It's business, it's business time

Whew—I survived my first week of teaching!! My reading portion of the position hasn’t started yet so this week was my 3^rd grade math class. It is fun getting to know my students and learn about them. I have fourteen s tudents. At the same time it’s hard to think I’ve already been away from friends and family for nearly three weeks!

So I’ve been talking to people back home and they always ask have any plans for the weekend? This life is different my friends…I no longer can do the things I once took for granted…no more driving to a friends house, going to the movies, going out, or going to a fast food restaurant. Here for fun I go to the neighbors, take a walk, or watch friends on DVD since we don’t have cable yet. And you know what? It doesn’t bother me as much as I thought it would. Instead I am exploring this beautiful area, getting to know some great people, and appreciating this experience that has been given to me.

That brings me to….FRIDAY NIGHT IN QUINHAGAK

Allison and I weren’t sure what we were going to do. After leaving school, stopping at the post office, and then stuffing our faces with an after school snack (becoming our routine here) we decided it was naptime. Around 6:30 I got up, made myself some dinner, and was just lying on the couch.

Stephanie called Allison --and all I know was Allison was suddenly telling me we needed to hurry up and go outside for some type of party.

A party in Quinhagak AK? I thought this had to be some kind of sick joke. To my amazement as I walked down the street I saw a crowd of people standing around a truck as a family threw various items at the crowd. An event such as this is called a “throw party” It is used as a celebration when something big happens like a child kills their first animal,( there are other reasons, but I am unsure yet). The family celebrating will gather a bunch of things and throw them to people. This throw party was in celebration of someone catching their first rabbit, another child killing their first seal, and the youngest child being able to go to the big school now. Various items were being thrown such as (candy, hangers, silverware (we had to be careful on that throw), Tupperware, laundry baskets, and many more useful items. Children and adults were standing there waiting to collect.

I am happy to announce that our household collected…a hanger, Tupperware, a butter knife, and… A DOILIE

After that we headed back to Steph’s house for some quality girl time. Our excitement consisted of watching television and waiting patiently for Steph to bid on her e-bay auction that ended at nine o clock. As a side note…my addiction to online shopping has become quite out of control…I online shop so that it will be my source of mail for the day. Once Steph had won her item, little did I know my night was only going to get better.

We then headed to Sammy’s store. Sammy’s store is a place that sells candy, pop, and they have movies you can rent. They stay open later then the grocery store, so that is where the children go for all their sugar needs. After a long week we decided to reward ourselves with a nice, tall, cold….SULSH PUPPIE! It was very delectable and tasty and I look forward to trying many other flavors over the course of the school year. The rest of the night consisted of hanging out, watching tv, and enjoying our lives in Quin!

I’ll leave you again with a final thought…. situation’s are always going to be what you make them—there are times when I get sad and think about home, but then I realize that there is a reason I decided to come here to teach and that is what I need to focus on. This experience here is only going to be as good as I make it.

All these useful things I end my blog with are things people once told me that I never really understood until I came to a place like this and am expericing a new type of living and experience.

Stay tuned for details from Saturday night!!