Ask and You Shall Receive

I have had a BUNCH of requests to start a blog about this new adventure in my life, so if I get a little lengthy just remember...you asked for it! :)

I figure everyone wants to know where I am and how to say it so that is where I will start. First all if you talked to my mother right after this whole thing really got started I am NO WHERE NEAR Anchorage (she was informed and has since changed how she describes where I am-Love you Mom! ;)) Tuluksak (TOO-LOOK-SAK as one student showed me how to pronounce it) is about 500 miles west of Anchorage along the Tuluksak river which flows off the mighty Kuskokwim (pronounced exactly how it sounds) about 35 miles up river from Bethel. If you are ever want to plan a trip to come see  me 1) that would be awesome we love to have guests, 2) get ready for a completely different way of life, & 3) I hope you like, wait LOVE plane rides, air ports, and extended layovers! From Amarillo you take a plane to Denver or Dallas (whatever your preference) then a plane from there to Seattle, plane from Seattle to Anchorage, Anchorage to Bethel where you say goodbye to nice jets and hello to either a 9 seater caravan (classy) or the more average 4-6 seater Cessna to Tuluksak. While it sounds like a pain (and honestly kind of is) the end result is breathtaking.
Tuluksak is out on the tundra, it is surrounded by some amazing plants and animals and some absolutely stunning scenery. The way of everyday life here is like  stepping back a few hundred years in history (and as a history teacher I could not be more excited!) and something I hope everyone could be a part of (even for just a little bit) someday. These people truly do live off the land, what they catch in the spring, summer, and into fall is just about their only food supply for the winter unless they want to pay an ungodly amount of money for something from the store (I will save that for another post!). They are a subsistence people and what they catch is what they eat. They tan the hides to make all manner of things, the outsides of their houses are a hunters dream with antlers (some almost as big as me if not bigger!!) and bones, and if you like fish or game meat well look no further, some of the food people pay BIG money for in the lower 48 (The rest of the U.S. except Hawaii) is an everyday meal here. While I am NOT a fish person and have never really tried anything but beef, I am hoping to expand my horizons up here. The village (yes village) just received phone and internet capabilities a few years ago and it is still a big deal :). It is a small, sometimes quiet, but very isolated village and I am very thankful for the opportunity to get to come here and not only begin teaching but to learn from a people who have been on this land for thousands and thousands of years. I am also very thankful for all the people who wanted me to start this blog, your support has been nothing short of amazing! Well that is all for now (my fingers are starting to get a little tired haha) but I will be following up shortly with some village life stories and about my first day not just as a teacher but as a teacher in Alaska-The Last Frontier.