Alaskan in the Making

A teacher calls Katie and I one night and asks if we would like some fresh salmon.  Katie, says ya!  So she swings by our place and sure enough she hops in the back of her truck and scoops out 4 huge salmons by their tails.  Katie and I look at each other and immediately start to laugh at the misunderstanding of "fresh" salmon.  We carry the fish into Katie's apartment and plop them into her sink.  We try to use whatever materials and tools we can find to begin gutting the fish.  First off, we only had a steak knife and a cutting board that was about a cm thick. At the first cut, blood starts gushing out all over the counter.  Katie is gagging and walks away.  I take a few deep breaths and begin scooping out guts and organs.  After the first fish, Katie are on the edge of crying between gagging and laughing so hard at the things we get ourselves into.  Long story short, we tag teamed cutting off the heads and tails and scooping out the goodies with a steak knife, thin plastic cutting board, and survived and conquered the Alaskan Salmon Massacre.

Two weeks later...I was feeling like we were due for another adventure. Our friend Devin picked us up and took us for a drive around the island.  Of course, it is pouring rain out but we still go searching for whales, seals, or whatever we can find.  Sure enough, Devin sees a buck in the distance up the road and pushes the pedal to the medal.  I was so excited and quickly reach for my camera to take a picture. Well Devin had other plans in mind and reached back for his rifle. Before I could even look at the picture I just took, I hear a big blast and feel a casing plop in my lap.  He got it first try, even shooting through a tree!  I had images of Bambi flashing through my head but Katie and Devin we're imagining dinner.  Guess, I'm still working on my Alaskan "ness".  No such thing as baby steps in Metlakatla!



Before..



..After



Oh the things they say and do

It appears to be on a daily basis that I have another hectic, crazy, hilarious story to share after being with my first graders a whole day.  Even one of the high school teachers commented about all the stories we accumulate over the school week. Everything happens so quick and spontaneous that I forget to write them all down.  Mostly because I am busy laughing, playing freeze tag, or holding kiddos fingers with blood pouring out of it.

Monday:
Last ten minutes of class, I am trying to get all my kids to their correct center and of course all the headphones are tangled up, so I am quickly trying to untangle, when I hear Miss B!  I look over and a little guy is poking his head out and waving for me to come into the bathroom.  Sure enough, now I am trying to find an extra pair of pants in my classroom.  I run him to the office, run back and frantically get all my kids packed up as the bell is ringing.  Thank God I only have 11 students!

Friday:
First 20 minutes of class, the class is reading from our library, and I hear Miss B she's PUKING!  She comes running up to me, cheeks wide, and hands out in front cupped and ready to catch.  I swiftly guide her to our bathroom in our classroom and help her release her breakfast that she was holding in her mouth.  I explain to her she can just run to the bathroom when she feels sick. So, I get her all cleaned up and she tells me she feels all better.  So she goes back to her reading.  10 minutes later, I am teaching a lesson in front of the class, as she runs up to me.  Her cheeks try to contain it, but instead more of her breakfast is spewing out of her mouth and her poor little hands are trying to catch as much as they could.  I am pushing her towards the bathroom as she is making a trail the whole way.  I once again get her cleaned up, for the most part, send her home, and make a fun phone call to the janitor.  The kids were loads of fun to deal with after that.  I am just glad there were no chain reactions to our little show we had that morning.

The following Friday:
I am at my desk and a little guy comes to my left with his writing to work on.  He opens my drawer to get a marker.  I carefully close the drawer and explain to him not to touch Miss B's things.  I then have a kiddo that comes to my right with their writing and I turn over to them for about 10 seconds.  I turn back over and I have a finger right in front of me dripping blood.  I rush him to our sink, run it under water, and apply a paper towel to his little finger.  I ask him what happened, and he shows me the utility knife in my desk that he found burried under all my items in my drawer.  He starts to shake and cry and shouts "Am I gonna die?"  It is times like that where you immediately start to smile because they are truly cute and innocent, but you have to stop yourself from letting out a laugh when they are still panicking at the blood rushing from their little finger tip.  Thankfully, it wasn't that deep, but it was a first at filling out an accident report.  He told me later, "I won't be touching your things anymore Miss B".  Sometimes we gotta learn things our own way :)

Bottom line, you want a job where everyday will be an adventure and life is never boring??  Become a teacher!

Potlatch of the decade

The totem pole has been carved, the gifts are prepared, the people have arrived....now let the festivities begin!  It had been one year since David's grandmother had passed away, and the potlatch is a big celebration in the native culture to honor her life.  It began early in the morning by visiting her grave site and then raising up the totem pole in front of David's house.  There were native dancers that drummed a song while David danced, bringing the totem pole alive.  

David Boxley with his father David Boxley.  David's dad raised his first solo totem pole when he was 30 and David was doing the same on this day, as he was also 30.

I didn't get to take a video of the toem pole raising up because Katie and I were on the end of the ropes pulling it up! The totem pole is  now up, thanks to us ;) so we headed to the town hall for lunch, dinner and a day full of rich culture, traditions, and beautiful sunsets.

David's native dance group from Washington

Telling the origin story of the mosquito.  David made the mask and got to scare the living wits out of  people, especially little kiddos.

Dancing for the wolf clan

Dance team from Anchorage

A portrait of David's grandmother, painted by a famous and very talented artist in Washington.  They were presenting the portrait to the Mayor of Metlakatla to be hung up in our Museum.

Katie and I helped serve dinner to everyone that attended the potlatch, which was around 600 people.  After dinner, I noticed the beautiful colors of the sky shining through the windows of the town hall. I ran down to the beach and this is what I saw...

It was such a wonderful day and I felt very blessed and lucky to be a part of it.  Around 1 a.m. the potlatch was coming to an end and they passed out gifts to everyone as a thank you for coming and being a part of the celebration.  Not many can say they have attended and participated in a potlatch, and am told by my kiddos in my class that I am part of the butterfly clan :)

If you are interested, here is a link to hear David Boxley explain more about the history behind the potlatch and the Tsimshian culture, from a true expert.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIfpVqaxOFI

Purple Mountain

We had a beautiful weekend a few weeks ago, so we jumped on the opportunity to go exploring around the island and go hiking.  I went with a few HS teachers up Purple Mountain.  We followed the pipe lines that transfers the town's water from a big lake.  The lake also feeds into a waterfall that you can see as you enter Metlakatla on the ferry.  With the pipe line on my right and the waterfall to the left of the trail, it was a beautiful hike and I'll show you some things I got to see.

Once we got to the top of the waterfall, one teacher and I decided to climb to the top of the mountain. Little did I know there would be some rock climbing involved, but the best way to learn is right on the top of a mountain and no other way to get down! This climb exceeded the ability of my tennis shoes, so I got a little scraped up, but the views were absolutely worth it!



My shadow at the top of Purple Mountain



Metlakatla from high above

More photos from this hike are in the photo gallery :)

Totem Pole Field Trip

Katie and I brought our first graders down to the art center to watch the final steps in finishing the totem pole, our friend David has been making. They were painting the totem pole, while David was teaching the students about the pole and their Tsimshian culture, traditions, and the language.  All the children were speaking the language as they were doing actions.  It is was a great experience for the students to be a part of their culture, that is trying to be revived by several members of the Metlakatla community, and a great moment for Katie and I to be a part of, witnessing the integration of this vital piece for the children.  Currently, there is only 110 people on the planet that speak the native Tsimshian language.  I will be uploading a video or giving a link where you can hear the language and more about their traditions and culture.  It was raining while we were walking our kiddos down there, but they were troopers, even those with running noses and all!

Life is short....

As many of you know, Katie is the other first grade teacher that I will be working with this school year in Metlakatla.  It just so happens, she is also from Colorado and even attended University of Northern Colorado, the same college as me.  Crazy enough, we never met until we found out we were both heading to the same school in Alaska.  It has been a blessing to have another person from home throughout this adventure.  And an adventure it has been! 

Katie and I have been jumping right in and getting involved in the community any chance we get.  By our second week here, we had met several people and had a group over for dinner.  After a little while, Katie decided to quickly run down to her apartment, which is directly below mine, to grab something.  Meanwhile, our friend David was playing some tunes on the guitar and I was learning about Marvin Gay from him.  After about 25 minutes had passed, we started to wonder what had happened to Katie. So, I decide to go check on her.  I knock on her door and I hear a faint scream in the background.  Frantically, I go to turn the door knob, but it is locked.  I run to her window and everything is dark, except for some light peeking under her bathroom door.  I immediately feel my heart drop in my chest, like a motherly instict and am about to break through a window, but instead I rationally scream up to David to help me.  I dart to our landlord's house to get a key to Katie's apartment; however they are elderly and were not feeling the need to rush to my friend's rescue as I was.  Once we get in, I hear Katie screaming "the door is stuck, I can't get out".  David is a carver, currently working on a totem pole, and had a few tools in his car, which was all we had at the moment.  We end up knocking the door knob off and yet, Katie is still prisoned in her miniature bathroom.  She tried propping her self up against the door, using her body weight to push the door open, but fell into the bathtub, bruised her hip and cut her arm...only adding to her frantic stage.

After about an hour and a half of being trapped in an unlocked bathroom, and David and I making jokes to bring light to the situation, our elderly landlord is able to snip something wedged in the door handle and the door sways open.  We used all the dismantled pieces of her malfunctioning doorknob to display on a shelf hanging above the dangerous bathroom, as a reminder that "Life is short...you never know when you'll get stuck in a bathroom!"

Welcome to Metlakatla!

Well, it has been almost a month since I arrived on a ferry to the beautiful Annette Island.  I'm sorry it has taken so long to update, but internet was not so easy to come by.  In the last few weeks I have gotten to carve on a totem pole, go berry picking, make homemade jam, attend a potlatch, bbq on the beach and so much more.  I have met so many wonderful people in Metlakatla that are very welcoming and willing to share their culture with me.

The culture of this Indian Reservation is truly remarkable and am learning more about the native's roots day by day.  There is a man that has been raised here in Metlakatla and has been hired to carve a totem pole for his grandmother, which will be raised and celebrated one year after her death this September, followed by a potlatch.  Now I know what you're thinking. "A potlatch?? Does she mean a potluck?"  Actually, a potlatch is the opposite of a potluck, in that the host is responsible in feeding everyone that attends as well as giving away gifts to those that come, as a thank you for being a part of the ceremony.  This was a tradition from long ago, that just recently got brought back to the Tsimshian culture  in Metlakatla.  The carver, David, is very much involved with reviving the culture left on the reservation as well as trying to integrate more, through the schools and community.  He will be working with us teachers in teaching the students some songs and words in the native Tsimshian tongue, as well as providing the students with stories of the native origins, which are fascinating.

Learning the art of carving

David, carving the totem pole for his grandmother

This was mine and Katie's dog pack.  Normally a group of 7 that would be hanging out and waiting for us outside our door, on our porch.  Our landlord wasn't a huge fan, so needless to say now there is a gate leading up to our porch.  Our puppies still find us here and there and escort us when we walk around town.  Katie and I have been named the "white girls with the dogs".

Dressing for Metlakatla weather...Stylish, I know!  Got 8 inches of rain in one day and up to 50 mph winds.  So much for summer weather..

College to Professional...Already?

   Becoming a professional, is a scary awakening; After all, lets be honest, college doesn't teach us what to do once we've graduated from the frat parties, tailgating, and all night keggers.  This job has all started so quickly and I am finding myself rapidly morphing into an adult and undergoing the realization of adult responsibilities.  I know it sounds cliche, but there truly is no manual guide into this transformation.

  I am so glad that I have gotten myself into the traveling gig, which has truly helped me to break out of my shell, and open up to the world.  I continue to be proud each time I reach a destination by myself, which I suppose is immature because a grown up of 22 years old ought to be able to follow signs and get from point A to point B.  Nevertheless, I feel more grown up each time I find myself out of my native ground, Colorado, and into a brand new environment.   After an amazing last weekend with my friends and family in Colorado, I was off at the break of dawn Sunday morning, to reach Oregon for a 3 day curriculum workshop with other members from my new school district, Annette Island.  I continue to be amazed with the wonderful people I meet while traveling.  From the friendly man at the check in desk who waved my baggage fare because I was a "good sport", to the genuine couple that let me tag along from Denver to Seattle, and finally reaching Oregon.  There truly are quality individuals all around the world, which is very satisfactory and inspirational after watching any 3o minutes of nightly news, to see an update of a new terrorist attack. Long story short, a nice security guard and a lady traveling for business helped me get on the max (light rail) and find my hotel in Portland. 

The next day, I met my other team members from the elementary school to high school.  I will get to know them very well working with them for the next year.  Not to mention, anyone that lives in the town is practically your  neighbor.  I keep hearing that everyone knows everyone on the island.  I grew up in a small town, but I have a feeling living in Metlakatla is going to be a whole different ball game.  One of the teachers I met was born and raised on the island and began to tell me a brief glimpse into the Native American culture, and the Tsimshian Tribe that cultivates on Annette Island.  There are four major crests of these people: Killer whales, Raven, Eagles, Wolves.  The crest gets passed along through the woman in each generation and is a strong piece of their heritage.  I saw some pictures of the ceremonies where a tribe member presented a mask and brought it to life through dancing.  Much more to come on these traditions of the Tsimshian (and hopefully I can pronounce it sometime soon).

Our school's team attended a two day workshop on curriculum mapping, that will align each teacher's courses and units over the year, so our school's curriculum will be more fluent, without educational gaps, and the kids will be vertically progressed throughout their education.  It sounds like there will be many changes this year to produce the best learners they can be.  The superintendent is currently putting a smart board and document camera in my classroom to integrate technology on a daily basis.  I am so excited to have these new tools and let these students be exposed to such advanced materials.  Anything that will motivate these students to strive for their education and continue that motivation throughout and even after high school would be a huge progress for the majority of teens living in Metlakatla.  I am very excited to have the opportunity to already be a part of the "core team" that will be presenting and enforcing this new program throughout our school district and be getting a jump start on the curriculum I will be teaching my first graders. 

Today, I am leaving Oregon, meeting my parents in Seattle, and flying to Ketchikan, Alaska!  Within the next ten days, I will be touring Ketchikan, moving into my apartment on Annette Island, and setting up my new classroom in Richard Johnston Elementary.  As soon as these things get somewhat accomplished I will take some pictures, for you to see the progress.  Even though, I am feeling more like a professional and an independent adult, I can't thank my parents enough for helping me...Once again.  Professional or student, adult or child, our parents are always our heroes. 

Look forward to hearing about things back in Colorado and all around this beautiful world.  Keep me posted.

Much Love,
Matti