No Post
Ok...it's been a long time since our last post and A LOT has happened in the last few weeks. To start with, we completed the Junior class carnival. It was a hell of a lot of work but we had a really good turn out. The students were able to raise about $3500 in one night! Between Erin and I we spent over 30 hours in four days setting up and tearing down all the booths.
We had our first conferences of the year. They went pretty well. I had about 25 out of my 80 students represented, which I was warned would be the case. And Erin had 36 out of her 58 students represented....Erin wins! The sad thing is that this was the highest turnout the school has ever seen.
I went hunting for Ptarmaigns today. What do you mean you haven't heard of them?!? They are the Alaska state bird, and the hunting season for them is 7 months long. They turn white once the snow hits, so they were very hard to see. I did hit one with the shot gun and our friend James hit one with the 22. The hunting laws are very strange up here. It seems that everybody shoots first and then decides if the animal is in season later. It was a lot of fun and I'm looking forward to going hunting for these chicken sized birds more this year and next.
We are very, VERY, excited to come home for Christmas and have bought our tickets for the 18th of December and will be home on the 19th! The flight down will be quick but on the flight back on the 3rd of January we will have a 14 hour layover in Seattle, ouch. Our list of things to do when we're home keeps getting longer and longer, as does our list of things to stock up on. Nome is expensive.
Oh, one more thing...I almost forgot. WE'RE PREGNANT! Erin is due on June 15th, which works out great for us as teachers. We've been to the doctor and everything looks good, we got to see the heart beat and everything. We are planning to come home in July to visit. Erin has been feeling like crap for the past month and a half. She is anxiously waiting for Thanksgiving so she can have a couple of days to rest.
Sarah Palin is back in Alaska and still making headlines. It appears that maybe she will run for the Senate position if Ted Stevens (don't even ask!) gets elected and booted from the Senate. One funny thing about the Presidential election was that the polls in Alaska were still open for another 1 1/2 hours when they announced Obama had won. Poor Alaskans.
Just over a month until we get to see everyone again. Good luck to the Wayzata Trojans football and volleyball teams at the State tournament. We will talk to everyone soon!
Andrew
Temp: 15 Degrees
We had our first conferences of the year. They went pretty well. I had about 25 out of my 80 students represented, which I was warned would be the case. And Erin had 36 out of her 58 students represented....Erin wins! The sad thing is that this was the highest turnout the school has ever seen.
I went hunting for Ptarmaigns today. What do you mean you haven't heard of them?!? They are the Alaska state bird, and the hunting season for them is 7 months long. They turn white once the snow hits, so they were very hard to see. I did hit one with the shot gun and our friend James hit one with the 22. The hunting laws are very strange up here. It seems that everybody shoots first and then decides if the animal is in season later. It was a lot of fun and I'm looking forward to going hunting for these chicken sized birds more this year and next.
We are very, VERY, excited to come home for Christmas and have bought our tickets for the 18th of December and will be home on the 19th! The flight down will be quick but on the flight back on the 3rd of January we will have a 14 hour layover in Seattle, ouch. Our list of things to do when we're home keeps getting longer and longer, as does our list of things to stock up on. Nome is expensive.
Oh, one more thing...I almost forgot. WE'RE PREGNANT! Erin is due on June 15th, which works out great for us as teachers. We've been to the doctor and everything looks good, we got to see the heart beat and everything. We are planning to come home in July to visit. Erin has been feeling like crap for the past month and a half. She is anxiously waiting for Thanksgiving so she can have a couple of days to rest.
Sarah Palin is back in Alaska and still making headlines. It appears that maybe she will run for the Senate position if Ted Stevens (don't even ask!) gets elected and booted from the Senate. One funny thing about the Presidential election was that the polls in Alaska were still open for another 1 1/2 hours when they announced Obama had won. Poor Alaskans.
Just over a month until we get to see everyone again. Good luck to the Wayzata Trojans football and volleyball teams at the State tournament. We will talk to everyone soon!
Andrew
Temp: 15 Degrees
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Fall weekend
It was so fun to talk to everyone at the lake on Saturday night! It sounded like everyone was having a great time and made me feel a little homesick! Saturday we went to an Art Walk were different artists in town were having their studios open to the public. There was a group of 8 of us that went and was lots of fun. We even bought a couple of Christmas gifts. Today we were busy doing school stuff and the Junior Class carnival stuff. For whatever reason Andrew and I thought it would be a good idea to sponsor the Jr. class. Hey, it'd be a great way to get to know the kids we thought. It has been fun and nice seeing the kids in a different setting, but lots of work. It's especially hard for us to plan this carnival as we have no idea what its supposed to look like or what exactly is supposed to happen. Its the big fundraiser for the kids for prom in May. We both will be happy when next weekend is over!
The week ahead will be tutoring Monday-Wednesday afterschool. We both have our first principal observations this week as well. Any extra time will be spent doing carnival stuff.
Still no snow yet :( It's been very cold, but no white stuff yet. In my opinion, if it's going to be cold it might as well snow. It would at least cover up the dust that is everywhere.
Hope everyone had an enjoyable and relaxing MEA weekend. Talk to you soon.
Erin
Current temp 25
The week ahead will be tutoring Monday-Wednesday afterschool. We both have our first principal observations this week as well. Any extra time will be spent doing carnival stuff.
Still no snow yet :( It's been very cold, but no white stuff yet. In my opinion, if it's going to be cold it might as well snow. It would at least cover up the dust that is everywhere.
Hope everyone had an enjoyable and relaxing MEA weekend. Talk to you soon.
Erin
Current temp 25
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Souper Bowl
Another fast week. I started doing tutoring after school for Nome Eskimo Community (a Native Corporation). It's tutoring after school at the school for junior high kids that the teachers work at (and get paid extra for). It's great for the kids as it doesn't give them an excuse not to get their homework done. Andrew is actually my boss, as he's the supervisor for all of the tutors (all 4 of us). The only reason that he got it is because he is a high school teacher and they are finished earlier than the jr. high so he can tutor both high school and Jr. high. I think it will be good for us and the kids.
Tonight we had some people over for a soup cook off which was really fun. We made Chicken Enchilada Soup which came in second place, but the winner was Moose Chirizo and Sweet Potato soup. All of them were super yummy and it was nice to get together with people.
Friday and Saturday nights were spent at the wrestling meet. It's the only home meet for Nome and it was fun so see a lot of people out to support the kids. Nome didn't win the tournament, but several of our students placed individually.
Still no snow yet, which they say is pretty unusual. It keeps getting foretasted, but nothing. The mountains have snow on them so it shouldn't be too long.
We will be thinking of everyone this MEA weekend, wishing we could be with both sides of the family, one in Park Rapids, the other in Aitkin/Duluth. Sorry we won't be there for the leaf raking and hauling! Have a bowl of soup over the fire for us.
Erin
Current Temp: 16 Degrees
Friday, October 3, 2008
Posting Comments
If you tried to post a comment the past couple of days, I'm sorry I must have done something with the setting last weekend when playing around with it. Now, all you should need is a Google Account and it you should be able to post. Please let either Andrew or I know if that doesn't work!
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Open House vs. Palin-Biden Debates
Why oh why are there debates on the same night at the Open House?! While waiting for our to go order at Airport Pizza tonight, there was on the big screen TV the debates and for once, the place was silent. I only got to see the fist 20 minutes of the debates before we had to go to the Open House. Fortunatly I was able to watch it when I got home.
Open House was great. Last year the school had 11 parents total for the both jr. and sr. high come (out of about 300 students). I probably had 20 parents there tonight so a big improvement!
A big thank you to Mom, Dad and Mackenzie for the awesome package we got in the mail today. There are very few gluten free options in town and I am very thankful to have a few more options! A thank you to Charlotte and Grandpa for the mini Alaska coffee cup and to Anna for picking out the "Thank You for Freckles Amen" pillow.
I was just thinking today that we have been here for (almost) 2 months and it will be just a little over 2 months until we get to come home, or so I tell myself.
Happy Fall to everyone,
To Cassie: I hope you find your apple cider and enjoy it.
To Steve and Dar: Good luck to both of you tomorrow morning
To Lauren: Let's catch up this weekend?
To Mac Hanna: Still waiting to see pics of the braces!
To Anna: Going to the Bison game this weekend?
To Charlotte, Marty, G and G: Have a great last pontoon ride this week.
To Mom and Dad: Talk to you this weekend.
Current Temp: 32
Open House was great. Last year the school had 11 parents total for the both jr. and sr. high come (out of about 300 students). I probably had 20 parents there tonight so a big improvement!
A big thank you to Mom, Dad and Mackenzie for the awesome package we got in the mail today. There are very few gluten free options in town and I am very thankful to have a few more options! A thank you to Charlotte and Grandpa for the mini Alaska coffee cup and to Anna for picking out the "Thank You for Freckles Amen" pillow.
I was just thinking today that we have been here for (almost) 2 months and it will be just a little over 2 months until we get to come home, or so I tell myself.
Happy Fall to everyone,
To Cassie: I hope you find your apple cider and enjoy it.
To Steve and Dar: Good luck to both of you tomorrow morning
To Lauren: Let's catch up this weekend?
To Mac Hanna: Still waiting to see pics of the braces!
To Anna: Going to the Bison game this weekend?
To Charlotte, Marty, G and G: Have a great last pontoon ride this week.
To Mom and Dad: Talk to you this weekend.
Current Temp: 32
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Moose Meat
Our friends Tara and Loren, brought over about 30 pounds of moose meat for us today! Tara is a Writing teacher in the jr. high and Loren is the president of the Wells Fargo bank in town. Loren got the moose and they have spent the whole week cutting it up after work. Their freezers are full and they brought over the stuff that they can't fit any where for us, Caleb and Sarah, Maile and Doug and his wife Crystal. They still have another leg to finish butchering and will share that with us too. It's really nice cuts too, roasts, steaks, jerky strips.
As a thank you we bought them a Penzey's Grill and Broil spice kit. Hopefully they'll be able to use it with some of their steaks!
Andrew just went to school and I will hopefully get some lessons written here this afternoon. Tonight we are going to a potluck for people in our building. We're bring enchildas and rice pudding.
Sorry we won't be able to be at the lake raking for MEA, it will be sad to miss it. Mom asked if Alaskans do anything in the fall, and from what I can tell it's mostly hunting and gathering. People were out looking for blueberries and fishing, then moose season came, now it's crane season.
Happy Sunday!
Current temp 37 degrees (feels like 28)
As a thank you we bought them a Penzey's Grill and Broil spice kit. Hopefully they'll be able to use it with some of their steaks!
Andrew just went to school and I will hopefully get some lessons written here this afternoon. Tonight we are going to a potluck for people in our building. We're bring enchildas and rice pudding.
Sorry we won't be able to be at the lake raking for MEA, it will be sad to miss it. Mom asked if Alaskans do anything in the fall, and from what I can tell it's mostly hunting and gathering. People were out looking for blueberries and fishing, then moose season came, now it's crane season.
Happy Sunday!
Current temp 37 degrees (feels like 28)
Friday, September 26, 2008
Friiiiiiiiiiiday
It's Friday! Andrew and I both have our employee physicals today. Mine is in the morning, and I have been warned that it can take several hours to get through an appointment at the clinic here. However, after the crazy week that we've had, sitting in a waiting room might be better than watching 80 jr. highers run wild between classes!
Andrew and I both are really enjoying our jobs, the other teachers, the school and (most) of the students. That being said, the 7th grade class has offically become priority #1 for the entire school. The jr. high has had more kids suspended than the high school this year, and not for stupid little things. Yesterday a 7th grader was suspended for extorsion (spelling?). His probation officer said he probably won't be back. We have the "Phantom Pee-er" who is leaving his mark around the school, my student who was picking his nose in class, and loudly yelled "look at this, it's red!" during a lecture, and the girl who punched another guy in my classroom because he wouldn't give her back her hair tie.
Most of the kids are great, especially on a one-on-one basis, but it is stressing out the entire school staff.
Hope everyone is enjoying the beautiful fall weather and colors. The tundra changes colors too, and it is beautiful, even without trees. Happy Friday!
Andrew and I both are really enjoying our jobs, the other teachers, the school and (most) of the students. That being said, the 7th grade class has offically become priority #1 for the entire school. The jr. high has had more kids suspended than the high school this year, and not for stupid little things. Yesterday a 7th grader was suspended for extorsion (spelling?). His probation officer said he probably won't be back. We have the "Phantom Pee-er" who is leaving his mark around the school, my student who was picking his nose in class, and loudly yelled "look at this, it's red!" during a lecture, and the girl who punched another guy in my classroom because he wouldn't give her back her hair tie.
Most of the kids are great, especially on a one-on-one basis, but it is stressing out the entire school staff.
Hope everyone is enjoying the beautiful fall weather and colors. The tundra changes colors too, and it is beautiful, even without trees. Happy Friday!
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Anvil Mountain and other outdoor adventures
It's been about a week since our last post so we thought it was high time to add another one. A lot (there you so Steve :)) has happened this past week. I (Andrew) took a hike up to the top of the big hill behind our apartment to check out the big old satellite dishes. It was a lot further than I thought it was going to be but was unbelievably beautiful. The satellite dishes are mammothly huge, and you could see forever in just about every direction, which was why they built them there. Then on Friday, Erin and all the 7th and 8th graders took a hike up to the top of Anvil Mountain. She said it was a lot of fun but she had to stay with one of the slower students and it took them 30 minutes longer than the other groups to get to the top.
Friday night we went over to another teachers house for a get together. There were abut 14 people there by the end of the night. It was really fun, and nice to know that we have a community of friends here to hang out with. At the party I was invited to go Moose hunting on Saturday the 13th with two other teachers. It was a long but fun day. We were out on ATVs for about 12 hours trying to find a moose. We did see 3 cows but no bucks. We also saw four brown beer and about 8-10 Musk Ox. All in all it was a great weekend.
Friday night we went over to another teachers house for a get together. There were abut 14 people there by the end of the night. It was really fun, and nice to know that we have a community of friends here to hang out with. At the party I was invited to go Moose hunting on Saturday the 13th with two other teachers. It was a long but fun day. We were out on ATVs for about 12 hours trying to find a moose. We did see 3 cows but no bucks. We also saw four brown beer and about 8-10 Musk Ox. All in all it was a great weekend.
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Juvie Hall, Hall Sale, and Japanese-Italian food
Friday was a busy day at Nome Beltz Junior high. The principal of the high/junior high was gone at the Cross Country meet in Anchorage so only the AP was there. On the bus in the morning, 3 students spat on another one and called him racial slurs. We had to call the cops, and suspended the three kids. Juvie hall in town was called and went to the houses of the kids to arrest them. A sad story for kids who already have a life.
Last night we went to Milanos, the Japanese-Italian resturant in town with a bunch of teachers. It was really fun. The food was alright. Andrew said his ravioli was like a sausage patty with pasta around it. My hawaiian burger minus the bun was really good. They had huge sushi portions which alot of the other teachers enjoyed. It was a nice way to end a stressful day.
Today our next door neighbor is having a "garage" sale in the hallway of our apartment. Not sure how many people will come, but garage sales are a pretty big deal around here.
Today we are going to the grand opening of the new grocery store. There's a bbq and it's something to do!
Hope the Little Fall shoppers are having fun and that are leaving things for other shoppers to buy!
Erin
Current temp 39
Last night we went to Milanos, the Japanese-Italian resturant in town with a bunch of teachers. It was really fun. The food was alright. Andrew said his ravioli was like a sausage patty with pasta around it. My hawaiian burger minus the bun was really good. They had huge sushi portions which alot of the other teachers enjoyed. It was a nice way to end a stressful day.
Today our next door neighbor is having a "garage" sale in the hallway of our apartment. Not sure how many people will come, but garage sales are a pretty big deal around here.
Today we are going to the grand opening of the new grocery store. There's a bbq and it's something to do!
Hope the Little Fall shoppers are having fun and that are leaving things for other shoppers to buy!
Erin
Current temp 39
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Our First Box
We got our first box from Full Circle Farms. Maylie and I went to the Church of the Nazarene and you just grab it. When I opened it up at home and started putting away the food, it actually smelt like it came off the farm. We got grapes, necterines, peaches, potatoes, peppers, celery, pluots and carrots. Everything that we have tasted so far tastes wonderful.
Not much else going on up here, staff meeting today.
Erin
Current temp 51
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Nome Movie Theater
I went to go see Mamma Mia! last night with 3 other teachers. I think the Nome theather has the right idea. They are located in a Subway and you can have your food delivered to your seat during the movie. The seats are like any other theater and way nicer than the Safari!
School today was good. There are lots of kids gone this week Moose hunting. My 5th hour class has half of the kids gone this week. The families that hunt will use this meat as their main source of protein for the upcoming year.
Tomorrow we get to pick up our Full Circle Farms box. They are a competely organic farm out of Washington state that sends either a small, medium or large box of produce. It is all stuff that is in season, and when we priced it out, signifacantly cheaper than the produce we can buy here in town. We are getting a small box this week, but in two weeks we will get a big box and split it between Caleb and Sarah, Maylie and her husband John, and Andrew and I. Lots of the teachers at school get the boxes and they say it's really nice to get the produce you can't buy in Nome.
Hope everyone had a great 1st day back to school and that the heat and wind have died down! I can't imagine many things that smell worse than a classroom full of sweaty kids (especially if they just came back from gym class!)
Erin
Current Temp 58
School today was good. There are lots of kids gone this week Moose hunting. My 5th hour class has half of the kids gone this week. The families that hunt will use this meat as their main source of protein for the upcoming year.
Tomorrow we get to pick up our Full Circle Farms box. They are a competely organic farm out of Washington state that sends either a small, medium or large box of produce. It is all stuff that is in season, and when we priced it out, signifacantly cheaper than the produce we can buy here in town. We are getting a small box this week, but in two weeks we will get a big box and split it between Caleb and Sarah, Maylie and her husband John, and Andrew and I. Lots of the teachers at school get the boxes and they say it's really nice to get the produce you can't buy in Nome.
Hope everyone had a great 1st day back to school and that the heat and wind have died down! I can't imagine many things that smell worse than a classroom full of sweaty kids (especially if they just came back from gym class!)
Erin
Current Temp 58
Monday, September 1, 2008
Sarah Palin
I forgot to mention this in the first post.
Alot of Alaskans seem to be excited that they are getting some attention on the national level. She is extraordinarily popular here (80% approval rating), but people are concerned that she doesn't have alot of experience. They are also concerned if she does get elected, then the Lt. Gov. moves up and he is disliked by alot of people.
The interestng thing is that she is currently under investigation by the state of Alaska for illegally firing her ex brother in law, a state trooper, over custody arrangments.
It will be cool to have such a close connection to the election. I changed my lesson plans for Friday and all we really did was talk about McCain and Palin vs. Obama and Biden.
A funny closing note from Fox News "Sarah Palin has lots of foreign policy experience, Alaska is really close to Russia."
Alot of Alaskans seem to be excited that they are getting some attention on the national level. She is extraordinarily popular here (80% approval rating), but people are concerned that she doesn't have alot of experience. They are also concerned if she does get elected, then the Lt. Gov. moves up and he is disliked by alot of people.
The interestng thing is that she is currently under investigation by the state of Alaska for illegally firing her ex brother in law, a state trooper, over custody arrangments.
It will be cool to have such a close connection to the election. I changed my lesson plans for Friday and all we really did was talk about McCain and Palin vs. Obama and Biden.
A funny closing note from Fox News "Sarah Palin has lots of foreign policy experience, Alaska is really close to Russia."
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Pilgrim Hot Springs
We took an adventure on Saturday. We went on a road trip north to Pilgrim's Hot Springs with Caleb and his wife Sarah. It was about 60 miles away, but the last mlie or so was dotted with deep puddles that our truck couldn't get through (it would have been nice if the guy mentioned that to him when we called in the morning to ask if they were open). So we walked in the last mile.
The area looked like something out of a horror movie. We were joking that it would make the perfect setting, and that we kept getting "signs to turn around" but we were the stupid people in the movie who don't listen to the signs. Once we final found the hot springs, it was a hug bath tub that was dodgey at best. The tub was covered in algae and had boards falling down with rusted nails coming out of them. It was beautiful though with the mountatins in the background.
Today we went to the grocery store and had dinner at Malies. The real excitement of the day was when we tried to leave to go to the grocery store, we found out we had a flat tire. It took a long time to change it because the part needed to get the spare tire out from under the car was missing from the jack kit. Andrew and Caleb had to use some creativity to get a butter knife, pliers and wrench in there to get it out. We'll try to get it patched tomorrow or Tuesday. We'll spend tomorrow at school.
I saw the pictures from the lake and it looks like another great State Fair Night. The food sounded wonderful!
Andrew and I signed up to be the Junior Class sponsor this year. It is a 2 person job, and will give us some money to travel with this summer. We are in charge of planning the Halloween Carnival and the Prom. If nothing else, it will help us meet some people in the community.
No bathtub race for us tomorrow, we weren't able to get a bathtub that had wheels on it. I don't think either of us were dissapointed not to be pushing a bathtub up Front Street!
Happy Labor Day! Erin
Current Temp: 54
The area looked like something out of a horror movie. We were joking that it would make the perfect setting, and that we kept getting "signs to turn around" but we were the stupid people in the movie who don't listen to the signs. Once we final found the hot springs, it was a hug bath tub that was dodgey at best. The tub was covered in algae and had boards falling down with rusted nails coming out of them. It was beautiful though with the mountatins in the background.
Today we went to the grocery store and had dinner at Malies. The real excitement of the day was when we tried to leave to go to the grocery store, we found out we had a flat tire. It took a long time to change it because the part needed to get the spare tire out from under the car was missing from the jack kit. Andrew and Caleb had to use some creativity to get a butter knife, pliers and wrench in there to get it out. We'll try to get it patched tomorrow or Tuesday. We'll spend tomorrow at school.
I saw the pictures from the lake and it looks like another great State Fair Night. The food sounded wonderful!
Andrew and I signed up to be the Junior Class sponsor this year. It is a 2 person job, and will give us some money to travel with this summer. We are in charge of planning the Halloween Carnival and the Prom. If nothing else, it will help us meet some people in the community.
No bathtub race for us tomorrow, we weren't able to get a bathtub that had wheels on it. I don't think either of us were dissapointed not to be pushing a bathtub up Front Street!
Happy Labor Day! Erin
Current Temp: 54
Thursday, August 28, 2008
BBQ at Sullivans
We had a really fun BBQ tonight for all teachers/staff at our principal/wood shop teachers house. It was pot luck with really yummy food. Only down fall was that it was freezing. There were reports of snow today.
There was some drama in the Jr. high today. Three 7th graders went over to an 8th grader's house last night to beat up the 8th grader. The dad kicked the boys out, but they said that they would get him today. All teachers were on "fight watch" Luckily nothing happened, but there is always tomorrow!
Our friend Caleb's wife comes tomorrow, and hopefully we'll go camping this weekend.
Here are some pictures from the BBQ.
Erin
Current temp 44
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
First Days
We have finished our first two days of school...alive! It's 9:00 here and we are exhausted. Both days went great, the first week is a little chaotic because students are changing in and out of their classes. On top of that 20 some students showed up to school without being registered. We have to remind ourselves that many of our student's home lives are not what we are used to seeing.
We did our civic duty today and voted in the local primary. It was fun to see lines forming outside the church. We saw quite a few teachers there which is good to see. Erin, the social studies teacher, was giddy with civic pride!
We are going to a first week BBQ at our principals house tomorrow and are looking forward to seeing our coworkers outside of school.
Andrew
Current Temp 44
We did our civic duty today and voted in the local primary. It was fun to see lines forming outside the church. We saw quite a few teachers there which is good to see. Erin, the social studies teacher, was giddy with civic pride!
We are going to a first week BBQ at our principals house tomorrow and are looking forward to seeing our coworkers outside of school.
Andrew
Current Temp 44
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Salmon
I apologize for not writing more this week. We had inservice all week long, and by the time we got home, we were both exhausted.
We had a great week at inservice meeting and getting to know the rest of the staff in the school. Tuesday we went to a BBQ at a teacher from the charter schools house for the Nome Education Association. We got to meet some of the staff from the elementary school, and get to see the Berring Sea from his beautiful house.
Wednesday we went to a Rotary meeting. We were invited by our new superintendent, who informed us that oh by the way, you are also the speakers. It was nice, and very informal. Once people found out we were from Minnesota, they wanted to know if we were Vikings fans.
Friday afternoon, there was a Cross Country meet at the high school, with about four other teams there. The schools don't have alot of sports (2 per season) but they take the kids every where to compete. On Saturday the team was flying to Kotzubue to run in another race, and they fly somewhere else every other weekend in September.
We were given some wonderful food gifts this week. Caleb, another new teacher, has taken up salmon fishing and brought over 2 gigantic filets for us the other night. Krista Marvin, another teacher in the jr. high, brought over to my classroom on Friday a jar of pickled salmon, blueberry syrup (that she picked and made), and fire weed jelly (again which she picked and made). They are wonderful treats!
Monday school starts. We both went into school yesterday for a few hours and will probably go in again today after laundry.
Hope everyone is enjoying the last couple weeks of summer, and that Blake you have an excellent 6th birthday!
Erin
Current Temp. 50
We had a great week at inservice meeting and getting to know the rest of the staff in the school. Tuesday we went to a BBQ at a teacher from the charter schools house for the Nome Education Association. We got to meet some of the staff from the elementary school, and get to see the Berring Sea from his beautiful house.
Wednesday we went to a Rotary meeting. We were invited by our new superintendent, who informed us that oh by the way, you are also the speakers. It was nice, and very informal. Once people found out we were from Minnesota, they wanted to know if we were Vikings fans.
Friday afternoon, there was a Cross Country meet at the high school, with about four other teams there. The schools don't have alot of sports (2 per season) but they take the kids every where to compete. On Saturday the team was flying to Kotzubue to run in another race, and they fly somewhere else every other weekend in September.
We were given some wonderful food gifts this week. Caleb, another new teacher, has taken up salmon fishing and brought over 2 gigantic filets for us the other night. Krista Marvin, another teacher in the jr. high, brought over to my classroom on Friday a jar of pickled salmon, blueberry syrup (that she picked and made), and fire weed jelly (again which she picked and made). They are wonderful treats!
Monday school starts. We both went into school yesterday for a few hours and will probably go in again today after laundry.
Hope everyone is enjoying the last couple weeks of summer, and that Blake you have an excellent 6th birthday!
Erin
Current Temp. 50
Monday, August 18, 2008
Polar Bear Swim
We had our first day of "real" inservice today. All the employees from the Elemetnary and High school were at the high school today for inservice. It was alot of listening and sitting, but we learned alot.
At 6, all (most) of the new employees and some administration went for a dive into the Berring Sea. It wasn't as cold as I thought it would be, but it certainly wasn't warm, and not something I'd like to do very often!
Some people have been asking questions that we keep forgetting to answer:
1. The reindeer are owned by people and are supposed to keep them penned up, but usually don't.
2. Nome is very similar to Northern Exposure, except a little bit bigger.
3. Blake and Brady- we haven't seen Santa yet, however, we have heard that you can usually see him once the snow comes.
I think that's it. I should be getting pictures from Dan Sullivan who took pictures earlier this week. More later. Erin
Current temp: 59
At 6, all (most) of the new employees and some administration went for a dive into the Berring Sea. It wasn't as cold as I thought it would be, but it certainly wasn't warm, and not something I'd like to do very often!
Some people have been asking questions that we keep forgetting to answer:
1. The reindeer are owned by people and are supposed to keep them penned up, but usually don't.
2. Nome is very similar to Northern Exposure, except a little bit bigger.
3. Blake and Brady- we haven't seen Santa yet, however, we have heard that you can usually see him once the snow comes.
I think that's it. I should be getting pictures from Dan Sullivan who took pictures earlier this week. More later. Erin
Current temp: 59
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Airport Pizza
Today was a fun and relatively relaxing day. We made our rounds to the three grocery stores in town to find the best deals we could. This week we took two other new teachers who don't yet have a car. We are excited to have made friends and made plans to go to dinner with them to a local restaurant called Airport Pizza. Airport Pizza is only a few years old and is a very clean and modern place. What's unique about Airport pizza is that they will deliver to you even if you live in a town that is not connected to Nome by a road; they will fly your pizza out for you! I, Andrew, had the Polynesian BBQ chicken pizza which was AMAZING. It had Hawaiian BBQ sauce, Banana Peppers, two different cheeses and bacon...mmmmm bacon. For the Gluten-free crowd, Erin had the onion burger. It was a burger with fried onions and side of steak fries. Erin said the the burger was very good and would recommend it to anyone, I tried the fries and was very impressed. Overall we would give Airport Pizza our seal of approval, whoever comes to visit us will have to stop there.
Tomorrow is our first day of "official" inservice. Afterwards the teachers all go down to the Bearing Sea and jump in! We have been told that it makes the front page of the Nome Nugget (the local news paper) every year so if you want to look at the Nome Nugget online you might see us. This next week may not be the most interesting but if nothing happens we'll just make something up for all you readers.
Andrew
Current Temp. 62 and sunny
Tomorrow is our first day of "official" inservice. Afterwards the teachers all go down to the Bearing Sea and jump in! We have been told that it makes the front page of the Nome Nugget (the local news paper) every year so if you want to look at the Nome Nugget online you might see us. This next week may not be the most interesting but if nothing happens we'll just make something up for all you readers.
Andrew
Current Temp. 62 and sunny
Pictures from Teller
Dried fish in Teller
Andrew and I where we went fishing.
Mayle and I near the brook where you can drink the water out of.
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Teller
We had an interesting day today going to tell. We went with Maylie Cay (the new Jr. High Counselor), Caleb (Sr. High English), Carl White (Elementary Principal), and Rick Luthi (new Superintendent), driving about 70 miles west of Nome. We were told there wasn't much there, but when we left we would be happy we were living in Nome, which eneded up being true! It was a beautiful drive out there, with very uneven road. The man who gave our tour yesterday was giving a tour to Teller today so we were able to follow them and listen in on the information that he had when they stopped. Along the way, we saw a herd of reindeer which was cool.
Once we got to Teller, we had lunch with the teachers of the school there. The village is only about 300 people, the school about 70 students. The school is beautiful and only 4 years old. The town was very run down and poverty sturcken. The principal of the Teller school said that the road to Nome is a blessing and a burden on the town. It is nice that they are a connected villiage, but it is too easy to get alcohol into the "damp" village. The principals children are all grown and he said he would not raise his family there.
Teller is in the Bering Strait School District which we both interviewed, and were offered jobs for. The school district has gotten rid of giving out grades to students and solely focuses on standards and making "Annual Yearly Progress". They only teach to the test of what the state of Alaska tests the students on once a year. Students don't move up a grade until they pass the test for that particular grade.
The drive home was wonderful as well. We saw an even bigger herd of reindeer and stopped to fish for salmon on a river. The two other teachers and administrators that we went with were wonderful. We hope to be able to alot with them in the upcoming year.
Tomorrow we will take Maylie and Caleb to the grocery store as they don't have cars yet, and then go to dinner with them and another teacher at Airport Pizza. Hope everyone had a wonderful Saturday, and those at the lake didn't get a sunburn!
Erin
Current temp 67
Once we got to Teller, we had lunch with the teachers of the school there. The village is only about 300 people, the school about 70 students. The school is beautiful and only 4 years old. The town was very run down and poverty sturcken. The principal of the Teller school said that the road to Nome is a blessing and a burden on the town. It is nice that they are a connected villiage, but it is too easy to get alcohol into the "damp" village. The principals children are all grown and he said he would not raise his family there.
Teller is in the Bering Strait School District which we both interviewed, and were offered jobs for. The school district has gotten rid of giving out grades to students and solely focuses on standards and making "Annual Yearly Progress". They only teach to the test of what the state of Alaska tests the students on once a year. Students don't move up a grade until they pass the test for that particular grade.
The drive home was wonderful as well. We saw an even bigger herd of reindeer and stopped to fish for salmon on a river. The two other teachers and administrators that we went with were wonderful. We hope to be able to alot with them in the upcoming year.
Tomorrow we will take Maylie and Caleb to the grocery store as they don't have cars yet, and then go to dinner with them and another teacher at Airport Pizza. Hope everyone had a wonderful Saturday, and those at the lake didn't get a sunburn!
Erin
Current temp 67
Hello Central
Today was a very busy day. We had our first inservice day and as one person put it, "We got a drive by shooting of information." We met all the other new teachers and Andrew found a camping and movie watching buddy. Both of us got our school labtops and are enjoying playing with our new toys. We also got a lot of free gifts. Andrew won a door prize of a water bottle and a banner, we both got a coffee mug and a really nice embroidered vest!
After the inservice we got another box FULL of broken glasses and dishes :( We are really not looking forward to arguing with the Post Office over the insurance we baught through them.
We took a real tour with this amazing tour guide, Richard. He was extremely knowledgeable and very entertaining. He was a short, skinny, Jewish actor in New York (Can you say Woody Allen?!?) He still acts in Nome and said that he puts on a few shows a year. He would always say, "Hello Central!" Does anybody know where that comes from? After the tour we went to a fellow teacher's house outside of town and had a BBQ with about 20 other teachers and spouses. They have had a record number of salmon in the Snake River this year, but now they have a record number of dead salmon which give off a kind of...fishy smell to say the least. It was a lot of fun and we really enjoyed the opportunity to meet more teachers. Tomorrow we were invited to take a road trip to Teller (70 Miles West) and are very much looking forward to seeing more of the mountains!
Andrew Current Temp. 56
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Velvet Eyes
We saw the reindeer again today. He was just standing in the truck bed, hanging out.
When we were in the school, I asked someone what the deal with the reindeer was. She said it belongs to the plumber in town, and he rescued it when it's mothers died. The reindeers name is Velvet Eyes and he likes to go to the bar with his owner and eat broccoli. Now we will have to go to the bar to find this reindeer and take pictures of him eating broccoli.
Yesterday, we took our drivers tests and both passed. The test was more difficult than I thought it would be. A new grocery store opened in town and it carries alot of gluten free items which will be very nice. It is also significantly cleaner than the other grocery stores in town.
We went to school today and worked in our classrooms some more. There were quite a few teachers there today, so we were able to meet some people which was good.
Current temp: 58
When we were in the school, I asked someone what the deal with the reindeer was. She said it belongs to the plumber in town, and he rescued it when it's mothers died. The reindeers name is Velvet Eyes and he likes to go to the bar with his owner and eat broccoli. Now we will have to go to the bar to find this reindeer and take pictures of him eating broccoli.
Yesterday, we took our drivers tests and both passed. The test was more difficult than I thought it would be. A new grocery store opened in town and it carries alot of gluten free items which will be very nice. It is also significantly cleaner than the other grocery stores in town.
We went to school today and worked in our classrooms some more. There were quite a few teachers there today, so we were able to meet some people which was good.
Current temp: 58
Monday, August 11, 2008
Reindeer and a Car
As we walked home from school this afternoon, we were quite surprised to see a reindeer in the back of someones truck. In fact I believe my exact words were "oh shit, that's a reindeer" The school is building a vo-tech building right next to the school. One of the construction workers had a reindeer tethered to the bed of his truck. It was just standing there, eating. It was very odd.
We bought a car (truck)! A kid here in town is going to the U of A Fairbanks in a few weeks and isn't bringing his truck with him. It will be wonderful not to have to borrow the schools van anymore. Andrew put 5 gallons of gas in it, and it cost $30. Ouch. Good news is that you can't drive too far.
I am having problems adding pictures and will try again later.
Current temp: 52
Saturday, August 9, 2008
One Shoe :(
We had a nice relaxing day today. On a sad note we had our first broken items today in box #17. Two of our platters broke and in a broken box Erin lost a shoe, just one. Luckily we have insurance and should be able to get reimbursed. We now have some furniture so we don't have to sit on boxes anymore, Yea! The T.V. came in the mail just in time for the Olympics' opening ceremonies, and we have enjoyed watching the games. Erin and I took a self tour of the school on the 8th and found our classrooms (Erin's classroom is newer and nicer than mine and she has fun reminding me of that). The school is in great shape and we are getting more and more excited.
We got this email from our principal yesterday and thought it says alot about the community:
Greetings. I am looking to purchase a dried walrus stomach for an Inupiat drum.
Thank you.
Karlin
More later. Current temp: 55
We got this email from our principal yesterday and thought it says alot about the community:
Greetings. I am looking to purchase a dried walrus stomach for an Inupiat drum.
Thank you.
Karlin
More later. Current temp: 55
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Blue Skies!
Day two and we're moving right along. We got our land line set up and think we will be getting rid of our cell phones because we get no reception in our apartment. The new number is 907-387-0440. It was a nice day today with very little cloud cover so we took the opportunity to walk into town and saw some fun sights along the way. We saw a dog sled team sunning them selves on top of their houses, and we were able to see the "hills" in our back yard (it's hard for this Fargonian not to say mountains). The weird Stonehenge things on top of the hill are satellite dishes from back in the Cold War, if the Ruskies sent a missile it would be our responsibility to warn the rest of the country.
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
First Day
We had a busy day running around town. We got our cable, internet and landline set up. We get very limited cell phone reception out where we are, so we will use a land line as well. That number will be coming soon. The guy that helped us set up the services grew up in Sebeka, MN which I thought was kind of funny. We got a library "card" (account), as well as a video rental account.
We knew groceries were going to be expesive, especially the first couple of trips to have the staples in the apartment, but I had no idea it would be that expensive. A gallon of milk was $7.49. Toliet paper was $30. It will defently take some adjustments/budgeting!
The good news is that everyone has been super nice. Everyone has welcomed us and told us about the town. The school let us take the car for free today because no one else has used it all summer, which we really appreciated as we had lots of groceries! Our principal, Janeen, who picked us up at the airport last night, made us Banana Bread so we wouldn't be hungry this morning. Andrew said it was wonderful (a side note, my Celiac test came back positive)
Our apartment is wonderful. It's 3 bedrooms, 1 bathroom. The kitchen has all new appliances, including a microwave. There is a large pantry with an extra freezer. The building is very quiet considering how many kids live here.
Current temp: 46
More later.
We knew groceries were going to be expesive, especially the first couple of trips to have the staples in the apartment, but I had no idea it would be that expensive. A gallon of milk was $7.49. Toliet paper was $30. It will defently take some adjustments/budgeting!
The good news is that everyone has been super nice. Everyone has welcomed us and told us about the town. The school let us take the car for free today because no one else has used it all summer, which we really appreciated as we had lots of groceries! Our principal, Janeen, who picked us up at the airport last night, made us Banana Bread so we wouldn't be hungry this morning. Andrew said it was wonderful (a side note, my Celiac test came back positive)
Our apartment is wonderful. It's 3 bedrooms, 1 bathroom. The kitchen has all new appliances, including a microwave. There is a large pantry with an extra freezer. The building is very quiet considering how many kids live here.
Current temp: 46
More later.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Anchorage
We made it to Anchorage and so did our luggage which was a good thing as our bed we will sleep on for the next couple of nights was packed in one of the bags. The flight was beautiful and the Captain of the plane said it is never as clear as it was today.
When we we tried to check in and check our luggage to go to Nome, we found out you can only check in 4 hours prior to the departure time. So we had to hang out with our luggage for 2 hours.
Monday, August 4, 2008
Boxes and T-Minus 16 Hours
We sent our final two boxes today in Hamel. The final count was 41 boxes and just under $1500 to send them all. Not bad considering we were quoted at $15,000! We leave Tuesday morning at 8 am. Wish us luck!
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Our Apartment
We were finally able to secure an apartment in Nome. There is not a lot of housing avaliable up there and we were very thankful when the school said they had an opening in their building. It is a 3 Bedroom/1 Bath which means we have lots of room for people to come and visit us! We are 95% sure this is where we will be living starting in August.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
First Posting
This is our blog about our adventure to Nome, Alaska. For those who don't know, Andrew and I have both accepted teaching postitions at Nome-Beltz Junior/High School for the 2008-2009 school year. Andrew will be teaching 9-12 Math and I will be teaching 7-12 Social Studies. We look forward to sharing our adventure with everyone!
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