New People Arrive

Hey there,

This week two of are professors arrived at Barrow Monday night. They have been observing our classes and hanging out with us. It has been much fun to have a couple extra gusties around. Deb and Lois have been going to the gym with us to work out and even helping us teach some lessons. Lois, being the art professor, is going to help teach an art lesson in Kristian and my classes tomorrow. We will be using exacto knifes to cut out paper. Of course this project did not come without its difficulties. There are not very many exacto knives here in Barrow. We were able to find 3. The rest are extra blades duct taped to pencils. (Improvising is pretty important here.)
On Saturday we will be going out to the point in search of wild animals. Hopefully we see some. Oh, yeah Britt also decided to play a prank on our profs (see the video below).

Peace out.
Cassandra

Whale Time!

Good evening Loyal Blog Readers,

Welcome to this special edition of GITT (Gusties in the Tundra). I'm your host, "Brit to the Holm".

News was spread across the slope earlier this morning on NPR that the first Barrow whale was landed yesterday at approximately 3:30pm. The wife of the whaling crew captain was ecstatic and praised the Lord for their catch. She mentioned that they would feed the community as soon as they got the whale into town. Yum yum maktak!

My classes were buzzing with talks about the length of the mammalian creature. "It's 29.4 feet long and it only took 5 minutes to pull out of the water!!" Usually, it can take as long as 4 hours to a whole day to pull the bowhead whale out of the water and 29 feet is a nice size whale, but with news of the first whale, many people came out to help pull out it making the job a whole lot faster. The entire community comes out to help and the whaling crew offers a small portion of whale meat in return of the favor. Point Lay also caught it's first whale and it's length was 30.1 feet. (My sources are VERY reliable).

I asked my students if they were going to go out and see it, but none of them said "yes." I was disappointed. There are red flags marking the trail to the lead where the whale is located. If I ONLY had a snow machine!!...and a gun...just in case I meet a polar bear....you never know.

In other Barrow news, the final results for the snow/ice sculpture came out and the snow sculpture that we built placed 6th. I was not very happy with the extension and the combination of the male and female groups at the last second--we would have originally placed 3rd and won a gas card.

Keep on reading!

Peace, Love, and Whaling,
Brit

UPDATE: The whaling crew "Aries" (check for spelling) was the crew that landed the first whale. The whale was harpooned right near the edge of the ice...a true illustration that the whale "gives itself" to the crew if they are worthy. I hear that on the edge of the ice, there's ocean as far as you can see...a sight that I really want to see soon.

Paammaagigniq and Nagliktuutiqagniq: Cooperation and Compassion

We have now spent three and a half weeks in the schools and gotten accustomed to many of the customs and traditions of the Inupiaq people. Two major values that have played a major role to me as a teacher are cooperation and compassion, or paammaagigniq and nagliktuutiqagniq. All of the people that I have met and worked with want to help me out any way that they can. Even if it is just offering to help me with the copy machine or holding the door for me when I'm carrying my lunch tray. I have tried to do the same thing. When people work together the tasks that need to get done, get done faster, and more joyfully.

Of course everyone that works at the school has to have a certain level of compassion for their work as well. And I have seen that most of the people at the school care an extraordinary amount about the wellbeing and learning environments of their students. This is a necessity for a great school. 100% of the staff has to care 100% of the time! I have seen these values in the school system here, and that is a great thing.

Spirituality: Ukpiqqutiqagniq

Today, Trevor and I attended church with Liz, a staff member of the college.

Immediately upon our arrival, one girl came out and greeted Liz. Turns out, I have met this girl before at the...wait for it...middle school dance!! "I remember you!! Come on!" I struck up a conversation with this young girl about her MANY siblings and how she is moving in the end of May.

It was exactly what I needed. I always step into a church nervous because I don’t know what to expect. For the first time, it didn’t happen. I walked in and felt like at home. No nervousness, no anxiety…just free with joy beaming. I saw a few of my students so I briefly wished them a “Happy Easter” and soon found myself talking to the husband of the biology teacher! He asked me if I was going to come in and observe his wife's class. I explained that I didn’t want to be burden and that by the sound of things, she sounded busy and didn’t want me. He looked at me quite quizzically and said that he would talk to her. You don't know how stoked I would be for a biology class right about now.

Turns out the husband is the youth pastor and has briefly taken over the congregation because the previous pastor left in January. Their new one won’t come until June.

It opened up with a prayer from a elder of the church. She spoke first in English and then in Inupiaq, followed by music provided by the worship team and a choir. There weren’t matching robes, just ordinary people who love singing God’s word, song, and praise. It was just unbelievable! I was overcome by it all and just let go and enjoyed myself. The youth group did a skit that was just phenomenal!! The choreography was out of this world, complete with strobe lights, chains, and of course, the spirit. The church is small, but it was packed and I counted at least 17 people in the youth group—most of them I knew.

Another member of the church came to read a few scriptures, again English and Inupiaq. He mentioned that he was Inupiat and that their people are spiritual and they know the power of prayer. I had a few exchanges with this man as we wished each other a "Happy Easter" and joked about the Eggsravaganza that was going to take place later on today.

After everything was said and done, we helped stacked chairs, smiles were exchanged as well as farewells and hugs.

We arrived at the college totally eggstatic about our eggsperience as we tried to eggsplain the skit with our added eggcitement.

I don’t know how else to describe this moment, but I know I’m coming back next week.

P.S. Easter Brunch that the folks put on in the caf was AH-MAZING!! And some unknown person bought me lunch.

Happy Easter!

Have an eggstraordinary day!
Brit

Graduation

Well hello there from the top of the world.

Friday marks the end of the week for us and the start of a weekend for us. But for some Ilisagvik (the college where we are staying) students it was the end of their time at college and the beginning of their lives. If these words sound familiar they should because we attended Ilisagvik's graduation.

The ceremony started out with the all so familiar procession of graduates, but instead of a "classic" graduation song like Pomp and Circumstance the students walked into the auditorium to native drumming and singing. And instead of walking through a boring arch or nothing at all the graduates walked through two huge pieces of baleen. It was a beautiful procession. As the ceremony got under way in true Barrow style the schedule they provide us for the ceremony was all out of order, ahh Barrow.

During the ceremony one of the students gave a speech and talked about her hardships throughout life but how the support of her parents pulled her through. She invited all of the parents, guardians, and relatives to stand up and receive praise for their support and love. It was quite heartwarming.

When it was time for graduate to receive their diplomas there was a lot of hooting and hollering. A father accepted a diploma for his son who was unable to graduate. This man got up on stage, accepted the diploma, and then made to leave but stopped at the podium to say a "few" words. A "few" words turned into about a 7 minute speech about the benefits and real life scenarios his sons education has helped him in and how he had no idea that his son was going to graduate from college, ahh Barrow. He ended his speech with a heartwarming phrase saying "We sometimes don't know what our kids are into, but this turned out good."

After the graduation ceremony there was a pow wow-esque party. There was food, mingling, dancing and singing. It was great! There was a little boy with huge cheeks that was the most precious little guy and he got up on stage and danced with the dancers. So then everybody started trickling up to the stage to dance, including some gusties. We danced a couple of the traditional Inupiat dances which was probably quite the sight to behold.

All of us liked being at the graduation because it made us look forward to our own graduation. Its hard to think that in about a month we will all be walking into the football stadium to "Pomp and Circumstance", cheering when our friends cross that stage and get their diplomas, and maybe shedding some tears when we walk out of the stadium. Tears that symbolize a sadness for the end of one stage of our lives but tears of joy for the beginning of a new one.


Meredith

Under Pressure

Dear Basic Chemistry Class,

Below you will find the Gas Law Video. Watch it. Afterward, read Chapter 11 Section 2 and complete the Internet Video/Internet Gas Manipulations/Create Gas Law Experiment worksheet (located in your packet).

Tomorrow in class, we will do a series of demonstrations where you will have to identify which Gas Law is being exhibited, so make sure you know your stuff! Also, if you choose to partake in the extra credit opportunity, you can present it tomorrow in class. The lab is equipped with balloons, flasks, bunsen burners, vacuum pumps, hot plates....just to name a few. You CANNOT perform any of the demonstrations that were in the video and if you happen to think of a demonstration that is in lab, you have to demonstrate it prior to lab!! (This shouldn't be a problem because your demonstration requires that you incorporate both Boyle's and Charles' Law, also known as the Combined Gas Law).

Also, a special thanks for Xavier for volunteering to be vacuumed sealed for freshness.

Thanks for watching and if you have any questions don't hesitate to ask in class tomorrow or shoot me a quick email at: brittany.holm@nsbsd.org

See you tomorrow in class!
Ms.Holm

P.S. Did you just pass gas?

Frozen Beach Bonfire

Wednesday night we had a bonfire on the beach across the road from the college. It was awesome! Britt and Doria made signs for it and displayed them all around the school. People went around the college campus and collected pallets to burn (remember, there are no trees, meaning no logs). A bunch of professors showed up and a couple of them built this big tower and then lit it on fire. They even brought a propane torch which made it a lot easier than working with matches. I have had a fire in the snow before but never to this scale or in this cold. It was -13 degrees with flurries. I was wearing a sweatshirt, hat, and mittens. I was either burning up or super cold. It was very hard to keep an even temperature. The best way was to keep turning in a circle as if being roasted on the steak.


We had half racks of soda, hotdogs, (with bread not buns because the AC did not have any) and smores fixings. It was very difficult making smores because it was so cold. By the time I put by marshmallow with my chocolate and gram crackers the marshmallows were cold. Another interesting thing about the fire was that about ¼ of the people drove over and sat in their cars.

Anyway it was a fun time and we got to meet some new people as well.

Later gator,
Cassandra

Science + Boredom = Cassie in a tight situation

This is what happens when some Gusties decide they need a break from lesson planning/need to try out an experiment for later next week.

Enjoy!

Trevor

Quviangunik: Humor

As I bite into my semi-cold pepperoni pizza and nibble on my chocolate chip cookie during lunch (by far the best lunch I've had here), I glance up to see one of twelve Inupiat value posters that are scattered all over the school. This one has a picture of a native man on a stage making funny faces and gestures out to the audience. I can just visualize him telling a story that has the audience in cahoots.

Everyone tries to be funny at some point. I would wager that in almost every conversation I've had, someone cracked a joke or pun while talking (some without realizing it).

As Mel Brooks said, “Tragedy is when I cut my finger. Comedy is when you walk into an open manhole cover and die.” It is very difficult to think something is funny when all you feel is the pain. The pain of expecting something, but it doesn't fall through, or maybe you completely biff it on the stairs and now you have giant bruise somewhere on your leg, OR if you are someone that I know...you try to hop in a van only to have the weight of your backpack pull you back out. In any case, we somehow find a way to spin our mishaps and fortunes into humor and comedy, especially in Barrow.

One aspect of humor, things that make us laugh, is the stuff in our lives that makes us feel awkward, uncomfortable, or even disturbed. I know I've mention that my students know more than me about chemistry that they could be teaching me OR have ridiculed the way things have been going in my chemistry classes to others OR sharing our "Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad, Days"...it's funny, but yet embarrassing and painful.

I know I've had my share of pains here in Barrow, and I'm sure the others have as well. If there's one thing that I've learned quite a bit about while being in Barrow, it's my share of pains that turns into laughter. I don't think I have ever laughed so much in such a short amount of time in my life. Here is a snippet of some laughs: "The Sass", the greatest stretch in the world, the HI-LARious faces that some people make (I could burn someone right here, but I won't), members of the school board before the meeting started, the stories and cultures that have been shared and exchanged between two worlds, Joe's Museum, my attempt to teach chemistry, and my CT's sayings, one of which is "Well, knock me over with a feather."

People here make other people laugh all the time, even if it is making fun of themselves. Every one just has this feeling of "Life is precious to waste" or they don't feel the pain or embarrassment. How do they reach that state? They simply live in the present...sometimes too much if you ask me. You never get a sense of the future here. The only future thought I can think of is "Is it Friday yet?"

Laughter is what connects people. Walls get broken down and friendships form, hopefully forever. Not only that, it can make you more productive as one tries to think of ways to make learning fun.

Laughter reduces pain, increases job performance, connects people emotionally, and improves the flow of oxygen to the heart and brain. True scientific fact.

The Inupiat people have it right for their values: Laughter is indeed the best medicine.

Live long and prosper,
Brit

Study Breaks and Cultural Univerals

As with all things, sometimes you just need to take a break from it. Lesson planning is not an exception to this rule. Our planning breaks have included day to day things, such as going to the gym and playing pickup games of basketball with the college students, to more unusual events such as vacuum sealing Cassie in a plastic garbage bag. (I tried to upload the video of this classic moment, but the 2 and a half minute video was less than a quarter of the way finished when the timer hit the 3 hour mark. So I gave up.)

There are have been some things that have been foreign to us, such as eating Muktuk or seeing the price of milk at $10.99, but there have also been some things that are universal. One of the major things that I have noticed is with my students. The universal thing is how my 2nd graders see the world. They are so filled with life and energy, and wanting to succeed and learn. Nothing, not even a student throwing up on the indoor playground can phase this love of life and learning. It makes me absolutely sure that I made the right choice of profession. I think this is true, no matter where you are in the world.

Keep warm!

Trevor

Fun Photos

The Ilisagvik College parade float. Apparently they love everyone.

Brittany Holm: Literally head and shoulders above the competition.

The crew at Joe's Museum with Joe himself and his giant polar bear.

This barrel is called the honey pot. This is not the kind of honey pot Winnie the Pooh was always looking for. However, you will still find Pooh in it.

Finding Filipinos

I am half Filipino and growing up in Minnesota, did not see a whole lot of other people from the Philippines. Until a couple weeks ago, if I had to take a guess as to where I could travel and find a large population of Filipinos, Alaska probably wouldn't have been one of my first answers. In fact, it most likely would have been on of the last. However, after two weeks in the elementary school I have noticed that there is actually a rather large population of Filipinos in Barrow. As a matter of fact, Filipinos make up the largest Asian ethic group in Alaska.

At first I didn't think about it and just thought it was really cool to talk to people who don't get nauseous when I mention eating a duck egg with a nearly-developed egg embryo or who love rice as much as I do. But then I started to look around and see more and more children and adults who were part or full Filipino. Which was just about the time when I thought to myself - What on God's green earth made these people leave hot, sunny islands with beautiful beaches and fruit trees everywhere, and go to a place where if someone mentions 'trees' everyone laughs, where when a guy says "It's not too bad out" it's still -10 degrees, and where people ditch their winter coats and bust out their spring jackets once the temperature hits the plus side of the the thermometer?!

I decided to do some research. Turns out, the first Filipinos to set foot in Alaska did so in 1788 by being aboard a merchant ship involved in fur trading. Later on, whaling crews began hiring Filipinos and started to live in Alaska permanently starting in the early 1900's. Because of the job opportunities and oil dividend checks, the Filipino population in Alaska continues to grow.

And who knows, maybe by next year they'll have to add another Filipino tally for me. Well, I suppose it would be half a tally but you get the point.

Deuces!

Kristian

W.O.W. (Weekend of Whateverness)

Here's the weekend update!

The weekend was filled with "whatever-ness" with all of us chaperoning the middle school on Friday. Kristian, Meredith, and Trevor line judged while Cassandra and I were spectators.

Since Meredith has already illustrated the middle school dance, I will skip that part and jumped to "Post Middle School Dance." We returned to the college in a very hyper-active state. Within about 10 minutes, most of us were circled around the study lounge with our laptops out prepping for the week ahead. It was a very productive night, but awkward because it was FRIDAY night. Some of us played cribbage, others went to bed early with plans to sleep in on Saturday.

Saturday arrived, and as planned, most of us slept in. As we gathered for brunch (which is ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS) and had our food coma, we realized that we really didn't want to do anything. Was it senioritis or was it laziness? Or maybe it was because it was the weekend and we just want to "chill" a bit. As Meredith so nicely quoted, "I just want to play in the snow." Barrow was blessed with warm temperatures in the "teens". It was soooo warm!! My mother thought I was semi-insane not wearing boots. Am I turning into a native?

I met up with my mother and spent the night at her house while the rest of the gang hung out at college and had a movie night, which was "dece" (slang for "decent").

On Sunday, some of us played a massive game of basketball...we had 10 players on half a court. Kristian was knocking shots down...he should be KB (kinda of like KG) or least Pirate KB because one man couldn't believe his awesome ability to play with "one leg."

Temperatures in Barrow look to be at the highest this week since we've been here with temperatures above zero. Super psyched about the possibility of having a bonfire on Wednesday. Day 17: No sightings of polar bears or whales.

May the force be you,
Brit

P.S. I recommend eating at Sam -n- Lee's! Slow service, but EXTREMELY nice people...did I mention their food is amazing?

"On the Ice"

Last night the five of us and Doria (a friend of ours that goes to college at Ilisagvik) went to the high school auditorium to see a movie called “On the Ice”. First off, why the auditorium? Because there is no movie theater here in Barrow. So why were they showing a movie if there is no movie theater? Because the movie was about Barrow. The movie was actually filmed entirely in Barrow and the surrounding snow/ice.

Of course this is not the first time a movie has been done about Barrow, Alaska. “30 Days of Night” is a vampire movie that takes place in Barrow during the winter when it is almost always dark (instead of the almost all light that we are experiencing now). I have not seen the movie because I hate horror films but from what I have heard the town in the movie looks nothing like Barrow and they did not even shoot the film in Alaska let alone the same hemisphere (It was shot in New Zealand and surrounding areas). They are also making a movie right now (“Everybody Loves Whales”) based on a true story about helping to save a whale; which happened here in Barrow. It sounds like they filmed a little bit up here which had everyone really excited, but then they decided to shoot the rest of it elsewhere in Alaska because it was cheaper.

So anyway, it seems like everyone was pretty happy that the film stayed on location. The film also stars many people from Barrow including the lead role played by Josiah Patkotak who is also a student in one of the classes that Britt is teaching.

I really liked watching this movie because the whole time I kept thinking in my head (okay, well sometimes out loud too) oh I know where that is, we just drove by that place, I’ve seen that person before. I was also impressed with the way the director kept the culture of Barrow and its people authentic. It show cased a lot of the native culture (dancing, hunting, and native language to name a few) along with the way things have changed with the way children are growing up today. It also did not shy away from some of the tougher topics that people deal with up here such as the trouble with alcohol and drug dependence and teen pregnancy.

This was a very fun and unique movie to watch and a great way to catch a flick and get a better feel for what Barrow is like.

Flashback to awkwardness at the middle school dance.

Today was the day of all days!! We got to chaperone the Eben Hopson Middle school dance!! It was awesome. A little play by play of the days events...

We started off the afternoon by congregating at Eben Hopson Middle School to help with the volleyball tournament (pre-dance). It was a fun game and myself, Kristian, and Trevor were line referees. We had a lot of fun watching the middle school kids play volleyball. I teach at the middle school so it was fun to interact with my students outside of the classroom.

After the volleyball tournament the dance began. Brit and Cassie were at the front letting people in and taking money for tickets. Kristian, Trevor, and myself were kind of wandering chaperones. The music started and kids started pouring in and we quickly recalled the awkward middle school moments that happened oh so long ago. There was slow dances and limbo's galore. It was great fun.

After a long week I think all of us are looking forward to a calm weekend just hanging out at the college and planning lessons and what not. It is the end of our 2nd week in Barrow and we only have about 4 weeks left. All of us are shocked that the time is flying bye so fast and we are all having such a wonderful time we do not know if we will want to leave!

Some things that we are looking forward to:
Maybe going out with the researchers and counting whales.
Going to prom and chaperoning that dance.
Entering and hopefully winning the snow sculpture contest.

Hopefully I get to eat some Muktak (whale blubber and skin) soon!
Meredith

Snow Sculpture = Finished!

At last, the snow sculpture is finished. It is the Ilisagvik College logo with the capital letter "I", a whale tail, a polar bear off to the side, and the year "2011" on the top of the "I" to recognize the graduating seniors at the college. Tools used: flat metal shovel, a metal spoon, a large knife, a butter knife, and a steak knife.

I entered it into the local snow sculpture contest. Keep your fingers crossed!

Snow Sculpture in Sight! Woo, Afternoon Delight!

Hey there! Hi there! Hello there faithful blog readers!

My, what a lovely day it is in Barrow today. Current temperature is -11 degrees Fahrenheit with the windchill bringing it down to -32 degrees Fahrenheit, but the ever so misleading sun can fool you with it's sun rays. It will be a perfect day to go play in the snow and finish the snow sculpture!

I had been playing around an idea of building a snow sculpture in honor of the seniors that are graduating at Ilisagvik this April. Last night was the first day of constructing it. On my way out the door, I was greeted with ridicule of, "Why are you shoveling? You can't shoveling any of this snow. It's too hard," or "Who are you going to go kill?" I halfheartedly joked back and said that I'm going to go snow sculpting.

Armed with only a flat metal shovel, I scaled the massive snow pile that faces the college and began chipping away. A few college students and staff came out to the smoke shack and yelled at me to work on an already made block of snow that was on ground level. I shouted back, "But I want it up high so that everyone can see!!" and continued on chipping away the frozen ice and snow. One student came out and gave me a giant knife to carve the sculpture with, which worked like a charm! It was like slicing through butter with a knife.

I was joined later by reinforcements of Meredith and a really cool college student named Doria armed with a spoon. Doria thought that my idea was B.A. and soon both of them started helping me. By this time, a rough outline of the letter "I" and a whale tail was evident (Google Image: Ilisagvik College for a logo). Meredith went to work fine tuning the tail. Trevor arrived and work started to progress quickly, but it wasn't until Cassandra appear did it really all start to fall together. We (mostly Cass, Trevor, and Doria) hauled up a massive piece of snow/ice boulder to the top of the hill, which will eventually get sculpted into a polar bear today. With so many hands and brains on deck, we planned our move of action to clear other boulders around the sculpture to make it more apparent, cut deeper into the mountain for scale size, make the "I" more sharp, and possibly color the logo with a spray bottle, water and dye.

I'm not exactly sure how long I was out there, but the cold wasn't bad if you were working and my eyelashes and scarf were covered in ice. Eyelashes with ice=really pretty. Good thing the fashion world hasn't conveyed that idea. Doria, a native, complained about the cold before any of the Minnesotans, so we gave her a hard time. Her comeback, "I'm not native today!" :D

Keep it real,
Brit

Muktuk and Iditarod Champions.

We woke up today and got to eat a hearty hot breakfast, of designer eggs, bacon, waffles and hashbrowns. It was a nice surprise considering we were prepared for bagels and cream cheese. The day went well after that. There was an afternoon assembly at Ipalook Elementary where the 2010 Iditarod Champion, John Baker came to speak to the students. He basically just answered some questions that the students had for him about the race.

After a little bit of work time after school Kristian, Cassie and I walked the half a block down the street to Piuraagvik, the city gym for the annual Piuraagiaqta (spring festival) community potluck. We met Brit there and all had our first taste of muktuk (whale blubber and skin.) For one of us, (we won't name names, but hers starts with a C and ends with an assandra,) it was just that a taste. For the rest of us, I don't think that it was out first choice of food items, but it wasn't too bad. John Baker came and spoke at the potluck, and each of us saw a few of our students there. We each got some autographs and had some good times.

One of the best lines of the night. We were standing behind some one passing out t-shirts.

Guy 1: Hey will you grab me one for my mom.

Guy passing out shirts: Sure what color?

Guy 1: Purple

Guy Passing out Shirts: Here you go. (Passes him a shirt.)

Guy 1: No, I need an XXL.

Guy Passing out Shirts: Oh you wanted a double XL.

Guy 1: Well yeah, she's Inupiaq, duh!

It's great to see how different cultures identify themselves but can also make fun of themselves. Until next time, Stay warm!

Trevor

Piuraagiaqta 2011 - Barrow Spring Festival

The spring festival has been going on this weekend here in Barrow and it has been quite a treat. We have gone to many events and even participated in a few. It started Friday morning but we were in school of course. That evening there was a cross country ski "race" that I participated in. Everyone tagged along to watch and we drove around the starting site for 20 min. trying to figure out where the race was. Eventually Mayor Bob showed up along with three other racers. They decided the where the loop should be (an out and back across the vast lagoon to an arch in the pipeline). While it ended up being more of a ski and chat, rather than a race, it was a fun hour on the snow, minus the part on the way back where we were being whipped in the face by the wind.

Meredith and Kristian went to the Friday Nite Fever at the roller rink for some music and dancing. That night I was awaken from my somber sleep by a knocking on the door at 2am in the morning. It was Meredith telling me that she saw the northern lights outside. So I threw on my jacket and ran outside to see nothing! Shortest display of northern lights apparently. Thanks Meredith.

We started Saturday at the Heritage Center Museum. There were some great displays about whaling and the Inuit culture. Below is a picture of a rifle is used to shoot the explosive into the whales when whaling. Above the rifle are spear points that where found in whales and have helped scientists conclude that whales may live for up to 150-200 years.

Then we went to the parade, which was awesome. It consisted of people in decorated trucks throwing out handfuls upon handfuls of candy. There were even full size candy bars. Best parade I've ever been to.

While Meredith, Trevor, and Britt went to some science lectures Kristian and I went to the middle lagoon for an assortment of races by the whaling crews. We watched a 2 x 4 race, harpoon throwing, cooking contests and an umiaq race (where the whaling crews load their boats onto their sled and push it across the snow).

We got to sleep in on Sunday because the events did not start until 3pm that day. We watched the whaling captains sled race, whaling crews tea race (where they race each other to melt ice and make tea), and snowmobile races.

While we were waiting for the snow mobile race to start we made a little snow shelter to block the wind. It worked very well and kept us warm.

It was a great weekend filled with many fun activities. But now we start a new school week. Which will be fun as well because it will be the first real school week since we had testing last week.

Bye for now - Cassandra

Parade in the Tundra

When you think of a parade you think of hot summer days, drinking cold lemonade, and catching a couple of pieces of candy and watching the cool floats. Well they do it in Barrow too. It is a little different in Barrow but it is still the same concept. Instead of being hot it was about -10 degrees, instead of drinking lemonade our noses got slightly frozen, it rained candy and instead of floats there were trucks with signs on them. The parade was about 20 floats long and that was just long enough because it was cold!!!!

Meanwhile we have been celebrating other events during the Spring festival, Piuraagiaqta and having a blast. Cassandra participated in a cross country ski race, Brit won MVP at the basketball awards, Meredith, Trevor, and Brit saw a couple of speakers at the new science building in Barrow, and Cassandra and Kristian saw a snowmobile race in town. We also stopped by the Heritage Center for the craft show it was awesome because there was also a book sale going on and a couple of us picked up some awesome books. I bought one called "Cat-a-louge", a book about cats! (I'm not one of those cat loving people but it had a couple of great quotes so I HAD to get it). We also went through the museum at the Heritage Center and saw many pictures and artifacts that had to do with whaling. This was exciting because it is something that is going on right now in town.

Last night a couple of us saw the Northern Lights at about 2 AM! They were not super bright but they were there. It was sooo cool.

All in all we are staying pretty busy up here and having a great time doing it! We are experiencing new things and meeting new people and its so cool. We miss our families and someone seems to be skyping with some family member or another after school at any given time, so I think we will still keep having fun!

Quyanaq (thank you in Inupiaq) for reading!
Meredith 

Scatterbrain in the Arctic

So life's been pretty nice up here in Barrow, AK. Colder, but nice. I have learned a lot of interesting things since I have gotten here and so for lack of a better idea I am just going to list them off.
1. When whaling (hunting a whale) they throw a harpoon into the whale which has a small explosive on it, and that's how they kill it.
2. You do not have to be a Native Alaskan to be on a whaling crew.
3. The caribou limit up here is 5 a day.
4. The bowhead is thought to possibly live for up to 150-200 years.
5.There are no trees here but there is a Barrow National Forest with Baleen Palms (drift wood pounded into the ground with baleen fastened to the top made to look like a palm tree).
6. Joe the Waterman has the most amazing (and the most) artifacts I have ever seen in a persons house.
7. The arctic fox is under quarantine for a large portion of the population having rabies.
8. Barrow has a million dollar football field.
9. Milk is about $11.00 a gallon (and you can buy alligator meat as well).
10. The elementary school is almost bigger than my high school and it has an indoor playground. So, that's a bit of what I have been experiencing up here. I can't wait for what's next (like the spring festival that is going to start tomorrow). Until next time, Cassandra

Ice Breakers

'ello loyal blog followers,

My name is Brit and I'm here with the weather and ice story. Current temperature is -10 degrees F, but it feels like -32 degrees F. The sea has an ice thickness of 1.47 meters or 4 feet 7 inches. It might be awhile before we get to polar plunge into sea. There are no accurate predictions as to when the ice will break, but locals say that hopefully the end of May or June.

For the past few days, I've been intrigued by the whaling season of the Inupiat that has started this week. So intrigued that I decided to "break the ice" by having some conversations with teachers and students during the three-day study hall I'm running due to SBA testing. Here's what I found out:

Teacher #1: The community has the type of school that it whats. Where else are you going to find a school that excuses students because a whale is caught? Nothing will change about this school. It will always be second or third if athletics are included in this pageant.

Teacher #2: Whaling and basketball are like religions here. School is not important to some families, which is unfortunate. You'll see kids absent for 4 days out of the week and come back like it's no big deal. Their grades are hindered and time is short. It's really hard to get those student's grade up when they have missed so much.

Teacher #3: I have a lot of students that mosey on in late because they sleep in and have a hard time getting the sleep they need during whaling season. They think sleeping in is an excuse to not come to school. School is not a priority to them. What they don't understand is that they need to be here to.

Teacher #4: I've done the math. Over half of my students have close to 30 days of excused absences due to whaling and extracurricular activities. Whaling season is where you are going to see a dip in grades and everyone starts to slack off. I can't go at the same pace as I did in the fall. It's not feasible for anyone. Students are sleep deprived and distracted. The days are longer and it's harder for those students to show up to class.

Needless to say, teachers are not a big fan of whaling season. On one such case, a student asked if he could have the final early so he wouldn't have to show up in May. This student doesn't even have a decent grade to pass and for him to ask is slightly nerving.

Student #1: I love this time of the year. It's is a tradition that has been practice for years. I love helping my family and being apart of the whaling crew.

Student #2: I have been practicing sewing the waterproof stitches and the elders approved my work. I got to make a stitch on the boat! (Whaling boats are made of a wooden frame that has five-seven seal skins sewn together to cover the frame).

Student #3: This is a time for thanks and giving. Whaling gives me a very proud feeling of who I am. When a whale is brought in, we help each other. We bless the whale for its gift in giving itself to us and we share the whale with the community.

Students, on the other hand, enjoy this part of the year very much. I think its cool to see young people excited about their culture. In some cases, students do not respond as positively to their culture and traditions.

As the whaling season continues, I have occupied myself with a book titled: "Gift of the Whale: The Inupiat Bowhead Hunt, A Sacred Tradition." It has been very helpful in filling the voids of this tradition. The more I read from it, the less I want to study chemistry and complete my TPA.

Each whaling season has as set quota of how many whales can be struck or landed. Each village or community has numerous whaling crews which camp on the edge where ice meets ocean. At camp is their umiak (boat) with a spotter looking for breached whales. Bowhead whales can hold their breaths for up to 10-30 minutes and migrate from the Chukchi Sea to the Beaufort Sea this time of year. Once a whale is spotted, crew members jump into the boat and engage in a "cold" pursuit. I don't know what happens after that...I'm not done reading the book, [SPOILER ALERT!! SKIP TO THE NEXT PARAGRAPH IF YOU DON'T WANT ME TO RUIN THE ENDING!!] but eventually the whale is killed, brought back, and shared with the community.

I wish there could be a compromise between the school and the community. I feel as though the school always gets the shaft in these circumstances. I see education as a way to empower oneself and the community. Learn skills to help better your community! Don't quit school! Finish it and be proud of it! There has got to be a way to include both in this community.

As I think more about how this tradition is performed, the more appreciation I have for those involved. As I look out at the Chukchi Sea and see the massive ice shoves that have created 8m high piles of ice on the beach shore, I think of those "breaking trail" and constantly watching ice movements to find a safe campsite and lead. When the wind hits my face sending shivers throughout my body, I think of those that have been outside longer than me to keep this tradition alive.

Bundle up and stay classy,
Brit

P.S. First basketball game tonight! Wish me luck!

Standardized Testing and Indoor Playgrounds!

As Kristian mentioned this week is a testing week for all of the schools. These Standards Based Assessments (or SBAs) are affecting the schedules that the schools have. In second grade, the students do not have to take the tests, but my cooperating teacher was pulled from the classroom today and for the rest of the week to administer tests to other grade levels. Because of this I was pushed into teaching a little sooner than would be ideal. But teaching is all about adapting to different situations and rolling with the punches, so I thought why not jump right in! I knew that these tests were a huge deal for teachers and administrators, but it is really interesting to see them in action, and all of the stress that is on the schools to perform well.

One really interesting thing about the Fred Ipalook (Ip-all-uk) Elementary School, the school that Kristian, Cassie and I are at, is that it has an indoor playground. It is really something to see a full size playground indoors at a school... but if you think about it it is necessary. I was talking to one of the cooks at the school and she was saying how we were lucky to have come during the warm season. The temperature today was -10 degrees.

Another interesting thing that I noticed and asked my cooperating teacher about was the fact that the students take their winter jackets wherever they go in the school, even though the temperature in the school is normal room temperature. The reasoning behind this was if there was a fire or other emergency where the students needed to be evacuated they can just put on their jackets and be prepared for the cold weather outside. This has definitely been a different experience than Minnesota so far, and I'm looking forward to learning more about the lifestyle and culture here as well as getting some more teaching experiences!

Stay warm,

Trevor

First Day in the School

Totes stoked. Uber pumped. Jacked. Saturated with effervescence.

However you want to put it, I am excited for the next six weeks after my first day in the classroom. Last month, the each student sent me a letter and a picture describing themselves, the school and Barrow and last week I sent a letter briefly introducing myself and answering a few of the questions that had asked. But today was the first day I got to meet my fifth graders in person and it was a blast! I always find it interesting that no matter what classroom I step into, I can always find students who have similar personality characteristics that I had when I was their age. It makes me want to teach them that much more.

This weekend was jam-packed with excitement, as Meredith and Trevor have already described, but I think I can speak for the five of us when I say that it was nice to just relax. All of us were pretty gassed by the end of the school day because of the adrenaline rush and also getting used to the time and sunlight difference. Unfortunately, the next few days we won't really be able to observe any teaching because the district is actually taking their Standard Based Assessments. It sounds like most of us will be monitoring the hall as this happens. However, it will be interesting to see the difference and similarities between the Alaska tests and the Minnesota tests.

One thing to look forward to this weekend is the Spring Festival. The city of Barrow will be holding tons of fun events to welcome spring and we will try to see as many as we can.

Until next time,

Kristian

Tour de Barrow

Today was a day for sight seeing. After a good nights rest we all awoke to a bright sun and an exciting day ahead of us. We had a delicious breakfast at Ilisagvik College (I mean this breakfast was so good it gave the caf a run for their money...) with our professor Debra and local Barrowites Steve and Vanni.

After our tasty meal we headed out to see the sights, visit the point, and see where we will be teaching tomorrow. We stopped along the way for several photo opps and enjoyed the views. The views being the snow and ice which was surprisingly beautiful. We toured all of the schools in Barrow, Barrow High School where Brittany will be teaching, Eben Hobsen Middle School where Meredith will be teaching, and Fred Ipalook Elementary School where Kristian, Cassandra, and Trevor will be teaching. All of the schools were amazing and I can speak for all of us that we are so excited to begin our student teaching stint in Barrow ASAP.

We returned to Ilisagvik College for some dinner and we headed over to the recreational center. Brittany played some basketball with students and locals from the college and she got us a little street credit with them. It was a fun time.

To continue our tour of Barrow we stopped by Joe the Waterman's place for a tour. Why would you stop at a persons house for a tour you ask? Well Joe had an assortment of objects crammed into his tiny living room of his apartment so of which were a stuff polar bear, caribou antlers, random ivory artifacts, and many other Arctic tidbits. It was a fascinating place and the owner was even more so. Joe had so many great stories and so many great notes from visitors (including one from than Govenor Sarah Palin) it was a great little adventure.

Tomorrow we have our first day of student teaching and we are all so pumped and cannot wait to get into the classroom and just get a move on. But it is a little tempting to stay up all night and hang out with some of the students at Ilisagvik because the sun does not go down until 11pm and even then it is still pretty light outside. All of us are excited for a lot of sunlight but we will see how this affects our sleeping patterns.

Oh and on Day 1 so far no polar bear sightings.

Stay warm!
Meredith

Barrow, At Last!

After traveling all day on Saturday, we arrived safely in Barrow. However, the adventure didn't begin there. On our flight from Minneapolis to Chicago, early in the morning on Saturday, our spirits were lifted by "Tammy the Terrible," a flight attendant with way too much energy for 5:30 in the morning.

After our flight out Minneapolis we waved back at Minnesota one last time as we flew from Chicago to Anchorage. The flight took a really long time. it was delayed, and we had a headwind so we ended up being on that flight about 7 1/2 hours.

We arrived in Anchorage just as everyone way about to die from starvation. We ate hamburgers at Chili's and were shocked at the prices... $14 for a hamburger, ridiculous, right? Little did we know that prices were just going to go up. We just happened to meet up with Kristian's cooperating teacher, and Tony Bissen, a former Gustie, who is a middle school teacher now in Barrow, and just happened to be in Anchorage with some students for a Geography Bee. We happened to be on the same flight as them.

After a quick stop in Fairbanks to drop off some people, and pick some others up we finally arrived in Barrow. After going to Ilisagvik College, where we will be staying for the next seven weeks, and getting our things settled; we had dinner at Pepe's Mexican Restaurant, the northern most Mexican Restaurant in North America, and met Steve, who is our Barrow Tour Guide and totes, a pretty awesome guy, we finally got to do what we all needed to: sleep.

-Trevor

Less than 24 hours...

We board the plane in about seven hours and land in Barrow about 24 hours from now.

Ask not if we are ready for Barrow... Ask if Barrow is ready for us!