T-8 Days until Des Moines!

That is right, the countdown has begun! I will be home in about 8 days and cannot wait to see my family...all of them including Max, and of course my friends :) While all of the Midwest was covered in a lovely yet paralyzing blanket of snow, us Alaskans have been praying for it. The only thing that we have been blessed with up here is a ridiculously large amount of fog, which incredibly inconvenient, does make for quite the beautiful scene.

Our kiddos, up here in the tundra, get to take their finals before Christmas break, and for all of you back home who get to vote for school calendars, I would highly suggest it. The students get to take their tests when the material is still fresh in their minds, have a relaxing break, and come back to a fresh start, not to mention the load it takes off of the teacher's shoulders.

It will be so nice to come home to family and friends for two plus weeks and not have to worry about grades or making sure my students are prepped for tests. I can relax knowing that I have the post break start up all planned and ready to go, and that my finals and grades are all in the system come this Friday. As of Saturday, I am home free! See you all soon :)

Trapper Creek

This past week I enjoyed an amazing Thanksgiving Holiday with Mark. It was really fun to be able to show him all of the sights and take him out on the town. The downfall of taking in visitors is that the planes come and leave in the wee hours of the night. I picked him up at 12:15 a.m. on Tuesday morning and dropped him off at 12:15 a.m. this morning.

Getting up last Tuesday took quite a bit of effort, but the staff let me leave at 11:00 am, so I really can't complain. After I got off of work, we headed off to Moose's Tooth for a good hot meal. That night Mark got to experience the joys of Eddie's Sports Bar and the cutthroat game of trivia that we play every Tuesday night. Needless to say we did not win the $1,000, but neither did anyone else, so there is hope for us this week. Leslie and I beat the boys in a rousing game of darts and Mark got to meet the illustrious Jack, our older bar trivia buddy with a crazy sense of humor.

I took Wednesday off so we could drive around and see the city. We made it out to Earthquake Park just in time to see the mountains and the city before the snow set in. Somehow, even though he lives in the Midwest, Mark did not own snow-boots which brought us to the Army/Navy store and then on to Fred Meyer for some warm foot gear (I am really quite positive that there is anything that Freddie's does NOT sell). The day ended with a top-notch meal at Simon and Seafort's where he ordered the Kobe Meatloaf Sliders and the juiciest prime rib I have seen in a long time. I ate a pea salad (which was delectable despite the name) and the most delicious scallops and (gasp) quinoa EVER! It was just too bad that the snow had set in and blocked our view of the Cook Inlet.

The snow continued well into Thanksgiving day where we overslept for the 8:30 A.M. Packer game and were a bit suprised to see that the Lions had scored a touchdown in the first 2 minutes of the game. Slightly depressed, I got to cooking the meal and thankfully the Packers won. This year the stuffing turned out MUCH better than last year (I think the trick is to NOT bake my own bread and use rice loaf instead) and the pie crusts weren't half bad either. I will have to do a bit of poking around for better seasoning options for both the stuffing and the crusts. Other than that, the sweet potatoes were yummy and I didn't over cook the turkey!

Sleeping in on Friday morning was AWESOME, but the best part was getting packed to head up to Trapper Creek (right across from Talkeetna, about 2.5 hrs. north of Anchorage). Upon exiting the apartment, we were greeted with a good 6 inches of fresh snow on the ground and no evidence of its termination. The drive up was crazy, and it is a good thing I know how to maneuver when it is coming down...10 inches of snow makes for some interesting driving, I love my Subaru! We got in around dinnertime and relaxed as the snow tapered off in hopes for a clearer Saturday.

Saturday brought the chance for Mark and I to try our hands at ice fishing. Nate drove us out to a gorgeous remote spot near Cottonwood Creek. We then took a half mile hike out to a fishing spot, where only Leslie and I caught fish (the boys were a bit upset). I had the chance to try out my snowshoes and absolutely LOVE them! I know that they will be frequently used this winter and I really hope I get to go back up north again soon.

We ended our amazing vacation with a drive up to Denali State Park (about 100 miles south of the National Park) to see the views of the mountain ranges. Even though Denali and Mt. McKinley weren't visible, God is good and blessed us with a clear and sunshiny day! I am posting a few pictures on here but your best shot to see them is to check out my facebook page.

Message from student

This is from a paper that I had turned in from a student. I have changed his name and not made corrections (except for those in which the meaning is altered):

My name is Jonah. My family calls me Jared but my friends call me J. I was born and raised in Hawaii, Honolulu. I lived in the ghetto my home town called K.P.T. Hawaii. [We] had a lot of Samoans, Hawaiians, Tongans, Figins, Tahiti, Aotenoes, Philopinoes, Chinese and Micronesian and chuckies. Every day was a new day. People gave thanks to God for a lot of things which is really good to do. Not all wa good in my whole family use to be in gangs like my brother, he's in a gang still yet. I still have a lot of cousins in gangs. My my brothers pastor Jerry used to be in a gang S.O.S , sons of somoa. We all had problems SOS was a little gang now it rew in Cali, Hawaii, Samoa, New York, all over the states. When I was in 4th grade that's when I joined the gang called y.s. young scrapers. Scrapers mean fighters. I been in a lot of gang fights breaking things. It was life to me. Every night I sneak out to meet up with the gang. It was only samoan's and Hawaiians and Micronesians in the gang. Then I moved to a different gang when I was in 6th grade. I was in the gang called P.Y.G, parcrype young ganstahs, all that was until I was in 7th grade. We stole a lot of things and fight a lot but right when I heard from my family I'm coming up to Alaska, then I was mad. i moved up here in Alaska and liked it. I changed my life up here. No more fights, I changed a lot and gave my life to God and doing good. That is my story.

Resilience

When a young child is growing up, he or she is frequently told to get up and brush it off...to make the most of a bad situation, just keep moving. Resilience. I have been told by many people that I am a very resilient, I bounce back easily and have very little trouble adjusting to new situations. I learned, during my time at Luther, that this is an admirable quality for students to have, that we should instill this in our youth. for the most part, I feel that this is true...kids need to learn how to take what life throws at them and make the best of it, but sometimes I think that we are training kids to become hardened, overly independent people.

The students that I work with have had their share of bad luck. They face tons of different situations including addiction, homelessness, abuse and poverty and most of them overcome it on a daily basis. Unfortunately, these kids have learned that they can only depend on themselves, that they have to be resilient on their own.

Some of my high school students are the most fiercely independent people I have ever met, which makes it difficult to teach them how to depend on people. These kids grow up thinking that they are the only people who can change their lives, which is what educators and other adults have taught them over the years. However, even though kids do need the ability to face their demons, they also need to learn how to ask for help. It is our responsibility to teach them that they can work together with other people, that there are services out there to help them.

How can we teach them that there are resources to assist them without teaching them to take advantage of those very systems...these are all very loaded questions and they require some serious thought as to their answers, answers that I don't have and that frustrates me. I want to be able to teach my students to become valuable members of society and realize that they are worth more than just a welfare check or punching bag. I want them to know that they can depend on each other for support, and that they don't, and shouldn't, have to go through life alone.

Mwooo Ha Ha Ha Ha

Halloween up North, I can't wait...maybe. Halloween has never been one of my favorite holidays. I am not a big fan of scary movies, I don't like people sneaking up on me and I think that women in skanky nurse outfits are strange. I think that this year I shall go as a Zombie :)



It has gotten colder here but for the first time in a few years, there is no snow on the ground. The radio stations have announced that parents should leap for joy because they won't have to worry about the neighborhood traffic jams of parents driving their witches and warlocks around for candy.

That being said, the kids here are pretty geared up for the big day, and that is the one thing that I do enjoy. I LOVE seeing what all the little ones pick as costumes and I love that, for the most part, this is a family holiday.It is one of the times during the year that parents go out with their kids and act as protectors. There is an awesome family bonding that goes on during the night of spooks and jitters, and it makes me smile.

PICTURE:

A moose pauses while eating a leftover Halloween pumpkin sitting on a porch at an Anchorage, Alaska, home on Jan. 17, 2007. Heavy snowfall is driving moose to seek food in the city. (AP Photo/Al Grillo)

Shorter Days. Longer Nights

Out here, in the Land of the Midnight Sun, one cannot forget to mention that there is also an 8am moon. As Fall dwindles and Winter knocks at our doors, the sun bows to the moon earlier and earlier every day. This morning, when I took Zoey out at 8:15, there was not a single ray of sunshine to be seen and darkness enveloped the morning sky.

The news is a constant reminder that we are headed towards even shorter days with what is going to seem like endless nights, as we are loosing 5+ minutes of daylight every day. It isn't so easy to wake up in the morning and accept that the darkness is going to last well into your start of the work day. By mid-December (winter solstice), we will be down to 5.5 hours of daylight.

There is a plus side to all of this, however, as the sun will start to come back in February. Come March we will be back to normal length days and as April rears its head we will see the sun 13+ hours a day. All of this building up the summer solstice and a near 24 hours of sunlight in mid-June. It's funny how God finds a way to even it all out in the end, isn't it?

If you want to check out the sunrise/sunset times for a specific day go to: Time and Date.com

Poverty, Abuse, Hunger and the Foster Care System

When I signed up for this job, I had no idea that I was diving head first into the equivalent of an urban school. Don't get me wrong, my high school is no South Side of Chicago, but poverty, abuse, hunger and foster care runs rampant. In Alaska, each resident gets a Permanent Dividend Fund (PFD) every year, which this year totaled $1,300. The sad part is, that many of the parents either blow the money earmarked for their child, or blow it on big screen TV's and sound systems, so for the month of October everyone is well fed and well dressed. Unfortunately, come November, when the funds have dried up, the kids are hungry and dirty all over again.

I don't want you to get the wrong picture, our school is by far one of the most diverse schools I have ever seen. We have a mix of high, middle and low income families, double and single parent families, families that are supported by the student and foster kids. It all makes for quite the teaching experience.

My biggest frustration so far is the social service system. I have students who openly talk about abuse. Twelve year-olds who have seen more foster families in their lives than I have had schools, and families with dozens of children, many from different fathers (and sometimes mothers) are abundant. It is hard to see children with such unstable home lives and even harder when the abuse is reported and nothing seems to get done. No 13 year-old should have to lock her bedroom door at night in fear of her father only to go home and be beaten by her step-father.

I know that this was a semi-hastily strewn post, but I think I know why I am here. A lot of these kids need a safe place to go where they can have shelter and dependable adults to rely on. Without the school systems, a lot of these students would be lost in the system.

October has arrived

It is a known fact, around here, that once October arrives, the snow is quick to follow. Usually, father winter holds off until nearly Halloween, however, last year Anchorage was already covered in snow by this time. On Friday, I woke to notice my car covered in frost, and realized (upon taking Zoey out) that it is time for a winter coat... 28 degrees is always a nice wake up call. Luckily for me, though, the low the past few nights has been in the 30's with highs in the mid 40's, so I can't really explain.

Never-the-less, I am excited for the snow to arrive. I purchased cross country ski gear last weekend (for a super low price) and am looking into snowshoes. There are so many trails and back country areas out here for me to try my hand at, I can't wait. I really want to get out there and downhill ski, but due to the bum knee, it looks like that wont be happening until January (I had not considered that in June).

Otherwise, things here are going well. The scenery continues to amaze me on a daily basis. Now that it is dark at night, I get to observe the spectacular view of the mountains under a full moon (see pictures, I didn't take them, but that it what it looks like), and I love how the fog clears over the mountains to reveal fresh blankets of white snow creeping down the hillside. For all of you who have been here in the summer, fall and winter are magical things to behold.

Sunday morning football

If a football game starts at 1:00pm/12:00pm Eastern/Central time, that means that it starts at 9:00am in beautiful Alaska. This means that while all of the country is enjoying beer and brats, we are at a bar enjoying eggs and bacon with a good Bloody Mary (after 10am).

I skipped church this morning to watch the Packers take down the St. Louis Rams along with half of Anchorage. Football here is so much different than anywhere else I have ever lived, first...there are a ton of Packer fans (strange for being almost 4,000 miles away), but also fans from just about every other state. It is so much fun to be at a bar, eating breakfast and cheering on your team with fans of five other teams sitting next to you. Since this is such a migrant city (is that the right word?), people here cheer for everyone from the Steelers, to the Gators, the 49ers (lets not talk about how they screwed up today), and the Cowboys. It makes for quite the rowdy crowd.

The only downfall to these festivities is that you have to get to some of the bars at 8am to get a seat, I am not sure where I have ever been where people fight for bar stools at 9 in the morning. I love this place :)

Oddities around Ancorage

I decided to dedicate this post to the odd announcements heard around town:
Me: Look! There is snow on the top of the mountains!
Teacher: We call that terminal frost.
Me: I don't care what fancy pants term you have, it is called snow.
Teacher: Yes, but terminal frost makes me hopeful that snow will not reach us before October.
My bud Leslie heard this on the radio today: On the way home this is what I heard on the radio: "ALERT ALERT there is a bull moose on Nothern Lights Blvd. The moose is appearing agitated and dangerous and slowing traffic. Please stay in your vehicles."

A school announcement the other day: Remember students... as it gets closer to wintertime today, if there is a moose at your bus stop, stay away. Move down the street and the bus will come get you there, do not irritate or try to pet the moose.

Frustration

This week was rough. In a school of 2400 students, 300+ of whom have IEP's, it becomes very difficult to manage my caseload of 33. It is my job to make sure that the students pass classes and the High School Graduation Qualifying Exams and meet IEP goals. To do this, I have to communicate with 66 parents/guardians/social workers, 87 teachers, and countless other support staff and with progress reports due this week I am feeling a bit hopeless. It is an impossible task, and though I am doing the best I can, I can't help but feel like I have failed some of my students in some way.

To make matters worse, I have this stinking nasty unending cold that has taken hold the majority of our building, but don't fear... this blog is not meant to post my pity party announcements or to feel sorry for myself (which I caught myself doing this morning). This blog is about God whacking me upside the head, telling me to do what I can and ask him for help with the rest.

Now, I know this may sound tacky, but I was perusing iTunes today when I stumbled across Whitney Houston's new CD. If you haven't had the chance to listen to it yet, you are really missing out. This album puts any other Christian album I have heard to shame, and it is because she speaks from experience and the heart...real life stuff that anyone can relate to. Start out listening to "I Didn't Know My Own Strength" and then the cover track "I Look to You", and I guarantee you will not be sorry.

Just listening to the sample tracks made me stop and think. I can't do it by myself, but the best part is that I don't have to... God is there to help (or rather I am there to help him:). I figure if he can help Whitney overcome addiction, get out of a bad relationship and get her life back on track, then helping me get 33 kids to pass High School English is like asking the post office lady for a stamp. I just need to remember that it is not MY doing, it is GOD's doing through me.

*Not my typical post, I know, but I really do think you should check out the album.

Churchy church church

Today I tried out what I think is my final church. After roaming the internet for a while, I found a website for Central Lutheran Church in downtown Anchorage. Someone had mentioned it a while back and I just ignored the nudges to go there, but God had other plans. After taking a further look on the web page last week, I noticed that the pastor is from St. Olaf, and it gets better... the associate pastor is from Wartburg (uggg, oh well... God forgives all sins :).

Central is by no means Hope, and it is really hard for me to accept that I can be happy outside of Hope's welcoming arms, but it is a nice church. According to the bulletin, last weeks attendance reached 98, although I think this week the made it well over 100 (including my school principal)! The sermon is very traditional even though they call it the contemporary service (out of 5 hymns, two were "contemporary"), but I felt at home. The environment was warm and welcoming, the people seem active in both their church and their community, and mostly I feel that it is where I am supposed to be.

Not so Great Expectations

Tomorrow morning I have to take the Praxis II: English Competency test, which is not, as some might think, a test of my knowledge of the English language, rather a test of everything the word encompasses. Let me explain: in Alaska, as in most states, one has to be "Highly Qualified" in order to teach a specific subject at the secondary level (i.e. a masters in Biology to teach Biology). The big difference for me is that when in Iowa, I was never required to teach a mainstream class, therefore I was not required to be "Highly Qualified". This, however, is not the case in Alaska where it is assumed that the one teaching study skills or resource, is basically an English teacher (which is pretty much true, as well as a math, science and social skills teacher but lets not get into that), which leads to all secondary special educators needing to procure a "highly qualified" status.

This brings us back to tomorrow morning's test....ack. I would be just fine taking the Jr. High level test, which focuses on young adult literature.... a topic I am quite familiar with, but the test I have to take is the High School exam. Now, you may be thinking that the test would be filled with typical high school reading and writing material, but this is where you would be wrong! This test covers advanced poetic verse as well as Dickens and Chaucer, and when it gives you "samples" of work to identify, you have to know the author and title based on a 1-2 paragraph section. I am starting to regret that I did not double major in English Literature.

So, in preparation for this test I have bought the cliff notes for the most commonly referenced books on the test: Beloved, Great Expectations, Canterbury Tales, and Gulliver's Travels. In true form, I have just finished Great Expectations by Dickens and have yet to read the other three (though after scanning Beloved by Toni Morrison, I realize that I did, in fact, read it in college freshman English, thank you Paideia). The surprising thing is that I really enjoyed the short version of Great Expectations, and am seriously considering going out to purchase the full copy this weekend for leisurely reading.

All-in-all, wish me luck, pray for me and hope that I pass with a 64% (which by my calculations is the passing percentage for this particular test). If all else fails I am scheduled for the Jr. High test in November.

Oh, did I mention if I don't pass this test, the district will terminate my position at the end of the school year and I will have to re-apply for another? Crazy, I know!

Labor Day weekend...thus far

God could not have blessed us with better weather for this weekend. It has been sunny and 65 all weekend making for an outdoors-man's heaven on earth. Zoey and I checked out the Chester Creek Trail on Friday after school (it is an extension of the Coastal Trail), and with the colors of the trees already changing for Fall the walk was surreal. I don't have a lot of pictures to post, mostly because after a while all of the mountains look the same on film (not in person, I could never tire of the view).

This morning I tried out another church in the area. I am finding it hard to find a fit after being so spoiled by Hope! The first church I tried did not let women participate in leading roles, which I really have a hard time with. Then my physical therapist wants me to attend his church (he belongs to a Luther Church Missouri Synod church), but once again the woman thing is a problem, and they have to "approve" you before you can take communion...which, I feel, is not the church's decision to make. If a person has committed his/her life to Christ then he/she has the right to take communion (even if they have not committed, the issue is between him/her and God). I just do not think it is something that we as a church have a right to decide, how can we tell someone that they are not worthy of taking communion?

Finally the church I attended this weekend. It has joined up with the local christian radio station, which I do listen to as it is the only one in town, but is quite conservative. Recently, Alaska voted on a law to allow people of any sexual orientation equal rights under the law, and correct me if I am wrong, but it is my understanding that this law did not include marriage. This radio station aired commercials asking the listeners to protest this law... how can you protest a law that aims to treat people in a fair and equal way? I just don't think that the Church and politics should always co-mingle... I am not even sure how to phrase how I feel. The point is, this church was not a fit for me.

Check out this website... I think that God is trying to shove me to this church. Read the pastor profiles carefully...

http://home.gci.net/~centluth/staff.html

Diversity to the Nth degree

I know that I have mentioned it before, but my school is the definition of diverse. There is no majority ethnicity, race, economic background, or family structure in any of my 6 classes, and the best part about it is that students co -mingle. In other schools I have been in, the students self segregate to some degree, but at East they seem to all get along. Sure, there are groups of students from the same ethnic background, but they are few and far between.

Another thing I have noticed is the variety of teachers. There have been several that I have met who do things the same way they did them 20 years ago, and will continue that way for the next 20, and that makes things difficult. I was starting to get somewhat discouraged by the end of last week, as I wasn't getting out of my classroom frequently to work with other teachers in the building, and wasn't sure how things were all going to work out. Of course, God has a plan for all of us (he is just a little more patient than I would like in deciding to lay it out) and today when I began my collaborating, I found out what his plan is.

During the day I collaborate with 4 different teachers (Geometry, Algebra A, 9th Grade English, and Biology), and of the ones I had the chance to work with today, there was not a single boring teacher in the group. Their care for their students and passion for their jobs speaks volumes. It makes me proud to be part of their classroom. I can only assume that the rest of the year is going to go even better. Thanks God for showing me that patience really is a virtue.

Earthquake park round 2

God has blessed Zoey and I with another beautiful, sunny 65 degree day in Anchorage and what did we do, skipped church and headed out to the park for a hike. No worries though, I listened to Pastor Mike on my iPod during the hike. Great sermon, and great view all at once is a bit much to take in. It seems that every time I go out, even if it is to the same place, I see different things (or maybe the same things, just a different perspective).

As usual we say lots of people on bicycles (which here is a BIG deal). The bikers don't just go out in jogging shorts and t-shirts, they are all decked out in bike jerseys and spandex shorts. The bikers here are hard core. I am thankful that Zoey has finally decided to leave them alone and is much more interested in rolling around in moose poop (I think I liked the latter).

There are lots and lots of little trails that lead off of the paved path (most warning of a cliff drop off) and I learned today that several of them are not from people but from moose. This means that you have to be careful when taking the path less traveled as you may encounter more than you bargained for, the other signs warn "Don't mess with the moose". I really do need to look into what I am supposed to do when I come face to face with one, due to the fact that friends warn me it is not if it happens but when (same is true for bears when in the Kenai Peninsula). It would also be beneficial if Zoey wouldn't bark when we came near wildlife (I don't think that mamma moose enjoy little yippy animals barking at their calves).

Exit Glacier

I was happily greeted this morning by the suns bright shining rays, which could only mean one thing: a trip to Exit Glacier in Seward. After a quick shower and some breakfast, Zoey and I loaded up the car and headed out. The trip takes a little under 2.5 hours, though you hardly notice the time pass, and takes you down the winding Seward Scenic Byway along Alaska's coastline. After passing Girdwood (where Alyeska ski resort is located), the inlet gives way to curving rivers and rising mountains erupting from centuries old glaciers. Had I stopped at every roadside picture area, we would have never made it before sunset.

One stop I did force myself to take was at Beluga Point where I saw, what else, beluga whales. A grouping of about 15-20 were enjoying the high tide (the tide in Alaska is 36 feet, the highest on the continent). In the pictures they look like white bubbles sticking out of the water.

For those of you who did not know, dogs are not allowed to take the trail up to Exit Glacier. I parked my car, cracked the windows for Zoey and set out toward the trail. Glacier Exit has several different trail options, one can take the 3.6 mile hike to the upper part of the glacier, or a short 0.6 mile walk to the handicap accessible glacier view area. Due to the bum knee, I opted for the shorter route (leaving me something to look forward to on my next excursion).I couldn't post all of my pictures on the blog, but they are all under the Seward album on my facebook page so you should check it out!

Mt. McKinley

Today was the most beautiful, clear, sunny day I have seen since I arrived. There was no smog, pollution, rain or clouds to obscure the view of the Chugach Range. Thanks to my friend Leslie, I was able to take in one of the most magnificent views I have ever seen. After a short drive to Earthquake park, I was able to see the stunning view of the city that I have frequently seen in photographs (and have at the top of this blog). Upon driving further, I came across a couple of moose calves and their mama blocking a truck in its parking space. All of this was followed by a spectacular view of Mt. McKinley (look in closely and you can see it in the background of the picture.

Zoey and I are going to head back out there tomorrow after school, if the weather is still nice, and walk along the 11 mile coastal trial with its view of the inlet and Turnaround Bay. It amazes me how many people are constantly out taking advantage of the trails and nature hikes. We must have seen 20 or so bikers, dozens of families with their children, and countless others out for an evening stroll. It is things like this that make me glad to live in this wonderful state.

I survived

Today was my first day back to school with the kiddos. I can't think of anything better than 15 bleary eyed teenagers staring up at you at 7:30 in the morning, except for the 11 that were bleary eyed the last period of the day. So far the students seem "normal", and several were quite friendly. The statistics held true and I have been blessed with three times as many boys as girls, though the girls I have could probably take my boys in a fist fight, have freshman boys always been this little?

One of my friends (I now have two) and I are going out for dinner tonight to Moose's Tooth and I am super excited for the sun dried/roasted tomato, chicken, Caesar salad... it is quite possibly the best Caesar salad I have ever eaten. Maybe I will meet a hot guy and fall madly in love. Zoey and I are heading out for a walk... we must enjoy the sunshine while it lasts. Ta ta!

One more day

It won't be long before the quiet, freshly buffed halls of East High School become a rumbling stampede of 2,400 teenagers. That's right, school is back in session on Wednesday. I have a whole day to get ready for the 24 students that will greet me with what I can only assume are going to be bright smiling faces first hour (ha ha, yeah right). I did manage to get a picture of my classroom, it isn't complete but I think that it is well on its way to looking pretty spiffy.Keri wrote me an awesome note about Mark's sermon the other day (in relation to my description of the mountains). Since today was the first day of sunshine (and possibly the last), I thought I would run across the street and get a couple of pictures of what I am talking about. The pictures really don't do it justice, but it should give you an idea of the majesty of it all.

Rain, Rain

Clouds and rain have been the background for Anchorage for almost a week now, but surprisingly, it does not take the wind out of my sails. Somehow, the beauty of the mountains has an uncanny ability outshine the dismal weather. Though the mountains are certainly beautiful on a sunny and cloudless day, there is an immense beauty to mountains highlighted and small beams of light poking out from the clouds. It is so easy to take the views for granted and to look past even the most simple of beauty, but when the clouds hang on to the middle of the mountains one can sense the magnificence of the one that has created it all.

I am not yet able to get a decent picture that is worthy of the stunning elegance, but will continue to try. Keep posted!

Can I get your license and registration please?

As of 4pm I am officially an Alaskan (well almost, technically I have to live her another year) with a real license plate and driver's license. Plates here are cheap, super dooper cheap, and they don't expire for two years. The woman that I met at the DMV has got to be one of the nicest government employees I have ever met. She was super patient with my inability to correctly fill out the forms and even let me know some good places to eat.

It is raining again, frown, and Zoey and I have been stuck in the apartment all afternoon, no walk...which stinks when you are used to getting out multiple times a day. I did get a call from one of the friends I met the other day, she was wondering if I was going to a staffing tomorrow and if so, could we go together because she didn't want to go alone (I think she is telepathic). Tomorrow night we are going to go out (with some other Anchorage newbies) for drinks and live music, I can't wait. Things are going well, keep in touch... I miss you all (at least those of you I have already met).

Getting in the groove

Tomorrow is my first official day at East High School as a special education teacher. A mixture of nerves and excitement are flowing through my every limb. Today, as a warm up, all of the new staff were taken on a tour of the building and given our personal laptops. I was slightly saddened to find out that our laptops were the same as the one that I currently use (although smaller, which is quite nice for transport), and were put out just before cameras were a common installment. We will, however, get new ones in late October (or early December in school district time), and they should have the camera, so no video conferencing until then.

The staff that I have met thus far are friendly, warm and welcoming and the building is just plain huge. They have a new auditorium that would put many city auditoriums to shame, and an incredibly diverse student population. My State Farm agent was the 10th person to tell me what a wonderful school East is and how much I will love teaching there, which is incredibly encouraging.

In new news, Zoey has officially met my neighbor (though I cannot, for the life of me, remember her name) and wandered into her apartment twice, only slightly embarrassing. Now, every time I take her out for a walk she tears in that direction and attacks the door! I am not sure what is in there, but the dog thinks it is the coolest place ever. I also got to meet the neighbor, and she seems really nice. She is in business school, has the cutest son I have ever seen, and is going to enlist in the Navy when she graduates. Hopefully we will see more of her, it nice to have a neighbor you can trust to watch over your place when you are out. She loves Zoey and misses her pit bull mix she had to leave in Fairbanks (no pit bulls in our apt. complex), so I am hoping that she will watch her if I am ever out of town :)

I got my camera from Mom so the pictures are from when she was here and we went hiking and then visited Alyeska Skii resort it was gorgeous and 35 minutes from my home! Enjoy the rest of your summers!

Friends!

We had our first in service (district wide new teachers) today and I finally met some people! One girl, Leslie, a speech therapist, from Wisconsin, and I are going out for drinks on Friday (and probably Saturday, maybe Sunday too). She moved her in early June and only knows a couple of people. It was amazing to see how many people are from the Midwest, I only talked to two people that have moved in from elsewhere (both happened to be from Florida, one from the Keys), or they were native to Alaska.

Some of the interesting facts about my district:

1. It is home to over 50,000 students!
2. Over 95 languages are spoken by its students/families
3.











4. It has its own disaster plan complete with shelters, emergency generators, food and water supply and rescue squads (it can take care of 2,200 people for up to a month with out outside help).
5. Several people told em they tried to get jobs at my high school and were disappointed when they didn't!
6. East is one of the few high schools that provides its teachers with new Mac laptops.
7. ASD is home to the family support program for the whole state
8. For those of you in Iowa, our staff support system puts AEA to shame

Thats all I have for today, check back later for more!

EXTRA FUN FACT: According to "Unwrapped" Des Moines consumes the most frozen pizza in the country, NOT per-capita.

Skype me

I talked to the family today for the first time on Skype. Though Elizabeth and I discovered this nifty tool in college, it really had no practical use until now. Currently, I don't have a camera for my computer but hopefully the laptop that the school provides will come with one. It was fun to see Annie, Mom, CJ and Max... it made me feel just a little bit less lonely (Aunt Janie I don't know how you moved to Florida all those years ago without cell phones and e-mail, I couldn't have done it, you are much braver than I). Want to sign up: http://www.skype-official.com/

It must be raining across the entire country. Pounding rain woke me up this morning followed by a call from UNI telling me that there were tornado warnings in Cedar Rapids (because that is helpful information in a tornado free state) and that I should take cover. At first I was worried, but once common sense kicked in I realized that this I am not in Iowa anymore (did I mention that the call came at 6am, good morning Maggie). I must still be on their student list even though the only class I ever took with them was in Des Moines, last year.

Changepoint, the church mom and I checked out last weekend, was on the docket for this morning, but something kept nagging me about the "elders" in the church. Before heading out, I checked up on their website and found that the Elders run the church council and influence the pastoral team, oh yeah... and they are only men (plus they use a Bible verse to back up their decision). Now I have nothing wrong with churches that don't allow women to hold positions of influence ( okay, I kind of do), as that is their choice, as for my self, I just couldn't do it. This led me wandering the vast spanse of Google looking for a more suitable match and I think that I have found it, City Church in Anchorage. It seems laid back and even has a female youth pastor with a strong youth group (can anyone say volunteer?). I was going to go this morning, but missed the early service, so next Sunday... here I come.

As for now, I must attend to the peanut butter cookies that I made (gluten free makes for some seriously yummy, though crumbly, cookies). Zoey already figured out that licking the hot oven is NOT, in fact a good idea... she is smarter than she looks (wink, wink). I hope you all had a great weekend! Seize the week!

High School and Bison Burgers

Tonight for dinner I decided to make a bison burger salad, yes, you heard right, salad. I figure if you can make a taco salad, why not a cheeseburger salad? I cooked up some bison meat, put in on a bed of fresh Alaska Grown lettuce, added cheese, ketchup and mayonnaise, and then topped it off with some fresh slices of tomato. It was awesome!

Zoey and I were going to head down to Seward today, but according to the forecast...guess what... rain. It appears that whenever it is sunny in Anchorage, it rains in Seward (and vice-versa). I am going back to check out the church tomorrow and then go to their barbecue to meet the staff and ask some questions. I am excited to find out how action packed it is on a Sunday morning.

This past Friday I attended my first district special education meeting (I missed the one the day before as no one informed me that my district e-mail was up and running, or what the password was for that matter). It is interesting how they run the meetings here, they pay staff to come in before school starts so that they do not need to pay subs once school has begun. I have another meeting on Monday and a half day Wednesday before I officially start on Thursday.

I went to the high school I will be working for, it is HUGE, like mega large (mall size, they gave me a map so that I wouldn't get too lost). I share a classroom with another lady, whom I have yet to meet, which is thus far a bit bleak, I will need to put up my posters. Here is the website http://www.asdk12.org/schooldetails.asp?ID=830 and my name is already on the list!

The weather here has been phenomenal these past two days, so here are a couple of pictures of the lake Zoey and I visited yesterday. We may go for a walk on the coastal trail again this evening.

Thanks to all of Mom's work ladies (and men) who have been following the blog, I think you read it more than she does. Don't forget to check out Annie's fashion blog, there is a link on the side for you to click. Also, it would be extremely educational to look up my old roommate Lindsay's blog on being in Mumbai (Bombay) right now. She has quite insightful things to say about the city and country. I found it riveting.