The only pumpkin in Shak-town

I'm really glad my friend Jackie sent me a pumpkin (among many other things) for my birthday. We laughed when she said, "Do you know how much that pumpkin cost me? A DOLLAR!" The store in town didn't order any pumpkins this year, so it was the ONLY real jack-o-lantern here in Shaktoolik on Halloween night. I sat in my living room with my fellow teachers and principal, ready to hand out treats to all of the kids in Shaktoolik. I even got our "arctic room" all festived-out with:

-"Junior," the official (only) 2007 jack-o-lantern for Shaktoolik
-a spooky sounds cd (track 6: chainsaw buzzing with wailing screams, is my personal favorite)
-orange lights (I found them in the school basement)



The only difference in Halloween here from Washington is that the kids don't say, "Trick-or-Treat." Instead, they come inside and won't leave until you guess who they are. Considering that they won't talk, 90% of them wore masks, and 100% of them have brown eyes, it took me a while to guess some of them!









EVERY KID under 20 in the village goes trick-or-treating, so we probably saw about 50 kids over the course of a few hours. The principal, Linda, lives above the school so she hung out at my house and gave out the fabled "full" size candy bars. None of that "fun" size that's actually smaller nonsense. My mom sent up some fun "gummi" fangs that you can't get at the store, and they were a real hit too! Here's our preparation:



I found an ugly pirate mask in a dark corner of the school basement, and had fun scaring the kids through the window:



It feels good to have a Shaktoolik Halloween that's so similar to back home. I've never handed out candy before because we lived on the highway, but it was a lot of fun and believe me, I feel just as sick as I would during any other Halloween. The candy bowl is just so full and sitting right in front of you....Happy Halloween everyone!



Alas, but now "Junior" is all boiled up now for pie. Mmmmm, pie.

Oogruks and a Busy Inservice

Just got back from the week-long teacher inservice in Unalakleet yesterday, and boy was I tired! Part of the reason was because I had a head-cold. I caught the little sickness hanging around outside in 15 degree weather while some people were cutting up the oogruks they caught:









Oogruks being bearded seals, of course. I had just come from wrestling practice, so I was only in a sweater when they were getting butchered. I should have run home and put a coat on, but it was just so exciting I couldn't bear to leave! After a half-hour outside with only a sweater and sweat pants on, I ran home. Immediately I noticed that my hands looked like I had been digging a ditch--the top layer of skin was peeling off! I am okay, but staying outside a little while longer could have given me frostbite. I will never go outside without my thick gloves and snowpants from that day on...

Okay, except for the "Polar Run." It was a balmy 20 degrees on Wednesday in Unalakleet when we had the 5 mile run with the Bering Strait School District. After talking with expert runners, I went with a 4-layer outfit--undershirt, t-shirt, sweater, and fleece.



It was the most bizarre run I've ever done, and I came in 4th place! I've never ran so hard without sweating a drop. I really thought that I might die during the 3rd mile stretch, and it was the first time I've ever had to walk in a race. I actually turned around and ran backward for a while because my entire front side felt frozen. Plus, there was frost forming on my shoulders when I came across the finish line.

Here's another picture from around town--the "jalop," one of my student's snowmachines. I like how bungie cords and scraps of wood are holding it together:

Eskimo salad son muy delicioso!

Delicious eskimo salad! Heidi, the wonderful Special Ed teacher at the school, bought me a bowl over at "corp" (the store). Here are the main components:



Mmmm, tasty! The native food is starting to grow on me, especially the beluga meat. It's like oily, thick jerky with kind of a fishy taste. Eating all of this marine mammal meat got me hungry for sushi! So I cooked up a "Shaktoolik" roll (a la Sushi Town) with shrimp, cucumber (2$), imitation crab (3.50 a pound), spicy mayo I made, and onion greens from my onions (they are trying to grow in my bedroom). It turned out a lot better than my previous attempt, but I'm still trying to copy that succulent Sushi Town in Bonney Lake, WA.



After it snowed a tiny bit, people are taking out snowmachines and racing around the village. Here's Mikey on his new ride, Polaris is the mobile of choice in these parts, though he is on a Ski-Doo, 'cause they are faster: