And so begins February...

So, our internet has been out for a week in the village.  Which doesn’t seem like a big deal, until you realize how much you use it.  I’ve been utterly bored!  And the internet company was not helpful about getting it up and running again.  Luckily I noticed tonight, as I was doing my dishes, the pretty lights on my internet box (which sits in my window, next to the sink).  It’s funny how excited we all got when it came back on!  It’s ridiculously slow though.

It’s also been ridiculously cold up here.  Pretty sure it hasn’t been above zero all week.  The moisture from my breath freezes on my coat as I walk to work.  Sometimes it makes me wonder...

(I love postsecret.com)

Anyway, I’ve got a killer tax refund coming back to me.  Pretty excited.  Last year, I went to Oahu on my tax refund.  This year, I’m going some place warm and sunny.  I just want to lay in the sun in a bikini and thaw.

Other news in the bush:  Basketball season is in full force.  Last week both our girls and boys basketball teams went down to New Stuyahok (also known as just Stu) last week.  They left Wednesday after school.  Now, you have to realize, when there’s only 21 high schoolers in the whole school, and 15 of them are on the basketball teams, that really leaves your lesson plans in a lurch.  Especially when two of the five students that are left haven’t really attended school since January.  It also means that when 75% of your high school leaves for sports, so does 75% of the village (if not more).  This week is the Elks tourney in Naknek, which means they’ll all leave again on Wednesday.  AND, if that doesn’t draw enough of our students away, there’s also carnival in Stu starting on Tuesday.  For all of you crazy Colorado folk, it’s not like the flashing lights and fast rides carnival.  It’s more like a festival;  cultural events take place, sometimes dog-sled racing, and other fun stuff.  Anyway, anyone who doesn’t leave for basketball will probably go down to Stu for the week for carnival.  Just another week in...paradise?

And I’m going to leave you by dispelling a few myths that seem to be in everyone’s head:  

1. Alaska is not always dark in the winter.  Even on the shortest day of winter, I had 6 hours of daylight.  Right now, the sun is coming up sometime between 8 and 9ish (not sure when exactly because I'm teaching) and setting around 7pm or so.
2. Alaska does not always have snow.  This is unfortunate right now, and apparently rare.  Recently, it’s been bitter cold (think -20) and very windy.  Not the best conditions for snow.  But very good conditions to keep our 2 or 3 inch layer of deadly ice in tact.  Currently, the lower-48 has more snow than my village.  It’s irritating.
3. There’s a significant difference between “Alaska” and the “Lower-48.”  They might as well be two different countries.  It’s not something you truly understand until you live here though.

Ready for Winter?

Canned Goods

Lots of Frozen Meat!

It's been like Christmas around here...in September!  Unfortunately, I've been funding it all.  Oh well, it'll be well worth it in a few months.  I've been busy ordering and receiving things I'll need for the winter.  My first big purchase was food!  Kind of important for survival, I would say.  I spent a little over $1800 ordering food online through Span Alaska.  I also had my mom do a lot of shopping for me down in the lower-48, getting mostly canned goods, sugar, spices, baking products, etc.  She spent a little over $300 and then shipped it all flat-rate (I actually paid for it, she just did the work for me).  So what do I have to show for it now, two weeks after I ordered all that stuff?  Mostly full cupboards!  I'm still waiting on a few things that were back-ordered, but most of it has come in.

My New Coat!

I also ordered my big winter coat, gloves, and winter gear.  Thanks to my wonderful SHR staff this summer, I got some of it from REI using my $100 gift card!  I also did some shopping from Cabela's and through the Under Armour website.  I'm now the happy owner of a micro-down coat with coyote ruff, big thick gloves, tons of Under Armour Cold Gear (long underwear, gloves, hat), and wool socks.  My friend who also teaches in Alaska is sending me her boots because she bought new ones this year.  My dad gave me his thick bib-converalls that he didn't like for hunting, because they were "too hot."  I'm pretty excited for the snow now...well, as soon as those boots get here.

And now for the toys.  I ordered a MacBook Pro through my school district.  We get an educator's discount, as well as the offer to have it split and taken directly out of our check over the course of the rest of the year.  It's like an interest-free loan.  We can order anything off the Apple website.  I got my Mac, a new iPod touch, and a Time Capsule (it's the wireless internet device, but also a backup device.  It has 1 TB of memory, which is a ridiculous amount of memory!).  I also ordered my Wii.  The Wii was part of my weight loss self-bribery awhile ago, but after I signed my contract to move to Alaska, I post-poned buying it.  (If I lost 20 pounds, I could buy a Wii and the Wii Fit).  Now that I'm here, I bought the Wii, the WiiFit, and the Wii Active.  I'm still waiting on my WiiFit and Wii Active to come it, but I love my Wii so far!  It's so much fun!  I even got it connected to my internet!  I'm not sure if that's a good idea or not, or if it will just mean that I will not be able to save any money!  HaHa!  It'll provide some good entertainment, I'm sure!