Academic Decathlon

So this year I had the pleasure of chaperoning the Academic Decathlon team again. It was a fun time. Last year we ended up getting stuck in St. Mary's and stayed the night in Pitkas Point, where we slept on gym mats in the kindergarden room. Fun times! Flights were smooth this year, however, so we got home on schedule.

Of course things got off to a rocky start - the coach did not make it into Anchorage until 9:00 pm, so I attended the coach's meeting in her place. Once things got rolling, however, it was such a fun week in the city with basically the same group of kids as last year. Being around teens who consistently held open doors, said 'please' and 'thank you' for the littlest things, and who were genuinely curious about their surroundings was quite refreshing. I entertained all sorts of curious questions and hilarious statements. Here are just a few:

• "Do those solar panels make all the electricity for that building?"-Jason
• "How does a credit card work?" Rebekah asked. I explained to her how they typically operate. She responded, "Oh, so it's a good thing I didn't get one back at that one store then huh?" Yikes.
• "Is that sea urchin poisonous? Can he poke you and you go (makes a dead face)?" -Ellis
• "Is this edible?" (One student pointing to red cabbage, another to arugula)
• "It's okay to cry...it means you have a sensitive heart."-Isaac (can you tell he is the eldest of 6?)
• "I'm next to a button, what did you expect me to do?" - Isaac, after pressing at least 3 other floors' buttons in the elevator when we all just wanted to get downstairs on time.
• "Maaan, Aca Deca is better than all the sports!" - Serena

We took them for sushi, to the mall, Moose's Tooth pizza, and did a campus tour of Alaska Pacific University, ending with the chance to touch an octopus! Check it out:

View from APU student center. 

"I wanna make electricity!" (Note the
red and white signage where the wheel
should be.)

Climbing wall.

Clyde posing for us. 

Sea anemone - quite the hit!

To eat, the octopus' tongue drills through the shell of its prey. You can
just barely see it when held up to the light.

Yep, I'm touching an octopus! Her name is Dena (pronounced Day-na).

After our tour of APU, we had the banquet back at the hotel. Here are a few shots of that.

"Is this edible?" - the team captain, Chantel.

Jace was quite skeptical as he sampled the greens.

We started home on Sunday. At the airport in St. Mary's, the students started to notice my ancient electronics: an MP3 player and a new flip phone because my smart phone has become a dumb phone, and there ain't nobody got time for that! I am quite proud of being from last century, thankyouverymuch. However, it does make for tricky traveling, as I must pack various chargers and wires and cords and such. Do you remember travel before electronics? Maybe a book and your walkman with batteries and a few tapes or CDs? Those were the days.

Spending as much time as I do in airports, I have realized that people would rather communicate with their beloved phone than strike up a conversation with a soul seated nearby. I find this sad, because those souls often have some pretty good stories that you might not get the chance to hear ever again. Your phone, however, likely won't run off. Try it next time you're out - look up and smile at someone! It's kinda fun; you never know what you're gonna get out of the situation.

I'm also convinced that our ears will forever be assaulted by the loud and obnoxious ringtones and games of people who've forgotten or see no need to silence their phones in public places. It is times like these that I am truly disappointed that I cannot smack some people upside the head, an urge brought on simply because of the startle from said sudden racket. Surprisingly, teens are not the worst offenders in this area, according to my very scientific airport people-watching observations.

"What century are you from?" implored
a mystified Coleen, as she informed me
that her phone "does all of that" - meaning
that it calls/texts, takes photos, has music...
"1857," I replied.

Some of us in our snow gear, part of the team waits at St. Mary's airport: From
L-R, we have Chantel, Serena, Jason, myself, Coleen, and Irene.  The rest of the
team did not leave Anchorage until 2:00; they were routed differently. 

My view on the way back to Marshall in a little 207.

See the moose? The pilot dipped sideways so we could see better.

From the plane.

An aerial view of Marshall. 

When we got back, my neighbor Howie was building this igloo. He said he'd never done it before and just wanted to give it a try. I promptly claimed it. 

The sunset over our slough of the Yukon after a full, fun day.

So that's my latest adventure. I'm now back to tutoring, trying to catch up with an online class, and am looking forward to sleeping in my own bed. Thanks for reading!

Ask and Ye Shall Receive

So ya know how I said the next month will be crazily busy and jam-packed? A friend from back home once wrote to me that "writing is a form of prayer," and I've carried that thought with me this past year. Well, apparently someone upstairs heard my concerns and granted us a bit of respite - following are some of the recent events, or lack thereof, in the village:

• One of the tournaments we were supposed to host got moved to the next village upriver because we are co-oping with that team. So that freed up this weekend. Don't worry, the village filled that in with their annual potlatch, a time of much Eskimo dancing, feasting, first dances, and gift-giving. As I remember last year, it also brought the community together a bit as well. We could use that once again. 

• The tutoring position is going pretty seamlessly; I have great student interest and support from the parents and the district. A student of mine stopped by for extra work after school today, a Friday, and I will see her tomorrow at tutoring. Her drive amazes me.

• Academic Decathlon ended up being cancelled due to bad weather; because there were only eight students competing, they all get to go to the state meet in Anchorage next week. (Each team consists of ten members.) My student also gets to go as an alternate. Guess who got tapped to chaperon that trip? Initially, I did not want to be gone right at the start of tutoring, but thought that a few days staying in the Anchorage Hilton with basically the same group of outstanding kids from last year would be a healing thing for me. With so many things going on and some squirrelly kids in the classroom, I'm glad for a bit of a break in the city. Plus, it will give me a chance to grab some things for the science fair we will be holding soon!

• With an in-service day on Monday, I will only be teaching one day next week due to my Academic Decathlon responsibilities. 

• I've been wanting to ski, and we have been blessed with lots of powdery snow! I haven't had a chance yet to get out and enjoy it, but hopefully this weekend I will get to do just that - following are a few of shots of the recent snowfall. More is expected over the next few days:

View from my classroom, about 4:00 pm.

The currently out-of-commission playground.

The drifts in front of teacher housing are popular for sledding and playing
King of the Mountain.

A neighbor dog. Her name is Scrappy or Sparky, not sure. She lives with the
school counselor.

Fish caught from the nets of Howie, my neighbor; they're lush. 

All said and done, I'm glad for the break and how the month is shaping up; it's much better than how it began. We needed a break from hosting activities. Two of the last three times we have hosted, the teams have ended up getting weathered in, which means we are still responsible for keeping them somewhat entertained. It also means that our classrooms are occupied until they leave. [Sigh.] What can you do?

Hope this finds you warm and enjoying February! My next post will likely detail the upcoming Academic Decathlon trip. 

Toodles!