Enjoying the beach in Dillingham
This week has been a busy one. Tim and I were in Togiak on Monday and Tuesday. We worked on getting some things put away in our apartment on Monday. We finished dividing up meat for the freezer and cutting up and freezing bell peppers. We also went over to the school, but didn't spend too much time there. Someone cut a cable in the village and it wiped out the school internet and phone lines. Who knows when those will be back up.
Tuesday we spent a lot longer at the school. I updated my entire classroom inventory. That doesn't sound like too much of a job, but when you're in a science lab and you have equipment like beakers, test tubes, strikers, and all sorts of chemicals, it can take a little while.
Wednesday morning Tim and I flew to Dillingham. In-service doesn't start until tomorrow, but Tim and I are helping with some additional things. I'm still working on the science committee so we were continuing to create the curriculum, pacing guides, material lists, and district wide tests. Tim has been helping out the on technology side of things, getting Google apps and Gaggle set up for the district. He has been given quite a bit of freedom with it and has made a lot of headway. He was asked today to present to the district at in-service tomorrow.
Wednesday evening we went out to eat with a couple of principal/lead teachers from our district. We're experiencing a little bit of sticker shock as we come back to the bush. We paid nearly $50 for our burgers and fries. Tim and I got dropped off at our bed and breakfast. We were worried about it because we're pretty far from downtown, but after we saw it we weren't worried anymore. This bed and breakfast is bigger than our apartment. We have a full kitchen, living room, two bedrooms, a bathroom, and a washer and dryer. The kitchen is even stocked with snacks and breakfast foods. I would definitely stay here again.
Thursday we worked all day again at district office. I spent the entire day working on a materials list for Chemistry. Chemistry is new to this district. I didn't get much support when I first asked them about teaching it, but apparently the district is really into it now. We'll see how it goes. I hope they can figure out how to ship and dispose of chemicals out here.
Thursday afternoon our friend Heather came into Dillingham. I was so excited to see her. I couldn't stop smiling. To make it even better, she wasn't just catching her flight to Togiak, but spending the night in Dillingham. We had dinner with her and spent the whole evening together.
Friday was another full day of work at the district office. Tim and I didn't really want to eat out again, so we picked up a pizza from the grocery store and cooked it at our bed and breakfast. We ate dinner and then just sat around and watched the Olympics.
Saturday we let ourselves sleep in before heading to work. That evening we went out to the beach with the new teachers for a bonfire. Steve Noonkesser took a bunch of us out on his boat. It was so hot. It's been in the high 70's in Dillingham this week. I can't believe how warm it's been.
Today Tim and I were excited to go to church with the Dillingham branch. It's a really small branch and we don't get to go too often. Unfortunately no one showed up. We came 10 minutes early and the building was locked. We waited for awhile and only one other car came up. There was a couple whom we had never seen before. We asked them if they knew where everyone was, but they didn't. The man said other than last Sunday, he had been to church since the 1960's. He had been inactive for a very long time. He invited us over for lunch though. His Philipino wife whipped us up a huge mean in no time. She made steak, stir-fry, pansit? (a Philipino noodle dish), rice, garlic bread, green salad, watermelon, mixed vegetables, carrot cake, and ice cream. There was so much food to eat. After lunch we had to go back into work. Our boss called asking us if we we could come in because he wanted to talk to Tim about presenting at in-service tomorrow. Tim was at work until after 9:00 pm. I came home about 6:00 pm and made dinner with some other teachers. I guess we're adjusting back to our busy village life. Wish us luck.
Tuesday we spent a lot longer at the school. I updated my entire classroom inventory. That doesn't sound like too much of a job, but when you're in a science lab and you have equipment like beakers, test tubes, strikers, and all sorts of chemicals, it can take a little while.
Wednesday morning Tim and I flew to Dillingham. In-service doesn't start until tomorrow, but Tim and I are helping with some additional things. I'm still working on the science committee so we were continuing to create the curriculum, pacing guides, material lists, and district wide tests. Tim has been helping out the on technology side of things, getting Google apps and Gaggle set up for the district. He has been given quite a bit of freedom with it and has made a lot of headway. He was asked today to present to the district at in-service tomorrow.
Wednesday evening we went out to eat with a couple of principal/lead teachers from our district. We're experiencing a little bit of sticker shock as we come back to the bush. We paid nearly $50 for our burgers and fries. Tim and I got dropped off at our bed and breakfast. We were worried about it because we're pretty far from downtown, but after we saw it we weren't worried anymore. This bed and breakfast is bigger than our apartment. We have a full kitchen, living room, two bedrooms, a bathroom, and a washer and dryer. The kitchen is even stocked with snacks and breakfast foods. I would definitely stay here again.
Thursday we worked all day again at district office. I spent the entire day working on a materials list for Chemistry. Chemistry is new to this district. I didn't get much support when I first asked them about teaching it, but apparently the district is really into it now. We'll see how it goes. I hope they can figure out how to ship and dispose of chemicals out here.
Thursday afternoon our friend Heather came into Dillingham. I was so excited to see her. I couldn't stop smiling. To make it even better, she wasn't just catching her flight to Togiak, but spending the night in Dillingham. We had dinner with her and spent the whole evening together.
Friday was another full day of work at the district office. Tim and I didn't really want to eat out again, so we picked up a pizza from the grocery store and cooked it at our bed and breakfast. We ate dinner and then just sat around and watched the Olympics.
Saturday we let ourselves sleep in before heading to work. That evening we went out to the beach with the new teachers for a bonfire. Steve Noonkesser took a bunch of us out on his boat. It was so hot. It's been in the high 70's in Dillingham this week. I can't believe how warm it's been.
Today Tim and I were excited to go to church with the Dillingham branch. It's a really small branch and we don't get to go too often. Unfortunately no one showed up. We came 10 minutes early and the building was locked. We waited for awhile and only one other car came up. There was a couple whom we had never seen before. We asked them if they knew where everyone was, but they didn't. The man said other than last Sunday, he had been to church since the 1960's. He had been inactive for a very long time. He invited us over for lunch though. His Philipino wife whipped us up a huge mean in no time. She made steak, stir-fry, pansit? (a Philipino noodle dish), rice, garlic bread, green salad, watermelon, mixed vegetables, carrot cake, and ice cream. There was so much food to eat. After lunch we had to go back into work. Our boss called asking us if we we could come in because he wanted to talk to Tim about presenting at in-service tomorrow. Tim was at work until after 9:00 pm. I came home about 6:00 pm and made dinner with some other teachers. I guess we're adjusting back to our busy village life. Wish us luck.
