First week in Unalakleet

What did people do before internet? What did I do? It’s a bit sad that I have become so dependant on it. I wish I was more comfortable in not having it. I don’t get internet at my house for awhile- too long in my opinion. I would like to blame the fact that I have not updated is a result of this. When I am finished working, I’m spent and ready to go home. And even more recently, I don’t have internet at the school- I have to go to district office to use it.

Let me catch you up to speed with life up here!

The day I arrived, I stopped in to say hello to Mel. I would say that she is my best friend here. I wait for her to do everything- as I call her my social coordinator. She helped me get my boxes from the post- there were about 8 boxes waiting for me, 5 large ones. Thank gosh for her truck, otherwise my travel would have been a bit more troublesome. With that, I had to find out that I was going to be living in the apartment I was assigned. It was a bit of a run around, but then I was informed that I indeed was going to be living there. I started to move in and get all my stuff organized. Boy did I have a bunch of stuff. All my belongings belong in my bedroom or the kitchen so it was pretty easy to separate. It took me about 4 days to find a place for most everything. Sadly, in my unpacking I seem to be missing my old verizon mobile and my bluetooth headset. ‘Tis a sad day for me.

Friday I went to the classroom and read paperwork on my lad. I ended up meeting the family in the late afternoon and spending some time with the nugget. It was a pretty easy learning to get to know each other. We walked in the village and hung out with his family. Later in the evening the family went for a picnic and invited me to join them. It was a nice time meeting their niche of friends and interact with them. The best part was the fresh crab that was there. I’ve never been a huge crab lover. However, this stuff was divine. Butter wasn’t even needed.

Saturday was 4th of July and I was eager to get into the festivities. The parade started at 10 in the morning, however, I didn’t even make it out of the house until 1. I went to the field where they were going to have games. I joined Melanie and her family. Mel and I participated in the chubby bunny contest (where I came in 3rd place), the saltine cracker whistle (she won 3rd place), and the tug-of-war (the men won). Because they needed another male, I joined in for the orange pass. It was uncomfortable for me as I knew I was interacting with students. Our team won of course. I did draw the line with playing pass the lifesaver as that might not be a good thing for a teacher to do. For coming in 3rd place we were given $3 cash. It was so cute. And for the team events you could pick a bag of funsized candy. There was also a .22 gauge shoot for cash prizes. Just off the beach in the ocean there were balloons at different lengths away for different cash prizes. People had a chance to sign up to shoot- having 2 shots. What kind of place has something like this? It was fun though! I sadly didn’t get a balloon, however, Mel ended up getting a balloon worth $200!

The following week was exhausting. When Friday came around Mel noticed how whipped I was. I guess I looked pretty exhausted from working/ learning about my student. It’s just a draining time- physically and a bit mentally. That night Mel invited me over. It was late when she invited me over (although at the time I didn’t realize it was 11). And to put it nicely, when I left her place I was able to call my family back in Michigan. I was “happy as a clam” (as Alicia says) to be able to talk to a few folks who were over at Jaclyn’s for Brandi’s birthday! And to say the least, Saturday was a joke slash waste. Sunday in the afternoon Mel came over at 2 to invite me on a picnic on the beach with her family. I obliged, as what else was I going to do? We made a bonfire while her kids played in the water. To sum it up, we were there for 8 hours. Went through a package of hotdogs, a bag of marshmallows, and many topics of conversation. Toward the end of the time there, there were several students swimming. There was one student who was attempting to swim out to the sand bar, but the undertow was rather strong. He was swimming for awhile and no where near land. We ended up getting nervous for him and he requested help from a friend (as you could tell he was getting tired). I ended up taking off my shirt, went to the water and took of my pants and grabbed a boogie board and went in after him. It took a bit of energy to get out to him. When I got to him I had him grab hold of the floating toy. I asked how he was feeling and he told me he was getting very short on breath and his shoulders were cramming up. I was pleased to get out there when I did as I feel any longer there could have been major problems. The water was a refreshing treat from being in the sun all day.

The second week with my student continued as usual. It still draining each day, but I have attempted to put less demands on him resulting in less tantrums, but also less productivity. It’s worth my sanity. I’m still trying new things out and figure out things and what battles I want to fight. I can really see why the family wants a teacher that is willing to stay for longer than a year. I think the village community is great place for a student with autism, however, the services that can be had and the turnover rate is high.

This weekend started out well. I was able to organize the apartment a bit more, in preparation for Sue (my old roommate to visit). The night got better when Mel came over with her Cribbage board (as she has been teaching me). She won 7 games and I won 2. It takes some learning to figure out how to play it. There is more strategy then I first thought. When I would play games with Sue, she would frequently loose. I never knew why she wanted to continue to play- now I know. I enjoy the company and the learning challenge. We were going to go back to her house to check on her kids, and ran into my vice principal and another peer teacher. We ended up hanging out with them for a little time in his “Man Hunt,” A large workshop shed that he had built. It is an amazing little addition to a home with a lot of equipment/tools that I would like to borrow on days. I’d like to pick up the hobby of making abstract art out of natural materials. We’ll see if I actually pick up on it. Mel and I finally made it over to her house where we played more cribbage, put fake nails on her little girl, and played a new board game called “pictureka.” It was a pretty fun game. We made it a late night again, but not nearly as late as the previous weekend.

This morning I cleaned up a little bit more for Sue. I succeed and was heading over to the airport to meet her. Turns out that the plane was an hour early (How anxiety ridden since it was her last day there and the plane was an hour early). Also on the plane, Sandy and Russ (Teachers from last year) were also on the flight. They were beginning their journey to Arizona and then back up to Platinum, their new home village in Alaska. I invited them over, fed them fried rice and just had a conversation. It was really great to see all them and entertain them. It was a way of reminiscing last year and some of the good times we’ve all had.

I am off to pack for Portland, Oregon. I leave on Sunday to go to Anchorage. I will be greeted with Sue and two other kids, we’ll go shopping and then going to see Harry Potter. I look forward to that and then being dropped off at the airport for my 1am flight to Portland. I’ll be there for a week! The last few days before heading back to Alaska, I hope to meet with my hometown friend Trisha who should be there.

Also wish me luck. I’ve applied for a mini grant/ scholarship to pay for my airfare and accommodations to go to a conference on assistive technology in Anchorage. I think that it would be very beneficial for me (Not to mention it’d be a flight to ANC and then I could shop, get fresh veggies, and also join the welcome wagon [greeting new teachers joining BSSD]).

I’m in good spirits brothers and sisters.