Alaska snap-shots

I have been in Alaska almost a week and it has been a non-stop whirlwind so far. I have managed to take a few pictures in between shopping, flying, training, and overall acclimating to my new surroundings. Here are a few of my favorites so far - a mini photo-essay of my journey up until now.

This was the aftermath of our day of shopping in Anchorage. Jodi (my colleague and new friend) picked me up from the airport in Anchorage and I stayed with her at her aunt and uncle's house before we left for Unalakleet. We went from being complete strangers to being "bonded for life" after our experience shopping together at Costco and Wal-Mart. It was an experience I will never forget and I am so grateful that I had Jodi there to somewhat hold my hand through it all.

This is the Unalakleet airport on a beautiful summer morning. We were waiting for our flight out to Stebbins after our three days of new teacher training. The green plane on the right came to take our luggage, then a bigger green plane (bigger than the one on the left by a bit) came to take us to Stebbins. I was pretty nervous about the flight but we made it in one piece (and so did our bags)!

This is my view out of the plane. It was a gorgeous flight over Norton Sound. I think it took us maybe 20 minutes to fly from Unalakleet to Saint Michael, then it was about a ten minute drive from Saint Michael to Stebbins.

The view down the beach toward the bluff at Stebbins. It was a beautiful first day in the village and it was great to meet all of the other teachers I will be working with this year. I felt very warmly welcomed by not only the staff but by the village children as well. They were there to greet us when we arrived and were eager to "visit" our homes and play with us on the beach. The kids really enjoyed trying to get me to say Yupik words then laughing at me when I butchered them.

We set our net out in the sound in hopes of pulling in a big salmon catch the next day. It was an absolutely gorgeous night - the perfect end to an exciting day!

We pulled in the net this afternoon and found five silver salmon waiting for us. Usually they are caught and packaged so we can eat salmon all year, but since our catch was so small we decided it was salmon for dinner tonight!

I learned how to fillet a salmon today, and it was much easier than I thought it would be! We had the fish for dinner (as I said) and it was delicious. Does it get any fresher than this!?

My first two days in Stebbins have been fast and furious but lots of fun. None of my belongings have arrived apart from one bin of kitchen items and two bins of books. I guess they will continue to trickle in over the next few weeks. I am most anxious for my food (groceries here are killer expensive!) and for my bedding. My next task is to get my classroom set up. The school is beautiful, and my classroom is in what used to be the weight room (haha!) right off the gym. I found out I will be teaching everything but science - reading, writing, social studies and...MATH. Please pray for me on that one.

I am terrified yet terribly excited to start teaching! Everyone is so supportive and kind, I feel like I will be starting out with a pretty secure safety net. 

More to come later - stay posted! The fun is just beginning!