Sorry again for the long delay, however there are many things going on preventing me from having any free time. First, there have been many people coming in from the district office in Kotzebue to observe our school, so most of my attention has been put toward making everything look nice and neat for them.
Next, have been the countless assessments that I am required to administer to the kids before the winter break. Not to mention the fact that I need to have all their grades in the computer before I leave on Saturday, since the semester ends on Friday! It is hard to believe that it is already halfway through the year. Although my kids might at time seem to be struggling with the pace at which I am required to teach the curriculum, I can see that just me being here is having such a great impact on their lives. For instance, one student that I have comes to my house every night because he wants to “visit.” Every time he comes by, I just think of the positive influence that I must be having on him, and it makes me glad that I am here to impact these kids.
That being said, I can’t wait to get home for 10 days!!!
But, before I leave, there are many things still to take care of. Wednesday is the big school Christmas Program. My class will be doing a reading of The Polar Express and singing Jingle Bell rock for the village. Also at the program, the kids will give each other secret Santa gifts, and it will be the beginning of the Christmas Season here.
We had our staff Christmas party last night. The highlight of which was the gift exchange. It was a typical gift exchange where you have the option to “steal” the gifts of the people who pick in front of you. The hotly contested items were the two Snuggies that were up for grabs. I walked away with a nice pair of deerskin gloves, which are nice for keeping warm!
The only thing left worth discussing is how crazy the lack of daylight actually is up here. The sun is now rising afternoon, and setting around 4 o’clock, so there is no way I actually get to see sunlight, since I’m up at the school the whole time during those hours. One strange side effect to the constant darkness is the fact that I’m seemingly always hungry, and some nights I end up eating TWO dinners!!! It is really interesting though, and hopefully soon I will be able to see the Northern Lights soon!
As for my flight schedule, I leave Buckland around 5:00 AST on Saturday the 20th. From there, I fly to Kotzebue. From “Kotz” I leave at 7:30 , stop off in Nome, and then land in Anchorage at about 10:30. Next, I fly to Phoenix at 1:00 am AST. Finally, I take a flight from Phoenix to Detroit, landing at 4:01 EST at Metro Airport, a total of 20 hours of traveling, but it will be well worth it to see friends and family again!
Now, back to the busy final week of the semester, then I can worry about getting home!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment