Just some thoughts....

Some of my posts lately have been either a countdown, pictures of summer, or a simple " I can't wait to be here" statement. So, I decided to reflect back on our life in Gambell, and give a few tips for new teachers that will help with the transition. I found out through the grapevine here at school that some teachers have already found my blog and thought that it was an "unbiased look on life in Gambell, and that it helped in the final decision to come up here". I felt good that some people have been reading my blog and that my photo's and musings aren't going unlooked at. Although, I wouldn't mind if they did either because that's what they are- my musings.

Even though I am not a teacher, I have been in the school every day substituting as a teacher, or paraprofessional and agree with some of my husbands statements on how to enjoy living in such an isolated place.

The most important thing to remember (in my opinion) is to have a positive attitude throughout the year. It will be your saving grace (is your glass half empty or half full? always. always choose half full!). Having this mentality will allow you to enjoy life in the village and everything it has to offer without judgement or grudge that you are in a rural area. It also will help to come here with an intention to make your own opinions about things. Everyone is different, and it will have differences that they like or dislike, but it's important to keep an open mind.

Another important thing that we learned is that we needed to be actively involed in the student's lives other than academics. The school offers many different opportunity to partake in tutoring programs and atheltics along with spelling bee, and battle of the books. It was a tremendous help to be part of the extra curricular activities. They not only helped you with "taking up time", but you truly got to know each and individual student. This relationship will make interactions in the classroom a positive experience.

Being a 'guest' in a close niche community may be intimidating and some teachers keep to themsleves. However, if you want to learn about these people on a personal level, you need to get involved in the community. These people are very warm and welcoming to new teachers and are very eager to teach and show others about their way of life. Ask questions! I don't know how many questions I have asked, but I'm sure if you asked the multicultural teacher I am sure it's plenty! There are also community functions that teachers are always welcome to go to. Thanksgiving and Christmas are a good time to get involved as there are lots of activities going on. So, another tip for new teachers or visitors to Gambell, or any rural village- get involved in the community.

These things will help very much in your transition from the supermarkets, stoplight, fresh fruit living to the beautiful, cultural, rural island of Gambell. Please, if you have any questions comment below and we'll answer to the best of our ability and opinion.

Hope you all have a wonderful teaching experience. It's truly one that you'll never forget!

T.

3 More Weeks....

Until Summer Fun with Family and Friends!

Summer lovin'

I can't wait to be out there....Look at the blueness! Isn't it perfect?

(We have not experienced Spring yet, so I'm dreaming of summer)
This was a trip around Gravina Island in Ketchikan, Alaska.
We can't wait to be home!

Midnight Readings...

It's not quite midnight yet, but it's 10:42 pm and I can't fall asleep. With Clint asleep next to me and with the laptop on my lap, I am watching Sleepless in Seattle and reading craft/mommy blogs. Yup. I know I'm not a mommy yet, but these blogs take up A LOT of my time. I am constantly finding new and crafty ideas for every occasion, and it will help next year once I become a teacher, but for those of you who like to surf the 'net for nothing in particular (hi mom!) these blogs are listed on the right hand side of the blog under "My Reading List". Click on them, you won't be sorry and you will actually find lots of stuff :o) Happy Reading!

Another beauty...

For

WHALE!

School was let out early at 2:40 because one of the boat crews landed a whale! The boaters came to school to let everyone know that the whale will be on shore in one or two hours.

**Update: It's now 7:00, and they just now landed the whale on shore. There's a lot of work that goes into getting meat for the village.

For all you "smart" ones out there!

This sign was posted at a science fair we had last week. I wonder who the "smart ones" are?

Sierra's Play Date

Well...sorta kinda. Today was beautiful, so of course Clint, Sierra and I had to go for a walk. Of course. While we were walking, this fella decided to come and play which Sierra instantly had a good time:

Weekend Still Life...

This weekend we were able to walk around in nice, warm(er) weather. It was nice, because while we were walking along the North beach we saw many different families and people enjoying the outdoors. Most of them however, were whaling. Savoonga, the neighboring village, already has 3 whales and so Gambell is trying to get their share. No luck yet. Hopefully soon.




If you have ever been on a four-wheeler (or "Honda" if you are from bush Alaska) you know about the sign that states: "Do not drive with passengers". This is a classic picture that goes against all of that:
There is at least 5 bodies on this Honda, maybe more if they had a baby on board!

18...14...28...35...3...1

• 18 is the number of boxes Clint and I packed this weekend for White Mountain...
• 14 is the number of days until the last week of the semester...
• 28 is the number of days until we are happily back in Ketchikan with family!
• 35 is the number of days until we are in Arkansas visiting our family!
• 3 is the number of years Clint and I will have been together on April 28th (married for 2)!
  
• 1 is the number of year(s) I have left until I reach my degree in Elementary Education...

There you have it... 18,14,28, 35,3,1...The numbers that have been in my head all day!
(but who's counting?!)

Quote of the Day...

"If it won't catch fire today, clean it tomorrow."
-Erma Bombeck

That's EXACTLY how I feel today! I'm going to do absolutely nothing except my pilates --after work and homework of course (:

Sunday Doings...

I had such a great, relaxing weekend! I was sure busy as well. I made cards for our nieces and nephew in Arkansas because three of them are celebrating their birthday's in a couple of weeks, and one card for the oldest niece, just because we love her! The cards turned out so cute, and I'm so happy that I had the time to do some crafty stuff.
This year, Clint and I pledged to be more involved in our families lives because we are so far away that we need to start acknowledging holidays, especially birthdays, because they are so special! I have some gifts for my mom and sisters that are beautiful! I would post pictures...but they have no idea what they are, and I want it to be a surprise.

Okay, remember a couple posts back I said that you need to check back for some donuts! Well, I was VERY successful as they were oh so delicious. And sugary, so we only ate one, but they were a carnival in my mouth!























The best part?? Is that they are baked! Yup, they are not fried in oil and full of 'fatty' stuff. Yes, they are coated in sugar, but that's tasty :) so it's okay. I found a recipe here. It's a site that is full of good food that's healthy! Who knew?

Pictures....Pictures...And more Pictures

While I was going through our pictures today and looking at all the wonderful times we have had here in Gambell, I realized that you guys have only seen a little glimpse of what it has been like. So, my day was spent updating our online photo album with some more pictures of what we have seen. If you click the link below, you will go directly to our photo album page. Go ahead. You know you wanna! Click it:

Shultz Family Photos

Calling Spring!

Today I woke up and looked out of our living room window and found it covered in snow! Throughout the night, the wind crept in and invited the snow to join him. Now, we are stuck inside looking out at the blizzard. Being tired of this cold, white weather, I resorted to looking at past pictures before the winter weather. Love the colors! Can't wait for colors.

The Story of Mongolian Beef....And how it came to me

Tonight I made an oh-so-scrumptious dinner. Yes. Me. Me, myself, and I made Mongolian Beef for dinner. See, a co-worker who's such a lovely lady has taught Clint and I the ins and outs of oriental cooking and she's amazing. You are probably wondering how it came to be that I ended up making dinner tonight. Well, here it goes:

Clint started out by defrosting the meat and afterward decided that he didn't want to cut it up. Okay, so I resorted to cutting up the meat, then I asked him if he would make the marinade sauce. "Honey, you can do it, it's for practice!" (Are you kidding?) Alright. So there I was making the sauce, and since I was already covered (not really 'covered' but dirty nonetheless) in soy sauce and brown sugar I decided to keep going, I mean, I was already 'cooking'. So after a long 35-45 minutes of me cooking with a question every 1/2 second for Clint, I was finished. And here it is, a gourmet dinner (well, as gourmet as you can get in Gambell)! I am entering the realm of a domestic housewife-ish (at least for tonight anyway!):
Ha! You think I made this on top of taking a spectacular photo of it? I gotcha good! Nah, I wish my food looked that good and I wish we had fresh veggies of all sorts here but we don't. All we have is meat...and onion. I just wanted to see if you really believed me. I did cook it though! I even took a picture of Clint's plate before he ate:
See the little pieces of onion? They were so so good!

Who knew that blogging about food would be one of the longest posts in our blog? Not me! But to my fascination about what I have been learning in the cooking/baking realm of things, I wanted to share with my family and friends my accomplishments. Mom, Dad, be expecting this Mongolian Beef when we get home :)

So, to end this post I wanted everyone to know that Tory Shultz can now cook Mongolian Beef:)
And check back here in a few, I plan on making some delicious baked (not fried) donuts! Yum.

Remember When

I was talking about spring and how there are no signs of it anywhere here? Well, just to give you an idea of what I am really talking about I took a picture outside our front door. Much to my-not-surprise there was a snow bank about ten ft. high! It's incredible how fast it comes in.
Take a look:

Morning Visitor...

Last weekend we had a visitor, of course it was around 9:30 when we woke up but there he was, on a storage box looking in our window.

Hello Friend!

Polar Bear Warning..

It was such a nice, warmer day after work yesterday that Clint and I decided to take Sierra for a walk. After a while walking along the ice covered ground, we ran into a local guy who was scouting the ice for polar bears and whales. He told us that we need to be careful if we are going walking because they (local workers) had scared off a polar bear that was wondering around on the lake, and they saw another polar bear by the mountain just a couple of hours before us. Then, I noticed that we don't have our camera with us! It's funny that I was thinking about the camera when there are polar bears in the area. I learned (or should I say re-learned) a few of things:
1. I need to bring a camera everywhere we go
2.We need to make sure we have protection against wild animals
3. I need to bring a camera everywhere we go

As much as I don't want to walk up on a polar bear, that is one thing that I am hoping we see before we have to leave.