Test Anxiety

So, I did not update my blog because I haven't been in Alaska to tell you about how things are going there.  Friday morning (the 11th) I woke up and needed to get to a hospital.  Because of a blizzard, that did not happen until Sunday.  I arrived in the Bethel hospital ER Sunday night where they ran some tests and set an appointment for me to see another doctor the following day.  My friend Nichole came with me for support.  We had planned for me to go to my appointment and Nichole was going to wait at the airport for me.  My appointment lasted longer than expected and I missed the flight. Nichole flew back to the village that evening so she would not have to use her sick and personal days. She had our luggage and I had my backpack of necessities.

At the appointment, the doctor recommended some more testing and more procedures.  Because of the storms coming in, the doctor asked that I stay in Bethel until a specialist could be flown in to do more extensive testing/procedures.  She told me the specialist might be in Thursday or Friday and if not, then he would be in on Monday.  But, if the storms were too bad then he wouldn't be coming in and I would have to be flown to Anchorage at any given point.  There were way too many maybes and the uncertainty made me a little scared.  In addition, hotels in Bethel cost about $200 a night for the not so scary places and a cab anywhere in the village costs $5-7.  I asked the doctor if it would be best for me to go back to my hometown in Arkansas so that my family could watch over me throughout the waiting/testing/procedures. She said that would be the best option because I would need to be cared for during this time.

 Meanwhile, I finished my appointment and more testing in the clinic.  Because the cost of a cab was expensive and they only took cash, I found an ATM to get some money.  Big problem- I could not remember my pin number for the life of me.  I called the credit card people and they did not know the pin either and so I had to change it to something I could remember.  However, the change would not be effective until midnight.  Flights out of the village were all leaving by 9:00 pm at the latest and the blizzard was going to hit the next day.  I had to sit on a park bench outside the hospital and beg for money for a cab.  I held out the lid to my thermos and told people I would play them a song if I had an instrument with me…and that I would sing if they wanted me to…  All I needed was two more dollars.  While sitting there, I realized that I had become the Bethel Bum…. Then, this amazingly nice construction worker/gentleman/gift from God gave me $10! I told him that was too much and I would give him my $5 I had so he wouldn't be out so much money.  He was so kind and said not to worry about it.  I got a cab to the airport and the quickest flight to Fort Smith... Bethel to Anchorage, Anchorage to Chicago, Chicago to Memphis, Memphis to Fort Smith.  I was running to every flight and almost missed the one from Anchorage to Chicago because I got held up in security.  I didn't do anything wrong, it just took a long time to get through it.  Anyway, after 19 hours, I finally landed in Fort Smith with my parka, ice cleats, snow goggles, snow boots, gloves, and backpack. 

Once in Fort Smith, my mom immediately set up appointments with doctors for the testing and procedures. I have now been tested for parasites, infections, bacteria, and diseases to find out what is wrong with me.  I am still waiting for the results and hope to have them in 10-15 days... It will take a while because of the holidays.  

Waiting for the plane during the blizzard. Nichole making a home remedy for my pain... 

 The "sock with rice" home remedy: just heat it up in the microwave and you have an instant hot pack!  Looks goofy but desperate times call for desperate measures...

 The plane finally arrived!!!

 The storm coming in...

 Waiting in the ER at Bethel...

 The only restaurant open on a Sunday evening in Bethel: 1,2,3 BBQ- a Korean owned restaurant that also includes Chinese, Mexican, and American Food... I had a pretzel. (I might look somewhat okay, but I guarantee you, everything was not okay...)

 Nichole and I were super excited to see this amazing TV with CABLE!!!

In the time I have been home, my grandfather passed away on November 18^th.  He was a wonderful man.  I am so blessed to have had the time with him during his last few years on this Earth.  He and my grandmother showed true love, strong Christian faith, gentleness, and kindness to my family and others that had the privilege of knowing them.  He is terribly missed by my grandmother and his family.

"Snow-i-cane"

The weather here has been crazy the past few days… It has usually been in the 20s to low 30s.  Yesterday, a bad storm was predicted for the entire district.  A storm warning was sent to all the schools informing the teachers what to do in case of an emergency.  The weather forecast was calling the storm a "snowicane." Apparently, we come up to the school (because the school is on a huge generator) and the rest of the village comes to the school.  The teachers help everyone get situated and placed in classrooms kind of like a hotel. 

Between 7:00 and 8:00 p.m., the temperature dropped down to -6 degrees.  The winds picked up to over 50 miles an hour! Nichole and I were cooking dinner and sat down to eat our meal and watch some TV.  Then, our house started shaking.  We both looked at each other with confused faces and asked simultaneously “Was that the wind?”  We dropped our plates and ran to the window to see gusts of snow blowing across the ground and up into the air.  Snowmobiles were rocking back and forth.  Power lines looked like jump ropes being swung around.  It was creepy.  So, we grabbed our coats, put on our boots, and went outside… far from the power lines, of course.  The wind smacked our faces as soon as we stepped on our porch.  Eskimos were out walking and completing their normal errands for the day.  Nichole and I were yelling and laughing at the absurd weather.  Dogs were running around, rolling in the snow, and barking…  Just another day in the bush.

Later that night, I was getting in bed to go to sleep.  Before I turned out my lights, my lamp started moving back and forth on my nightstand.  The hangers in my closet were shaking and bumping into each other causing a rattling sound that somewhat resembled a wind chime. The wind was hitting the tin roof causing a vibrant howling and rattling which seemed to even echo.  The pipes in the walls were clattering on every side of my room making loud “ting,” “tang,” “BAM” noises with no particular pattern.  My bed was shaking.  I was shaking… not just from the bed moving, but also because the eerie sounds and bizarre movements sent shivers up my spine.  IT WAS SO COOL!  It was “so cool” until 3:00 a.m. rolled around.  By then, the “once cool noises” soon became equivalent to the sounds of a junior high garage band with no prior music experience surrounding my bed.  SO NOT COOL.

The next day, the weather shot up to the high 30s and a lot of the snow melted.  The day began with some snow and the winds picked up to 20-30 miles per hour.  Then within 10 minutes, the snow turned to rain.  The snow on the ground began to melt.  The ice that formed on the river began to melt.  An hour later, it was snowing again.

Basically, the temperature has been between -6 to 35 degrees here.  The wind has been between 10-50 mph.  There was about 2 feet of snow on the ground… then it melted really quickly… then it snowed again.  So, we have had over two feet of snow.  Also, the sun rises at around 10:00a.m. and it sets around 5:00p.m.

Look who showed up at school!!!!!!

 My kids love reading to Jack Jr.

 I have my goggles- ready for the cold!

 The snow leading up to my house was up to my knees!

 Ice forming on the river.

 Packages from Ann!!!! They went through a lot to get here...

 Christmas decorations!!!!!

 AND FOOD!!!!!!!!! Thank you SO much!!!!!!!!!!!!

 Pretty sunset and the ice on the river melted a little bit.

Halloween!

I have lots of new pictures!!!  It is very hard to hold my head up when it feels like the weight of the world is on my shoulders.  I am so thankful for Christ and that He literally carried the weight of the world... So, I can't complain too much.  

Momma always said: "If you don't have anything nice to say, then don't say anything at all..." Or, if you want the southern version: "If ya ain't got nothin' nice to say, then don't say nothin' at all."

On that note, this week will be short and sweet on the reading for you!

Also, if a picture is worth a thousand words, then this blog entry is worth like over 20,000 words!

Inside our new houses 

 the kitchen

 the laundry room

 bedroom #1

 bathroom

 bedroom #2

 The classroom scarecrow we made: it works quite well at scaring people. Kids and adults always do a double take. (Its head is a basketball. We found the clothes in Lost and Found.)

 the treats Nichole and I made for trick-or-treaters

 our halloween costumes...

 We did this with the extension cords wrapped around us and yelled whenever someone came to our door... a lot of the kids didn't get it...

 The Northern Lights above our house!

 Seal.... Fried Bread... and Pineapples...........??? Only in Bush Alaska

 We took a break from our chips and salsa and decided to try it.

 first bite... The taste was VERY fishy and the texture was like liver... I have never had liver, but that is what Nichole said.

 Trying super hard to swallow.... my face turned bright red. I wanted to spit it out so bad.

 Forcing it down.... I swallowed it whole. Meanwhile our Eskimo friend was in there taking pictures and laughing hysterically at us.

 One of my favorite dogs in the village. She always jumps up and loves attention. She was shot by some awful people who shot a bunch of dogs one night for no reason. It brought tears to my eyes when I found out.

 Bye Suka :(

 An Eskimo sled...

 Flower: My other favorite dog in the village. She was also shot... Horrible thing to happen. I miss her.  She was always so happy and excited to see me on my walk home from school. :(

 This dog did not get shot.

 A church here in the village~ I thought this was a pretty picture.

 Seal fur hanging out to dry and stretch after being cleaned.

Let it Snow!

For the first time this week, the snow that has been falling actually started to stick! So, we have have snow and it will probably be this way until May.  I have my parka from LL Bean, my Carhartt gator and face mask, my Northface gloves, my BOGS boots and my STABILicers ice cleats... I hope I am prepared for the looooooonnnnng winter! The village people have been getting their snow mobiles out and making sure they work.  They also refer to snow mobiles as "Snow Go-s."  

The teachers have still been getting together for meals some nights and hanging out~ I ABSOLUTELY LOVE MY CO-WORKERS!!!!! We have become friends and family.  They have been such a blessing from God. We move into our new houses within the next two weeks! We are all very excited! While I was the one and only lucky teacher to have a microwave, the new houses will all be equipped with microwaves over the stoves.  Can you imagine living without a microwave??? We will still not have dishwashers though because no one knows how to fix them if they break or need maintenance.  Because we have to cook most everything from scratch, we usually have a lot of dishes.  I miss dishwashers. :( It is just weird not living with modern conveniences.

By the way, because the village people thought that Nichole's kids were demon possessed, they asked the Russian Orthodox priest to bless her classroom.  This happened a few weeks after they asked the Catholic priest to bless the room..... Never have I ever read anything about this in my college textbooks about teaching... I took pictures! 

 He had to face the east for the ceremony thing.

 Snow that sticks!

A pretty picture of the sky... it is so big and open here!

 The sky meets the river.... Lovely shades of stormy gray.

 By the time we had walked about 7 minutes to our houses, it was getting pretty clear outside. That is how fast the weather changes here! Also, these boys were getting their snow machines out to test drive them.

 Perfect snow to build a snowman!  So, Nichole and I decided to build a snowman right in front of the boy teachers' front door!

 Rolling the middle section up the ramp!

 It looked like a gangster.

 We eventually found a penny and a rock for the eyes, a baby carrot for the nose, and a slice of a red pepper for the mouth.

 We knocked on their door and ran.  Josh walked out, went back inside, and then came back out with his camera. Nichole snapped this picture from our "hiding" spot beside the house.

*In loving memory of Jack.  He was brutally massacred later that night... a real hit and run. Rest in pieces, Jack!