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..