B-Day!

Sooooo this year my B-day was vastly different than last year - And I LOVED it :)

On Friday, I went fishing for the first time. It was NOTHING like fishing in the Mystic!! HAHA I caught nothing though, but the people I was with caught a bunch and they shared with me :) I have to "put up fish" for the winter my friend Jeff says. "Putting up fish" consists of catching and "clubbing" (knocking it with a rock or piece of wood until it is dead) then cutting out the guts and stuff...Can you see me doing ANY of this...hahaha. I think I might starve this winter! No - I will be FINE. Everyone here is sooo nice and helpful I am sure someone will help me "club" a fish if I ever actually catch one!

This is Carla the English teacher. Her and I shared a pole b/c of course I don't own one!

This is the view up river on our way to go fishing.


This is the view down river on our way home from fishing. Isn't the Sky AMAZING?






We even saw bear prints while we we're fishing!! No worries we had a gun (and someone who actually knew how to use it) with us :o




On Saturday, I did want all good teachers do - LESSON PLANS!! Grrrr - they are NOT fun, but they are actually really helpful to have a plan of where I am going and where I want to end up for the week. So far I am really liking teaching though! My only gripe is I have 6 periods a day and 6 Different classes to prep for and NO prep period! I even have two different classes in the same room sometimes (ie. Pre-Algebra and Pre-Calc) so it can be a bit trying! The kids are really great and I have NO problem with any of them, but they are NOT the homework types. I usually have only one or two kids who actually DO the homework :( Since it is still so light up here at night, they are always out. No one ever goes home so I guess that doesn't really leave in room for HOMEwork! But, I think they will get better...we'll see.

On Sunday, some of the others teachers here in New Stu and I got together and we all had diner. I made macaroni...ever the Italian :) It was really nice. The three girls I went fishing with framed my first "catch"...it was a plastic lure! But it was VERY thoughtful and is hanging on my wall :) After diner, I went out berry picking and got about a gallon of really great blueberries. I eat them in my Cream of Wheat for breakfast. Next month is Cranberry season so I am really looking forward to that.

This is where I went Berry picking...



I also got to talk to my aunt's and my mom and Debbie on Sunday so that was very nice. They were having a cookout in my honar (and John was teasing me about the good steak tips!)...my salmon is good too! hahaha

Other than that I have been Reading a ton! I just finished A Prayer for Owen Meaney by John Irving. It was AWESOME! It is about a kid from NH who thinks God has put him on earth for a special reason. It really was a great book (thanks Debbie!) - I totally recommend it!!

Some Adventures

Hello ALL,

So I have been up to quite a bit, but I am now in Dillingham for training and FINIALLY have Internet!! Puff and I are doing GREAT - we are
really having a great time!! We walk everyday and hang out at the river and read...that is the lump sum of our days (and nights so far).

Here are some pics -

Puffin in the airport- she is my little guard dog and she kept me safe :)















This is the only pic I am posting of my apartment b/c I really don't want to scare/horrify anyone, but doesn't Puff look happy!! She LOVES her blanket and since we go out so much and is the most mellow dog EVER in the house :)















This is the river where Puff and I play and read all day :)














This is my new enemy...GRRRRRRRR...This weed is EVERYWHERE - it is called Fireweed and man it kills me!















These are all in Dilingham (the center of the District).

Here is the Dump in Dillingham. We were looking for Bears, but we only found really BIG sky.














Here I am getting ready to go out on the lake...Aren't I wicked cute :)














Here are some Salmon spawning. It was really awesome they would swim like crazy and then rest for a bit then swim up stream again like CRAZY!!















This is a pic of Max and Whitney at the river where the Salmon where spawning. They are really. Actually everyone here is really great! I am really going to miss them. Whitney is my roomie and we are def getting along GREAT.















All they have up here are BIG, beautiful skies!! Here is just a small sample



























This is Tara hanging out at the dock after our adventure on the Lake all day.















That is all for now, but no worries there will be More to follow soon :)

In Alaska

So, I made it to Alaska!! I got to Anchorage at about 1 am, but Puffin and I were very tired so we too a nap. Now it is just about 4:30 and the sun is rising!! The trip up here was not too bad, a bit long but not bad really. Puffin slept most of the way and has barked only a few times in the airport. Some man walked near us while we were napping and Puff kinda flipped out a bit, but only a little bit...my little watch dog. I guess taking her to the beach really on Wednesday before our day of adventure really did the trick because she has been sleeping like a lamb :)

Sorry no pictures yet (so far the airports all look pretty much the same), but I hope I will post some soon.

A Few More Days...

So, I have only a few more days until my adventure to the Great North really begins...A few people have suggested that I write a blog while I am living/teaching/surviving in Alaska. I figure this is a good way to communicate to the people I care about, and I even get to share some pictures too!

I am really surprised that I am not at all nervous. Instead, I am really looking forward to to starting over on my terms. I have never felt so in control in my whole life, and it is an incredible feeling!!

I must admit I am a bit apprehensive about the journey there - I really hope Puffin will be ok (and by that I mean well behaved). It will take us about a day and a half to finally get there and I NOT looking forward to flying on a 5 person propeller plane, but that too will be an adventure.

So, I guess I am just really ready for this whole adventure to begin!

More to come soon and pictures too!

:)