A couple of friends and I went on a flower walk. We collected many different kinds of tundra plants. Then we came home and pressed the flowers while having a glass of wine. It was a really good time. Some of you might remember this summer, when Sadie and I took a papermaking class. The class was fun and the paper that we made was really neat. So, we ordered a couple of papermaking kits and are waiting for them to come in the mail. 
This summer, I took the trip through the tunnel that leads to Whittier, Alaska. Kassia and I only spent one night there, but I fell in love with the quirky little town with less than 200 permanent residents. According to the locals, the population swells in the summer during fishing season.
While in town, we stayed the night at The Inn at Whittier. It was a cute little place that was comfortable and nice with plush towels and bedding. The view out of our window was amazing, as were all of the views from anywhere in town. The town is nestled into a beautiful little nook in the mountains on the edge of the ocean. According to Wikipedia...
After we finished our day cruise around Prince William Sound, we walked around the town, checked out all of the little shops, and had dinner at a quaint little family fish fry restaurant. We sat on the patio over looking the harbor and cloud covered mountains. In the peacefulness and serenity, my rolling rock seemed to taste better. And the fresh fried halibut was pretty yummy too.
I could really see myself having a boat in this harbor someday. I could live and teach on the road system north of Whittier and keep a boat in the harbor for fishing in the summer. I think this little fishing town would be an interesting place to spend the summers.
Being there just felt so peaceful. And the town was kindy quirky. And the people all seemed really great...just felt like my kind of place.
I have a deal with Avery...I will support him in all of the sports that he would like to participate in as long as he also participates in at least one academic club at some point in the school year. Our school has a decent number of choices including academic decathlon, speech meet, battle of the books, yearbook, science fair, student newspaper, student government, pep band, and robotics. I even suggested AWANA as being an option. AWANA is the church youth program. 
I know I've been slacking at blogging these days (you guys wanted me to join facebook). The first week of school was hectic and I am enjoying the down time of my first weekend. It's 3pm and I'm still wearing my PJ's. I didnt have to wake up to an alarm clock this morning...it was great. I got up at about noon. Anyway...we have a BUNCH of new teachers at our school this year. And I have a BUNCH of halibut to cook up. And Sadie bought this dance game for the Wii. So....some of us got together last night, ate, drank, and danced on the Wii.
It's funny how things that wouldnt necessarily be fun or funny in the lower 48 become the friday night entertainment here in Bethel. 
Oh yes...the dancing got a little bit intense for a little while. And a little bit competitive too.
It was great to see some friends that I havent seen all summer. It was also good to meet and get to know some of the new teachers in town, two of which are part of the science dept at my school and I'll be working closely with.
All in all we had a really fun friday night...Bethel style...just the way I like it.
 | Public Information Statement | |
| Statement as of 4:00 am AKDT on August 12, 2010 ... Cold and wet pattern continues for southcentral Alaska... The overall weather pattern for much of Alaska this Summer has been cool and wet. Alaska as well as portions of the western conus have been reporting below average temperatures for much of the Summer while upstream in eastern Siberia and downstream in the central and eastern US have been experiencing warmer than average temperatures. The abnormal weather is a result of a long wave pattern that has remained stagnant since early June. A large upper level trough has been positioned in the central and eastern Bering Sea. Areas of low pressure develop at the base of the trough... tap into the subtropical moisture... and move northeast toward the Gulf of Alaska. The result is increased cloud coverage and periods of rain. Similar patterns have occurred recently during the Summers of 2006 and 2008. Both Summers saw higher than average precipitation and temperatures below climatological norms. Here is how the Summer of 2010 is shaping up... June 1 through August 11 average high temperature ------------------------------------------------ 1. 1971 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 60.2 degrees 2. 2008 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 60.6 3. 1987 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 61.0 4. 1917 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 61.1 5. 1973 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 61.3 6. 1982 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 61.5 7. 1980 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 61.7 8. 1970 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 61.8 9. 1939 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 61.9 10. 2010 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 62.0 (normal high temperature during this period is 64.3 degrees) July 1 through August 11 average high temperature ---------------------------------------------- 1. 1971 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 61.6 degrees 2. 2008 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 61.8 3. 2010 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 62.5 1959 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 62.5 5. 1970 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 62.6 (normal high temperature during this period is 65.5 degrees) Precipitation June 1 through August 11 ---------------------------------------------- 1. 1958 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 7.89 inches 2. 1981 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 7.24 3. 1980 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 6.28 4. 1989 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 6.18 5. 1979 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 6.15 6. 2010 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 5.98 (average precipitation during this period is 3.54 inches) Consecutive days with a trace or more of precipitation ------------------------------------------------------ 1. 1951 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 27 consecutive days 2. 2010 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 25 (as of Aug 11) 1946 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 25 4. 2008 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 24 1989 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 24 1950 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 24 7. 2008 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 23 8. 1947 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 22 Outlook... this pattern is expected to continue through this week... and possibly beyond. There is an indication that a ridge of high pressure will build from the northeastern Pacific late this week which will likely bring an end to our consecutive days with a trace or more of precipitation. Any break will be short lived as the large trough settles back over the eastern Bering Sea allowing the moisture to return to southcentral early next week. | ||
On the last night of class, we had an art show. We displayed all of our visual art. We wore our new kuspaqs. We sang. We danced. We read poems. We played drums. It was awesome. 
Above are our self portraits. Mine's not in this pic. I forgot to take a pic of the wall where mine was hanging. Below is my self portrait painted on silk. It doesnt look anything like me, but it was a super fun project.
This is us doing our Yup'ik song and dance. 
Below is the K-3 group doing a dance about liquids, solids, and gasses. Our theme was integrating art and culture into science.
Next is the 4-7 group doing a WED dance. WED stands for weathering, erosion, and deposition.
Here we are singing an African song.
And here is my group doing a dance about the 4 macromolecules of life...lipids, carbs, proteins, and nucleic acids.
This was our ending...the double helix.
Here is another song we learned. During this song, I was drumming.
Here is our whole group, including our teacher leaders and Tlingit guest speakers.
This was a community art project that we completed as a group. All of the teachers worked on this silk painting that will be displayed somewhere in Juneau. It turned out awesome!!! I totally want to do silk painting with my students.
These are the teachers that I shared a dorm with over the two week course. Erin was my roommate and the other two, Pam and Mary, were in the other room in the suite.
These were the teachers from our school district, LKSD. We have the largest group because LKSD is the partner in the grant the funds the art institute.
These were our teacher leaders. They are represented in the silk painting on the totem pole. We came up with Alaskan animals to symbolize them on the totem. The base of the totem was the lady who organized and kept track of the whole institute. Next up was the lady who taught about brain research and music. Next up was the guy who taught us about movement. Next up was the lady who taught us visual art. And on the top is the lady who taught us about native culture.
The institute was amazing and I learned soooooo much. I cant wait to go back and do some of what I learned in my classroom with my students. First day of school is about 10 days. My first day back to work is on Monday. Can't believe summer is over already. It went by soooo fast.
We had to sew a qaspeq for our culture class. A qaspeq is a traditional shirt that the Yup'ik women wear. There are men's qaspeqs as well, but they generally only wear them when they dance. 
I had a hard time with the sewing. I've never used a sewing machine before so this was a new experience for me and I struggled with it in the beginning. After I got the hang of it, it was fine, but even then I didnt enjoy it.
Sewing is definitely not a hobby that I plan on taking up soon. I made my kaspeq blue and yellow for our school colors (blue and gold). I didnt follow the traditional pattern. Usually it would only have one fabric, but I used two.
I have a new kaspeq to wear and it turned out really nice. I have to wear it tonight for our cultural performance. We will be singing, drumming, dancing, and displaying all of the artwork that we've completed this weekend. Fun!
As a part of the Art Institute, a local art studio set up a marimba workshop for us. So, we spent 2 hours on Saturday learning how to play these African instruments. We learned a song from Zimbabwe. It's kind of like a xylophone, but with wooden bars. Above-I'm playing the big bass marimba. Below-learning how to play the lead.
Learning, learning, learning...doing art, art art. I've learned so much about the arts over the last week. And I've had a TON of fun doing it. Can't wait to get back to school and start sharing all I've learned with my students. 
I wanted something more challenging, so she taught me the lead. It was more challenging, but I got it eventually. I sure would love to have these instruments to teach with in school. It's about $10,000 for a complete set.
Take some time to goof off too!!! Here's the song we learned....enjoy!
All of the trash here in Juneau (and in many parts of Alaska, but not Bethel), is locked up securely to prevent the bears from coming into the populated areas. It is an effort to keep the people and bears separately. The trash cans above are found all around the city. There is a little lever under the handle that you lift to open the trash can. There is also a chain that prevents the lid from opening much farther than about 6 inches.
Here in the dorms, I spent awhile trying to figure out where to take my trash. Then I finally figured out that these little shed looking building actually had dumpsters in them. They are locked up like a fort with multiple levers, latches, and locks to keep the bear out.
Speaking of bears...I have found myself having conversations with nonexistant bears these last few weeks. There are bears that live in the area and the trail from the dorms to the campus runs right through the woods. So, the few times that I've found myself walking down the trail alone, without someone to talk to, I've just talked to the bears instead. It is safe practice to make noise while you are walking through bear country so that they know you're there and will run away.
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