Cucuklillis Yup'ik for "I voted". Tuesday was our presidential election and my first time voting in Togiak. (You may say to yourself, but Kaitlyn, you've lived in Togiak for over two years now. Haven't there been any elections in the past two years? Ah, ya, but . . . I'm a bit of a slacker.) A group of teachers left the school shortly after school was out and made our way to the Togiak city offices. It was actually the first time I've ever been to the city offices. We didn't have to wait in any lines to vote and we got these cool stickers after we finished. I know that it's pretty common everywhere to get an "I voted" sticker, but this sticker was even cooler because it said "I voted" in Yup'ik.
Wednesday after school Tim and I flew to Dillingham. Tim had social studies committee meetings on Thursday and Friday this week and I had science committee meetings. I don't like missing school, planning for a substitute, or having a substitute, but I do love having a break from the regular work week and the village, so I was happy to go. Delorie Lee, the second grade teacher, also came with us to help with some elementary science work.
We were told we were staying at the Northern Lights B&B. None of us had ever stayed there before or knew where it was, but we figured our driver would. Unfortunately, we were wrong. After a few phone calls we got it all figured out and got delivered to the right place. Northern Lights B&B is a house. The upstairs has a rather large and open living room and kitchen as well as the owner's bedroom. The downstairs has several rooms and a bathroom. When we arrived the owner wasn't home and none of us knew where we were staying or how or where to "sign in". Since we all were starving and had no idea when the owner would be around, we left our bags and walked to the nearest restaurant. It is nice that when you go to Dillingham you have the option of eating out. However, the wait is long, so if you're in a hurry, just go to the grocery store. I believe we waited about an hour and a half for our food to come. When we returned to the B&B there was a note left on the kitchen table assigning us to some rooms and we still had not seen the owner.
Thursday morning we walk up to a couple inches of snow. It was excited, because other than some flurries here and there, there really hasn't been any snow yet. I hadn't brought a lot of winter gear or my boots, but the owner of the B&B offered to give us a ride. Tim and I both worked away with our respective committees all day. We worked all day and did accomplish things, but I'm not sure either of us felt like it was an extremely productive day. Kyle, one of the three high school teachers on our committee, wasn't able to make it in due to bad weather and flight cancellations. This made it a little difficult to make decisions.
Thursday evening we ate at Twin Dragon. This is probably my most visited restaurant in the state of Alaska. Almost every time I'm in Dillingham I eat at this restaurant. After dinner, Tim and the rest of our group went to the grocery store and I hung out at the bunkhouse to take advantage of the internet and get a bit more work finished up. We arrived back at our B&B at about 8:00 pm to a locked house. We rang the doorbell, knocked, and called, but no luck. It's a really good thing the district had given us a vehicle for the evening because it was wet and cold. We sat in the truck and watched Downton Abbey for nearly an hour before the owner showed up and let us in the house. Unfortunately, I had started to feel a bit under the weather and didn't sleep much at all that night. I had those feverish chills and could never decide if I was freezing or way too hot.
Friday the weather got better. I was grateful for that, because I wanted to be able to fly home that evening. We worked until nearly 4:00 pm. I was trying to pretend that I didn't feel sick, but I'm not sure how well it worked. When Tim and I arrived back in Togiak around 5:30 pm we had some ramen noodles for dinner and headed to bed to watch a movie. It was kind of nice just going to bed so early and not worry about anything.
Saturday I should have worked hard at the school and gotten a lot of planning finished, but I just wanted a break and kind of felt like my body wanted me to sleep instead. (I probably should have listened to my body.) We made it to the school at about 2:00 pm, but I got distracted talking to Heather until 4:00 pm. I started getting some work done just about the time Tim came in my room to ask if I was ready to go (about 4:15 pm). I told him to give me 15 minutes so I could gather up some things and head home. I ended up having to do about 3 hours of work at home in order to prepare for Monday.
I am definitely looking forward to finishing up this semester and not having to worry about lesson planning and grading papers anymore. I officially have 6 more weeks left of teaching. That's it . . . 6! Only 3 of those weeks are weeks that I have students all 5 days. I think this is going to go quickly. Career change, here I come.
Wednesday after school Tim and I flew to Dillingham. Tim had social studies committee meetings on Thursday and Friday this week and I had science committee meetings. I don't like missing school, planning for a substitute, or having a substitute, but I do love having a break from the regular work week and the village, so I was happy to go. Delorie Lee, the second grade teacher, also came with us to help with some elementary science work.
We were told we were staying at the Northern Lights B&B. None of us had ever stayed there before or knew where it was, but we figured our driver would. Unfortunately, we were wrong. After a few phone calls we got it all figured out and got delivered to the right place. Northern Lights B&B is a house. The upstairs has a rather large and open living room and kitchen as well as the owner's bedroom. The downstairs has several rooms and a bathroom. When we arrived the owner wasn't home and none of us knew where we were staying or how or where to "sign in". Since we all were starving and had no idea when the owner would be around, we left our bags and walked to the nearest restaurant. It is nice that when you go to Dillingham you have the option of eating out. However, the wait is long, so if you're in a hurry, just go to the grocery store. I believe we waited about an hour and a half for our food to come. When we returned to the B&B there was a note left on the kitchen table assigning us to some rooms and we still had not seen the owner.
Thursday morning we walk up to a couple inches of snow. It was excited, because other than some flurries here and there, there really hasn't been any snow yet. I hadn't brought a lot of winter gear or my boots, but the owner of the B&B offered to give us a ride. Tim and I both worked away with our respective committees all day. We worked all day and did accomplish things, but I'm not sure either of us felt like it was an extremely productive day. Kyle, one of the three high school teachers on our committee, wasn't able to make it in due to bad weather and flight cancellations. This made it a little difficult to make decisions.
Thursday evening we ate at Twin Dragon. This is probably my most visited restaurant in the state of Alaska. Almost every time I'm in Dillingham I eat at this restaurant. After dinner, Tim and the rest of our group went to the grocery store and I hung out at the bunkhouse to take advantage of the internet and get a bit more work finished up. We arrived back at our B&B at about 8:00 pm to a locked house. We rang the doorbell, knocked, and called, but no luck. It's a really good thing the district had given us a vehicle for the evening because it was wet and cold. We sat in the truck and watched Downton Abbey for nearly an hour before the owner showed up and let us in the house. Unfortunately, I had started to feel a bit under the weather and didn't sleep much at all that night. I had those feverish chills and could never decide if I was freezing or way too hot.
Friday the weather got better. I was grateful for that, because I wanted to be able to fly home that evening. We worked until nearly 4:00 pm. I was trying to pretend that I didn't feel sick, but I'm not sure how well it worked. When Tim and I arrived back in Togiak around 5:30 pm we had some ramen noodles for dinner and headed to bed to watch a movie. It was kind of nice just going to bed so early and not worry about anything.
Saturday I should have worked hard at the school and gotten a lot of planning finished, but I just wanted a break and kind of felt like my body wanted me to sleep instead. (I probably should have listened to my body.) We made it to the school at about 2:00 pm, but I got distracted talking to Heather until 4:00 pm. I started getting some work done just about the time Tim came in my room to ask if I was ready to go (about 4:15 pm). I told him to give me 15 minutes so I could gather up some things and head home. I ended up having to do about 3 hours of work at home in order to prepare for Monday.
I am definitely looking forward to finishing up this semester and not having to worry about lesson planning and grading papers anymore. I officially have 6 more weeks left of teaching. That's it . . . 6! Only 3 of those weeks are weeks that I have students all 5 days. I think this is going to go quickly. Career change, here I come.
