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.