We were supposed to leave Tuesday evening with the whole team, but news of a blizzard to come Monday night prompted the athletic director to send us out early. I had planned to do all my printing for the week Monday evening, but by about 9:15 Monday morning, I was told to go home to pack, because were likely leaving at 2:00 on a special charter. I frantically printed up assignments and lesson plans and ran--well, trudged through three feet of snow--back to my apartment to get my things together.
Do you think we left at 2:00? Of course not. Somehow, we got out of the village at around 6:30 Monday evening and made it to Bethel just in time to catch our connecting flight to Anchorage. Complicating this whole situation is the fact that family members are not supposed to fly together for district travel. There are two pairs of brother-sister siblings who are cousins, and those kids are cousins with most of the rest of the team; eight of our twelve players share the same last name. The head coach is the mother of one of those pairs. We did separate brother/sister pairs, but the head coach chose to fly with her daughter, sending me ahead with the first half of the team.
By some miracle, we did all get into Anchorage on our scheduled flights. Since I volunteered my time as a coach, my technical title for this trip was Chaperone/Driver. No joke! I have more experience driving in the city than the coach, so I got the rare opportunity to drive a fire engine red 15-passenger van filled with 12 hormonal teenagers all around Anchorage for an entire week. [Insert forced, bewildered smile here.]
First stop: McDonald's. Duh. The kids ordered cheeseburgers and shakes and downed them like it was their job. Given that many of these kids are allergic to milk, I worried, but I was reminded of their resiliency as they went back for more. I only vaguely remember those days of eating whatever I wanted...
[I should clarify that allergy comment. Many of our kids do not react well to milk, and why should they? Cattle don't exactly populate the Alaskan tundra, so why would this group of people be adapted to digest milk? Short and obvious answer: They are not, yet the school district must feed them from the ridiculous food pyramid that says the kids must get their dairy each day. I understand FDA guidelines and whatnot, but I hazard to say that a little common sense should be thrown in here and there. I cannot tell you how many times the kids come to my afternoon classes complaining of stomach pains, asking to "air out in the hall" or showing me their hives and asking to go get medicine; all this is due to the food that they are served for lunch. I don't mean to rag on the meals, as they actually are fairly healthy on the whole. It simply irks me that when kids ask for fish (of which we have plenty right out in the river, accompanied by a talented native kitchen staff to prepare the food), they sometimes must settle for mac 'n' cheese. All classes have said that they desire native foods over the school food. It is unfortunate that more kids cannot afford to bring their own lunch. Sadly, I believe that even if they could afford it, it wouldn't be a high priority for some families. Okay, I am off my soapbox now.]
Back to state volleyball. Not only was I the driver for the week, but I was also the ATM. I doled out each kid's per diem and also handled the fundraised monies from a couple wildly successful weekend basketball tournaments held in the village. We used that money to go out to eat, to movies, and even for a trip to a water park called H2Oasis. The kids had a blast, and it was so great to see some of them in such a different environment.
On that note, I should add that one student had never been to Anchorage, and another had not been for nine years. We had to do some pep talks about "safety in the city," going over basics that you and I rarely think about. The following is a short list of the various reminders I gave throughout the week:
-Look both ways when crossing the street; an orange hand means "stay" and the little white figure means "walk."
-Look around you in parking lots; don't take off and run! (This one was repeated. Daily.)
-Please refrain from burping loudly in public. (I was asked very earnestly why this is frowned upon. My response? "It stops being funny and/or cute after the age of four." Their response? "But why would you want to keep that in?!" I had no answer for that. Teenagers. Gotta love their honesty!)
-Don't leave yet -you must wait for the ticket to pay for your meal. Remember to say "thank you!"
-If you're not sure how to use a buffet (we were at Golden Corral), follow me! The kids were wide-eyed at all the choices and the idea of multiple plates.
Other situations came up. For example, I was asked what a curb was and why they are there. Seriously, try to put that into words to someone who doesn't see them on a daily basis! Also, one of our kids (I'll call him "John" - thinks he's a tough guy but in reality would never hurt a fly) was approached in the mall and threatened by some other kid from the city. City Boy wanted to throw punches; thank goodness John was with his team members and they gathered around him to get the other guy to back off. It really shook up John, and he asked me at least three times that week whether I'd ever been threatened in a mall (no I haven't) or if it happens often in cities, and what he should do differently next time. I explained to him that I think it may have been a case of him wearing the wrong color sweatshirt in that part of town, but I couldn't be sure. John had not been to Anchorage since we was about four, so the environment was a bit overwhelming to him.
As for volleyball, we lost our first two matches and were out of the tournament. It took me a little bit to accept that we went to Anchorage to shop and go out to eat, not to play volleyball. We were definitely outmatched, but the kids were not disappointed like I would have been in high school. On the whole, however, it was fun to experience the city through their eyes. By the end of the week, most kids wanted to return to the village; most were sick of pizza and burgers and wanted fish and moose meat, me included.
We left for the airport Sunday, but as fate would have it, they overbooked the flight and I was left in Anchorage to fend for myself for a night. [Insert relieved, happy, tired smile here!] This ended up being a good thing because half the team got stuck in Bethel, which is no fun. I called up a family friend who graciously took me in for the night. The power went out due to hurricane gale force winds (or so they felt), and we ended up playing Farkle with headlamps on while I drank my last bit of wine until Christmas. Quite the experience! The next day, I barely made my flight out due to the amount of snow on the ground.
So, all in all, I missed Monday to Monday for state volleyball, and so did half the team. When I returned, the school's focus was on the upcoming Christmas program, for which my group sang "The Twelve Yup'ik Days of Christmas." The kids had a blast making posters and re-writing the lyrics to that song, and I did too. Here's what they came up with...
On the 12th day of Christmas, my true love gave to me
12 Elders teaching,
11 feet of snow,
10 dogs a-mushing,
9 Yup'ik dancers,
8 wolves a-howling,
7 swans a-swimming,
6 moose a-calling,
5 Christmas wreaths...
4 ptarmigan,
3 King salmon,
2 polar bears,
and a grouse in a Christmas tree!
It was a hit, especially the 12 Elders teaching part.
The next post will chronicle the ridiculous adventure of how we teachers got out of the village and back home for Christmas. To give you a preview, it involves towing a plane, four hours on a runway, and eventually 30 hours of travel for this girl. I also may have upgraded to first class after a booger was thrown at me during the last week of school; it landed on my lip. (Don't worry; it wasn't intentional, and the kid felt bad.) I figured I was deserving of a little pampering after that incident.
Sorry there are so few pictures! More next time. Adios!
Susan, another great Tale! Well done, and I mean the tale, the writing and surviving in Anchorage with the kids! (The booger thing still rather freaks me out..) Thanks for sharing this exciting part of your life with the world. As ever, your Mom
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