Yeah, But, Regardless, In Spite Of All Of This

I realize that having a friend or family member move from the midwest to Alaska is - what's the word? - it seems adventurous, out there, and other synonyms. Even when I say it out loud, "I live in Alaska," it still sounds a bit surreal. I live in Alaska? But I do - and I'm enjoying it entirely.

This week was, I won't lie, rough. So we don't need to go into that. Here are the good things that were in spite of the bad.

Monday evening Carrie and I resolved to go skiing. We both needed it. It was grand. As it got darker it was harder for me to balance in the snow - I couldn't see anything in front of me, and I think I rely very heavily on my sight. Also, I'm just not very good or quick yet. But regardless, it was a good time. Carrie was talking during this photo, but it's the only one I got of that evening. Down in the corner you can see part of one of her dogs. It was good to have a good friend that evening, and to be out.



I have also been working a bit on my afghan, which will be very big I think. So here's a teaser. :)



Anyway, I went skiing again on Saturday - and it was fantastic! I ended up going further than we'd gone on Monday, mostly because we had the daylight to spare. It was awesome. It was great powdery, and I ended up breaking new trail because I've not gone out there enough to really know where I'm going, so I just kind of was going... even though there is a trail marked. But anyway, so I went along the power lines that go east outside of the village into the hills. It was great skiing out. But then I had to turn around and come back... And it had gotten a little windier than I remembered...

So I got a little cold-wind-nipped. I got this sweet v-shaped red mark on my neck, and my right cheek got it. It was so windy, my hair was frozen to my necky. It was unbelievable. :) So I skied back in the wind. There were parts where it wasn't so bad, actually, and when the wind wasn't right in my face I found the trail that Carrie had made with her dogs, and that spot (which is the actual trail, not the Karis-made trail) was really fun. But then I was back in the wind again. Oh well.



I went out again today to ski because I just needed to. Also, it was sunny and beautiful and not really windy, so I definitely needed to take advantage. It wasn't as nice of a ski because the powder had blown and everything was chunky and icy and hard. But it's good to practice in that sort of snow, so we're good. I got a couple of videos. :) Here is one:



I've also gotten into duct taping my feet so as to protect my feet from blisters. I know, I already have blisters, but with the gauze and duct tape, they are not really getting worse now. So that has been a fair solution.



Anyway, I'm going to end with this amazing view of the landscape out east of the village. This is where I skied to today. If you click on it and look at it bigger, you can see the mountains in the background. It was really sunny today, so it makes it hard for everything to show up in the picture.



Peace.

That Sun - It Means Another Day

School is like this. I go, I see, I conquer. Only, not really. Just a side note, I am taking a one-credit grad course, a book talk, for which I read a portion of this book every week, respond to it using the 3 essential questions (I love essential questioning), and then respond to someone else's response. It's actually a pretty sweet deal - 60 bucks a credit, not to mention the amazing collaboration that happens between teachers across the district. Anyway, we are reading a great book called Results Now (hyperlink) by Mike Schmoker, and all he's been saying has been on my mind quite a bit lately, and all the other teachers have been saying, and all the things I've read before in college, and it's fantastic. I'm so in to this learning thing.

Another really cool thing goes like this: I started a class blog. You may check it out if you like. I suggest going here: http://unalakleet.bssd.org/kariskoett/ (hyperlink) - then click on the side under categories where it says "Beowulf." My professor, Dr. Mark, commented on all my kids' blogs, just because he rocks. Anyway, that was kind of a big deal.

But you want to hear about my adventures. I know. So this was a big day. MONDAY February 11. Kim, this cool person who works in the District Office, I don't even know how we got onto this, but we're Skyping about something education related (I'm sure), and then she's like, hey, btw, want to go for a ride? I'm like, heck freakin' yes!! For a ride, she means, on her snow machine (snow mobile, for the lower 48ers). So we make the plans, and we ride up river to a nice little ski spot, and it was so sweet!! I tell you what. Let me tell you.

It was very sad because Carrie was sick that day and could not join us - and it was so beautiful out, but she doesn't need to be reminded of that. Anyway, I went to the post office (where is my mail this week????) and took her some homemade cheesy bread (the best bread I've ever made, thank you very much) before I headed out, and tried not to gloat. I was stoked out of my mind.

Kim has a little one seater machine, so it was a little smushed, but totally worth the ride. I bundled up in all my warm clothes... this is what I wore: fleece pants, a spandex tank top (not cotton), an athletic shirt, a pair of lighter wind pants, a wind jacket, my big snow pants, a fleece jacket, my parka, a gator mask, my beaver hat, and orange tinted goggles. And then I had my ski gear. For shoes, I wore my ski boots. More on those later.



She picked me up around 4:50 with her dog, we loaded up, and headed upriver. I kept my eye on the sled, which carried her dog and the skis. Snowmachining on back, not being the driver (because I don't know how to drive one, and I've never been on one...) takes some getting used to. I like to be the driver. Anyway, we get to the spot and basically strip off a whole layer of clothes. I took off my parka and big snow pants, left only with my regular necky and hat (shown below) - I think it was somewhere around -5 or -10? Not bad for skiing. It was beautiful out. I've been skiing just outside of town, and most of that is ice and slush... But out there where we were, there was actually powder, real snow, and it was the best skiing yet.



At the beginning we ran into a dog team, so that was a little hassle, but I took the time to take a photo anyway. You can barely see them up there, Kim and Aipuq (her Malamut dog, pronounced eye-puck, Yupik for "companion") and the dog sled team. Anyway, Kim is a wicked fast skier, and I'm not all that quick, so we split up, with the intentions of starting and ending together, but... we never really talked about the timing, ever, soooo... Whatever, right? We just skied.

And skied.

And skied.

I stopped a few times to get some shots of the beautiful surroundings. So quiet, so still, there is nothing out there.



Except for me, of course. I was plenty warm, don't worry. Skiing is hard work. And we were out for about an hour and fifteen minutes. It was the best skiing I've ever done.



This is the trail I took. Most of it was pretty powdery, but there were spots where it was pretty icy, which was a little frustrating to ski on. Most of the time I was just following Kim's tracks, although there is only one trail out there, so it's kind of hard to get lost... I skied out to the road. It was so hard and icy there, I wasn't sure which way she had gone, or how long we were meant to be out there, so I decided to turn back. It was getting dusky, so I figured it would be better that way anyway.



After a while, on my way back, Aipuq joined me. I thought Kim was going to pass me long before this, but I hadn't seen her. It was strange... he came up with me, and just kind of hung out with me while I skied, actually waited for me in spots, but there was no Kim. I thought it was strange that he was staying kind of close to me, but had left her... there were moments when I wondered if she was alright, if I should turn back to find her, but I figured she was probably fine, and that if she wasn't at the snowmachine already, then I'd go back. So I kept skiing along, was nearly back to our spot, and whew, there was Kim, just behind me. Strange that we ended at the exact same time. She went much farther than I did, of course, but we never talked about time or anything, but it was impecable. So we chatted about how sweet it was, got re-dressed, loaded up, and headed home. When we left, it was -15 degrees.

Well, I've mentioned my blisters before. I did put bandaids on before I left. But it wasn't enough. I must tell you, it was painful. So if you don't like graphic, you can stop now, because I'm totally showing pictures of them. Yeah, they exploded - so gross!! I took my feet out gently, pulled down my socks, and this is what I found...





Holy giant blisters, batman, right?!? Fortunately I was going to Jake and Janelle's that evening anyway, and they gave me some mole skin, which for whatever reason doesn't seem to stick to my skin very well... so it always comes off way too soon. Anyway, it was rough walking all the way down town with those things on my feet... but it is TOTALLY worth it!!!

One day later shots of the blisters...





And this is my cool dog. :)



Also, a major event this week, I took my first sick day. I was trying to go the whole year, but alas, my eating habits and sensitive tummy got the best of me, and I was unwell on Thursday night and Friday. I tried to go to school on Friday, but I realized when I got there that it took me 5 minutes (as opposed to 30 seconds) to get my winter gear off because I couldn't move that maybe I really didn't feel well, and maybe the naeseousness wouldn't just go away. So I wrote some lesson plans last minute, told my principal the bad news, went through an eval with the asst. principal, and went back to bed. I tried to convince myself to suck it up, but after laying back down in my warm bed, I found myself immobile. So I slept. And I am feeling better, but still not in a mood for eating much. Don't worry, though, I'm fine. I watched a lot of movies. Some good ones to consider seeing include:

-This is England
-North Country
-Harry and the Hendersons
-The Incredibles

Don't forget to check the video link on the post below. Hope all is well with you. Start a blog so I can keep up. :)

Amazing Vidazing

Dave Huth is a professor at Houghton College.
He is also a friend.
I went to Mennonite group with him and his also professor and amazing wife and teacher Lori.
(Their daughter is beautiful.)

Dave likes to make videos.
He is a media specialist, or whatchyoucallit.

His latest video is pretty astounding, and I love it.
Check it out at this link:
Religion

For more amazing videos, go to his website:
(I suggest any of the "Extraordinary Things" series...) :)
http://davemedia.blogspot.com
This link is also found on my list titled "people of note" in the colum to the right of my blog entries. The link to his blog is called "Dave's Vlog (Houghton, NY)." Check it. :)

I Speak Truth

It appears as though I have fallen into the black hole of not updating my blog...

Truthfully, there has been very little to talk about going on here. There have been the occassional conversations of meaning, get togethers with people of note, small moments of significance, and growth in life's own right. But those things are not for the blog. Mostly, I have just been at work and basketball games. My other activities have included:

skiing
beginning my afghan
baking bread
cooking rice
eating Triscuits
feeding my dog
fundraising for the senior class
attending high school basketball games every weekend
occasionally hanging out with good people, sometimes working, sometimes playing, sometimes cutting hair...
and
WORK

I will now share with you random things that I have experienced in the previous 3 weeks.

1. Skiing a lot. This is my dog with me on the trail behind the wind fences across the slough where I do most of my skiing. Yay, I am getting better. :)



2. I got my packages in the mail, including my groceries and my books and my hobby, as it were (crochet things). I baked my first loaf of bread ever, and I put all my books on my bookshelf. It makes me smile!!



3. We had a warm spell - it actually climbed up to 35 above zero! Thank you, global warming. The slough overflowed, and skiing went on hold for a little while... This is the slough from the bridge, where it should have been frozen over, and is instead flowing. I could not cross it on skis.



4. While cutting my bread for breakfast one morning, I accidentally sliced off a piece of my finger. It was a very small piece of my left foredigit, but I still decided that I am no longer allowed the use of sharp knives in the morning. Sharp knives or gas stoves or telephones or heavy pieces of equipment, including motor vehicles, lawn mowers, and tractors. Also, I should not count money, grade papers, or be expected to speak in fluent English until at least 1 hour after being awake. Even then, it's questionable.


Okay, so you can't really see it, but I really did cut it, and it really did hurt. But it's fine now. :)

5. One of my students found this magazine and showed it to me. A kid had written my last name on Vladamir's forehead, and along with outlining his major facial features and adding on a goat-tee, they drew on a nice little eyebrow bar, which I thought was pretty hilarious. The student who showed it to me decided that he didn't like my name there, so he crossed it out incessantly. It was a sweet gesture.

(I have no idea what that circle above his left eye is supposed to be.)


6. This is me in my place of work, and I am happy to be here!! (Positive thoughts.) :) Also, note the striking resemblance between Vladimir and I...



7. Deceitful little blister - well, you see, I have a blister on each of my heels from my new ski boots. The one on my left was more tender, so I put a band-aid on that one before I left to ski on Friday. The one on my right foot, however, was not bothering me, so I left it alone. As I skied along, I noticed that it was painfully rubbing on the back of my boot. But I kept on going (because I am tough), even though I was pretty sure it was bleeding. Oh well. When I got home the entire heel of my sock was red. I thought to myself, "Weird, I don't remember these blue wool socks having red heels..." Of course they didn't have red heels. My blister had just bled that much. I took of my sock to find this new and fresh owie.



8. Happy Birthday, JANELLE!!!! February 2nd, as well as being Groundhog's Day, was the glorious anniversary of Janelle Snyder's birth. We had a grand time, eating sushi and playing Cranium, celebrating our dear friend. :)

Dear Friend Janelle


Yummy Sushi


Attempt a straight face. I dare you.


Dan and Daniel


Daniel with Dr. E in a headlock - sweet


Mom and Dad playing Wii


Jake is a Wii champion...


Adrianna: Photographer


9. The Aurora Borealis!! On Saturday evening, while watching "The Freedom Writers" (amazing movie, by the way), Damon and Heidi came up and grabbed us so that we could go see the green rolling Northern Lights. Unfortunately, I have no pictures of it to show you, but this was my first experience seeing them, and I don't think that the excitement and wonder will ever go away. :) The joys of living in Alaska never end!