Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Very cool article about our tribe...check it out!
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Sunday, December 4, 2011
November Happenings. . .
Well, after a very touching email from a past classmate – Annette Rost. I’m encouraged to blog again and share what’s been happening this past month of November.
The week before Thanksgiving I took a trip to Anchorage for the Alaska State Counseling Conference. It was a great experience. We are very fortunate to work in a district that values professional development and encourages us to travel and participate in opportunities such as this one. I attended all 4 days and learned a lot about ways to use google docs, behavior interventions, Alaska Ethics, college & career planning, and body language. What I enjoyed most though, was making connections with other school counselors.
I remember in my internship Linda, my elementary school supervisor, told me that this can be a very lonely job. You don’t realize that during internship when you have supervisors, advisors and weekly group supervision with classmates. You are constantly reflecting and sharing with other counselors – or soon to be counselors. Well, now I am the only counselor in my district – and the closest school counselor is an hour and a half ferry ride away – I get it now. It was comforting to meet a couple of the school counselors from Ketchikan (our closest neighbors). It was also nice to get some perspective of how counseling works in Alaska. Although at times it seems we are in a remote area, we are definitely not the most remote.
I can’t imagine working in the bush of Alaska, where you might have 13 different schools that you spend two weeks at a time at, flying to each and every one. . . and sleeping on the floor of the school you are visiting. Not to mention working in an area where there is no police station or social service agency. That is reality for some Alaska School Counselors. Thankfully, that is not my situation here. While we live in a small village of 1,200 or so people, we have most everything that we need.
The conference was really enjoyable. It was also nice to be in “The Big City.” I stayed at the Marriott, which was just a couple blocks from the mall. It was also close to coffee shops and best of all. . . Allure – the day spa. I treated myself to an 80 minutes massage, which was heavenly. I have decided that this is a MUST whenever visiting Anchorage again.
I also got to visit with some of Jason’s family who lives in Anchorage and my friend Alisa who is currently living there. Alisa introduced me to Mooses Tooth Pizza – delicious. And The Bear Tooth Theater, which is a lot like the Kennedy School. Jason’s Aunt Chris took me to Target and Costco so that I could stock up on Luna Bars, Starbucks Coffee, & Dave’s Killer Bread – you know, the important stuff. As peaceful as our life is in Metlakatla – I definitely appreciated being in the busy city for a week. Despite my efforts though, I still haven’t seen a real moose – but I’m sure another trip to Anchorage will be in my future soon enough.
When I returned we had a short week due to Thanksgiving (and my birthday, of course). We planned on spending Thanksgiving with our friends Rachel & Joe. Rachel’s Dad came from Indiana and so she was hosting the holiday at their place. It turned out pretty unforgettable for Rachel as her and her Dad spent a few days in Juneau and had a difficult time traveling back to the island. Weather was pretty stormy all week and their float plane was cancelled the day before Turkey Day. It would have not been too big of a problem, except that then the ferry broke down (this almost NEVER happens) on Thanksgiving and they were not able to get back until about 5pm – and only because a local lady offered them a ride back in her family’s boat! Ah, the joys of traveling in SE Alaska! They were VERY glad to be home and I have never seen a Thanksgiving dinner put together so quickly!
Jason and I also made our own turkey, as a backup because none of us had ever cooked a turkey before and because leftovers are AWESOME. It turned out delicious if I do say so myself.
We also enjoyed a nice beautiful WHITE Thanksgiving because it snowed! We had about 6 inches of snow on Thanksgiving, which was fun. It melted within the next few days, but it was definitely a nice treat while it was here.
After Thanksgiving we took Rachel’s Dad to go explore the island and checked out the fish hatchery (pictures to come soon). This was also my first trip to the hatchery. It’s a long drive, probably 30 minutes outside of town, but only because you are driving on a long dirt road that is full of pot holes. It was well worth it though, to see where they raise the fish and just to explore another area of our little island.
Since then we have been busy getting back into the groove of things. Jason left this week for another mapping/science workshop in Fairbanks. I’m looking forward to his pictures, because I know he was able to see the Northern Lights last night! I’m jealous.
Since Jason’s gone I’ve been keeping busy, learning how to can and make kippered salmon. We are lucky to have a dry day today and I’m sitting on the couch now watching kids 4-wheeling on the beach and our high school scuba team dive with snowy mountains in the background, right outside our living room window!
It’s hard to believe that in just 2 short weeks we will be home for Christmas Break! It seems impossible that first semester will be gone and done with. I am always surprised how fast the school year goes. Anyways, that’s what we’ve been up to! I’ll post some pictures soon, when Jason get’s home with the camera. Hope you enjoyed reading about it. . .