Offspring Opinions, No. 1

This week's post is from the kids, giving their perspectives on our life here, thus far. Ideally, they'll post once a month, unless they are moved to write ahead of time. Their entries are as they wrote them, and I believe their personalities are conveyed accurately through their individual contributions. :)

Avery's Perspective:

"My experience so far here in Kaltag is wonderful. The view from our kitchen window is like looking into a wonderland. Fresh snow on the ground, ice on the river, birds singing in the trees; what could be better? Well, although this place is absolutely wonderful I do miss all my friends and family back in Texas. I never really thought of myself as the friend ( or family member for that part) that would move. I was always the friend who's friends would move away. But now it's been reversed. It was on the plane flying to Oregon to fly to other places, is when I finally considered what had happened. I had just realized that I was moving away from all my friends, all my family, my young childhood home, all those memories in that neighborhood, all my firsts... from my first steps, my first birthday, my first friends, my first words. Now I was leaving all that behind to explore the unknown. To explore these places I've never been to, to make new memories in a new place, new school, new house, new environment. So far, so good."

Joshua's Perspective:

"Alright, so my experience in Kaltag has been pretty good so far except for the limited space in the house. But aside from that, it's been pretty good with a beautiful view of the Yukon river and the snow and ice. School has been pretty good and I have been getting along with the other students at school. The only things I really miss are my friends and family back in Texas. But I am also doing a lot of work at the school and chopping wood so I can earn money and get a fishing rod and I already have several lures so that is a positive. So yea this is a really beautiful place to be and I wish that all my friends and family could be here."

Emily's Perspective:

"It's a little chilly here, school is fun, and I like the view. I'm glad we did this because it will hopefully bring good memories."

Jadyn's Perspective:

"Making the choice to come here was surprisingly easy, given that I didn't really feel like I was leaving much behind. There are obviously people I miss, but with my time under my family's guidance swiftly coming to a close, taking such a big leap will hopefully make that final transition easier. The community here in Kaltag has been welcoming, and the climate is far more desirable than the insufferable heat of Texas. It's snowing as I write this, in fact, and I get to watch from our kitchen window as the stretches of ice on the Yukon River grow larger every day. My only regret is that, given the size of the village here, there is no barbershop."

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More Fun at the Hall: Even though there were Halloween festivities last weekend, there was an official Halloween party at the Hall on Halloween night. Trick-or-treating here in the village is an all out affair. There are three groups of trick-or-treaters, based on age, that go through designated parts of the village to collect candy. Most of the houses participate, and they give their group an entire bag of candy. When all groups are done, they meet back at the hall, where the candy is then collected by the adults, and redistributed evenly for each kid. There are also special bags made for the winners of the games and the costume contest.

Games played involved a relay race where each team member had to pop a balloon, sitting in a chair; Pass the Witch's broom, which is like Hot Potato but with a broomstick; and another round of Balloon Stomp, except this time, the adults were pulled in. Philip made it to the final two, before his was stomped. The video footage is located under the Videos tab.

At the end, while the kids were getting their bags filled with equitable candy, the adults were being given a host of home-baked goods piled in their laps or on plates. It was rather comical, just how much sugar we walked away with. It kept coming...tray, after tray, after tray of spiced cake, rice krispy treats, cookies and cream in a cup, pineapple upside down cake, popcorn balls, and of course, packaged candy of our own. We all had a blast.

To end, this week went fairly well, and this Friday ended better than last Friday. Already, we're beginning to see the benefits of establishing consistent routines, so hopefully, things will continue to trend in a positive direction. This week's cultural fun fact: My students informed me that if a woman steps over a man, it will bring him bad luck in his hunting. To undo this bad luck, he has to sweep and do dishes. It does not work the other way around, because women aren't supposed to go hunting - they are supposed to work in the kitchen, grateful that the men bring home meat for them to eat.

More shots of our school: The photos below are my classroom (the more colorful one), Philip's classroom, and the library. The classrooms we inherited are still largely filled with the ghosts of teachers and curricula past. We are SLOWLY weeding out what we don't need, and are organizing our rooms into spaces that function properly. The library is a project I hope to tend to this summer, when I have the time. There are currently no consistent spine labels on the books, since most of them have been donated by various entities. There also is currently no online catalog by which to organize them. And many of them are still in a pile waiting to be gone through. The librarian in me is itching to get started. But...one step at a time.

Next week, Philip will fill you in on the details of what it takes to survive out here, and the joys of dealing with shipping entities that don't prioritize your location.