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.