Much to Say

Sadly, I cannot post pictures today. :(

You'll just have to use your imagination.

I took a visit to Colorado to visit my family last week - it was pretty much the best thing in the world I could have done. I got to see my family - cousins even drove up from Texas to see me. :) It was good. We had a lot of fun, I got to meet my new cousins, who are SOOO cute!! Luke pretty much made me smile more than any other 3 year old in the world. We went up into the mountains where Uncle Bob almost gave me a heart attack when I thought he was going over the edge. He's also a really good fishing coach... hollering at me while I'm on the phone, "There's a fish over there!! There's one right there!! You're missing them!!" My cousin David also trains wild hummingbirds, as it were - too bad I can't show you a picture of that. And my Auntie Ree took us out looking for buffalo; when we couldn't find any we just went out for ice cream. I was okay with that. So anyway, we had some good times together. It was good to laugh and talk and be with family. I'm sure once I can post pictures I'll have more to say. Right now my mind is on other things...

THE KLEET.

I got into Unalakleet, Alaska on Wednesday after 24 hours of traveling (driving, flying, waiting in airports...). It was good to be there, but I was exhausted. My VP was there to meet me, along with a couple that I had been talking with through phone and email - Jake and Janelle. Janelle is a teacher, also, and we'll be working together. I like her a lot, so this is a good thing. They had me over for dinner, which was great, because the only food I had was a bag of pistachios. We had king crab and fresh silver salmon. It was amazing. I saved the pistachios for breakfast on Thursday. I did some unpacking, and then I crashed - I slept for 12 beautiful hours. And when I woke up I forgot where I was.

Thursday was my first full day here, and truth be told it was a little boring, although I did get some things done. I got a post office box, so if you want my address let me know. I'd be happy to give it to you, as long as you intend to send me something. Otherwise, not so happy. Just kidding. :) Anyway, I ate some breakfast - my pistachios - finished all my unpacking, got some decorating done, so my apartment looks a little more homey. It's great, I like it a lot. Then I went to the school, checked email (since I don't have a phone or internet at home), and got a tour of the building. I saw my classroom, and frankly, I love it. It's big, I have like, 5 or 6 computers, white boards, and well, I won't have a lot of students, so it's a really nice size room. Great for group work and moving around. My VP took me over to the post office and to the grocery store (everything is really expensive), so I got a little bit of food. I went on home again and had an English muffin for lunch. I kind of bummed around the house for a while, then decided to take a walk. It's really pretty, even though it's gray and rainy. the ocean's to the west, mountains to the south, hills in the north, and the river is on the east side of town. Just passed the river is flat. It's still pretty green here, which is nice. It's a cute little fishing town - hopefully I'll do some fishing today and/or tomorrow. I went to the general store and got some super glue so I could fix my bowls - the only two I have both broke on the way up here. But I think they'll hold up just fine with the super glue.

Around dinner time I got hungry again, which was really annoying because I don't have a ton of food, and what I have needs to last me for a while, until what groceries I order (which needs to happen today) get here, probably two weeks from now. But I made up some Ramen noodles, and I thanked God that I had any food at all. I took another walk, met a really nice lady on my way home, and we chatted for a bit. She told me not to date anyone from here, and I said, okay, I promise. And then she told me a little about the village and where things were. I hope I see her again. She has 3 kids, so I'm sure I will see her around the school. Later in the evening I got really hungry again, which again, was really frustrating. I tried to drink water, but I needed substance. I was thinking, "If I keep eating today, what will I eat tomorrow?" But I said to myself, Karis, you should really eat something. So I put an English muffin with margarine and pineapple on top in the oven to bake, at a few pineapple slices, and put the rest in the fridge. I have to conserve. While I was cooking my neighbor from next door came over and gave me half a loaf of rhubarb bread. I don't really like rhubarb, but the bread was amazing! It was like a little blessing, because I was thinking, what in the world am I going to eat for breakfast? And there you go, this morning I had a slice of rhubarb bread, and it was very good. Oh, the pineapple English muffin was also, surprisingly, really good. I'll have to do that again. And Chris (sp?), my neighbor with the bread, also noticed that I play violin, since I have it sitting out, because I love it so much, and she wants me to give her daughter some violin lessons. She also is letting me borrow a pot until I get one of my own, which makes me smile, because now I can make rice and beans. Now I need to go buy beans. They are very nice people. Everyone here is very nice. :)

I went on another walk around 10pm, since it was still light out. Nothing was really going on. There were a lot of kids out messing around. Mostly today I tried to do some lesson planning, but I'm spending a lot of time alone, so my motivation is at an all time low. I'm sure that will change soon enough. Well, let's just hope.

Anyway, I realize this is long and without visual aid, but I hope to change that soon. Thanks for reading. I love hearing from people, so don't hesitate to comment!!! :) More Alaska fun to come.