One quarter down......

Well it’s Friday already—and I felt it was time for a blog. This week has been a GREAT WEEK! I got out of my homesick “funk” and was excited for the week to begin. I feel as though homesick will be a natural part of being so far away in rural Alaska, but I am proud to announce that I will be home in officially TWO months from today. YAAAAAAAAAHOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Let’s start with Monday—Monday was a great day. I was pumped for the week and ready to roll. This week marks the end of my first quarter as a real teacher! I will be putting in grades soon and then the quarter is officially over. This week we added another member to the dream team! Quinhagak now has a new assistant principal who we welcomed on Monday morning!

Tuesday was our second ever…DINNER PARTY. Oh the fun! Myself and Al came home from school and it was business time. We baked pizzas (CORRECTION—ALLISON BAKED THE PIZZAS). She kept demoting me from kitchen duties, but I made one great delicious salad. Dinner was a great time laughing with the gang and just kicking back….after dinner someone made a special visit to our dinner party. That special guest was NANA! You see I got this box in the mail of Nana’s apple cake and I was really just waiting for that special moment to bake it for everyone. What better moment then a dinner party? So I put Nana into the over and BAM! Ladies and gentlemen we had one delicious cake on our hands! After this experience I will be ready to throw a dinner party anywhere.

Wednesday night was also an enjoyable day. After I shot down a free roundtrip to Vegas, I got to Skype with my mother-like figure Christine. Truly the friends and support back home make a difference here. Laughing with her for an hour really made me appreciate everyone back at home who is there to chat, send letters, send facebook messages, etc. Our internet was not working that day, so I EVEN biked up to school!

Wednesday at school I did a math lesson with my class. Now I was pumped for this lesson because I have been struggling at times with how difficult my lessons can be. I started a new chapter on measurement, and I am really trying to make this a hands on chapter for my students. So we measured our feet and then came up with an average size for the class. We then went around the school and outside measuring different things. I really think my students enjoyed this activity as well as me. One thing I learned though is that I have huge feet. One of my kids goes “WHOA Miss Weaver I hope my feet never look like that” I can honestly say I never remember my feet EVER being the “average” size of these student’s feet. Oh kids they say the cutest things.

Thursday was a delightful day because I was so looking forward to Friday. After school we watched a little movie, which was yet another Net Flix disappointment, and then headed back to school. We got our game faces on and scrimmaged the volleyball team before they traveled to Kweleuth. I am proud to announce that this time around we won 3 of the four games. I spent most of the game ducking and running from the ball—but hey it was still a great time!

Thursday night myself and Al got to drive a four wheeler! This was my first time ever driving a four wheeler! At first we struggled to even turn it on. Now you are probably wondering why someone would trust us with their vehicle, but we are one close fam here in Quinhagak. Driving the four wheeler was such a sight—VROOM VROOM. At first Allison didn’t know how to shift it into gear, but once we got it we were cruising the town. Halfway home we switched places so I could have a go. IT WAS AWESOME. I don’t think I have laughed that much in a while. Just close your eyes and picture two grown women on this four wheeler trying to get down the street. I kept asking “what do I do, what do I do?” Oh the memories I am gaining in Quinhagak!

And now it is Friday, I am relaxing in my bed getting ready to call it quits. Allison’s parents are here visiting, experiencing what we call home every single day. I am sure I will have stories to tell about this fun weekend.

Final thought for the weekend is freedom. It is a great to be in a place where I feel I can truly be myself. I am free to just relax and experience the culture around me. Here I am far away from home, friends, and my comfort. Being here means I am still discovering who I am and it is a great feeling. Here I can be goofy and outgoing and it is embraced and welcomed.

Miss and love you all