Whoa! February is over

Months fly by - it's very impressive.  Next week is the end of third quarter.  The sun began it's rise at 9:07 this morning in the middle of second hour.  It always catches me off guard.  I need to stop and watch it.  I just like the sun so much.

It's been a strange year.  Weather - bizarre.  It rained snow last week.  Then it dropped thirty degrees during the day.  We've had two snow days - of those one was needed, the other changed it's mind and was kind of a free day.  Of course those days will need to be made up so good bye vacation days in March.  Mehh.  It's not like I had plans.

I actually don't have plans of leaving the village until May.  This could mark the longest stretch of time I have been in one place ever in my entire life.  I mean I rarely travel more than a mile from my house.  Maybe to the post office.  Maybe on a jog.  But definitely not much more than that.  Just try and imagine that for a second - not leaving a circle one mile in diameter for four months.  It's weird.

But come May I will be leaving.  Will I be returning?  That is a question I am toying with.  I like it here.  I like my students and the school and my coworkers are so great.  But I am so far away from everything else.  What to do?  Any input would be appreciated.

Oh yeah.  And my hair is getting long.

 

News

Here is an article about Newtok that appeared in the November/December Orion Magazine.  It's a pretty interesting article discussing the impact that climate change is having on the arctic region with a focus on indigenous villages.

Newtok is out neighbor to the north and many of our students have direct relations there.  The article talks about the power of family in Yupik culture and this is so true - my students spent twenty minutes looking at the pictures in the article discussing the connections they have to the people (from parents to cousins to friends).  I recommend reading the article.

Click the pic.