NEWS FROM ALASKA

I have new emails from our niece, Louann, in Alaska:

Hello, Everybody
Let's see.....it has been rainy here for about two weeks. Today was our first day of all day sunshine. It was so nice! As I said last time, things have settled into fairly routine days. I haven't been away from the village except to take walks and soak up the fresh air and beautiful environment. I was asked by someone if the children are very different from the children that I have taught in the Lower 48. Here is what came to mind.....

Several weeks ago as I was taking a walk I met one of my students and her mother driving back from a goose hunting trip on their four-wheeler. Since the children often ride behind the driver facing the opposite direction, I turned to wave at my student, Mama Beaver, as she passed. However, she didn't even see me because she had her eyes riveted to her DS electronic game with the dead goose tucked under one of her arms. Now where in the US are you going to see that! So I guess children are basically the same everywhere. It is just their environments and lifestyles that are different. I so wished for a camera but I had left it in my apartment.

Then one day last week, I saw two of my little boys hunting birds out in the bog in front of the school. It was so fun to watch them. I wish I could show you what they were doing. They were very synchronized in their movements. They would "sneak" up to the birds. They were stooped over.....walking and stopping at the same time. Then one would shoot his sling-shot, and they would pop up together. It was so cute!

When we say there are three more days until a certain event or day, they say instead, that there are three more sleeps until that day or event. I'm even saying it now. The first time that I heard the expression, one of my boys was telling me, "There are only 6 more sleeps before my backpack comes in the mail."

One of the things that I wanted to do with my children here was to incorporate "the happy dance" for times to be celebrated in the classroom. Well, I finally have all of them standing and all but one is dancing with me. It is so much fun watching them transform just during the time that the music is on. I have one in kindergarten who just came alive on Friday. I've never seen him just let loose and have fun, but on Friday, he was the cutest. I have another one that smiles the biggest smile the whole time we are dancing. It is pretty amazing. Remember, the only music these kids get at school is whatever they get with me whether it's finger plays, concept songs, or happy dance time........which is a personal favorite of mine.

By-the-way, if any of you teachers out there have an idea about a Christmas program, please send your ideas my way. It needs to be something K through 8 can do......mainly K-3 but involving the older ones in some way. I'm serious, I am desperate for ideas....enjoyable for me as well as for the kids. Something cute but simple......I'm all ears.

I guess the personal lesson that I have realized in the past couple of weeks is that all of those distractions that I mentioned missing last time, are the things that have kept me numb, so-to-speak. And in that numbness, I have neglected to continue growing and developing and/or discovering my purpose or potential. I still have to be careful about using the internet and satellite as distractions. That tends to be so much easier to do than to concentrate on being a better Louann. I realized this one Saturday morning when the internet was down. I figured that I could be irritated or I could choose to be happy. I had a wonderful Saturday without the internet......big lesson for bush living.

I've also realized that living here cannot be a continuation of my Lower-48 life. To expect it to be is asking for disappointment out here. It has to be considered a whole new chapter or maybe even book. You guys are my wonderful support system, but if I am going to be happy out here, I have to accept this lifestyle as my lifestyle. I hope that makes sense, because once I embraced that, I knew that I could survive here. Now, am I looking forward to coming home at Christmas?......YOU BETCHA!

Hopefully next time I will have some new pictures. I think I will try to send some more pictures of the village this time just to give you a better of idea of my surroundings. (pictures will come in separate email)I want to thank each one of you for being so supportive..... each in you own special way. I am learning much about myself out here and about how much each of you mean to me. That is something else that I think I may have unknowingly taken for granted......there is nothing like the support of my family and friends. I mean that from the bottom of my heart. I love and miss you all.

Louann

Here are the photos, I had some trouble learning how to copy and didn't rotate one

CAR:

The brown building is the school. The four windows on the upper left side are my apartment windows and below is my classroom. The picture of the long road is the road to the beach and is the road where I walk and pick berries. The pictures are of the main part of the village. The two-story blue building is the Tribal Council building. The new construction (if you can see it) is the new clinic.

The brown building is the school. The four windows on the upper left side are my apartment windows and below is my classroom. The picture of the long road is the road to the beach and is the road where I walk and pick berries. The pictures are of the main part of the village. The two-story blue building is the Tribal Council building. The new construction (if you can see it) is the new clinic.