Eek! I moved to Alaska!

Waqaa! (That means hello in Yugtun!) I have been promising to write a blog about my time teaching and living in bush Alaska for about a month now...so it's probably time I actually publish it!

After fielding out several job offers, I decided I really wanted to teach in bush Alaska. I accepted a job offer as a Secondary Language Arts teacher with the Lower Kuskokwim School District in southwest Alaska. My school district is off the road system. The district is accessible by plane (and boat sometimes). The school district is headquartered in Bethel, Alaska and serves schools in an area the size of West Virginia. My village, Eek, is about a 20 minute flight from Bethel. Eek is home to about 300 or so people, predominantly of Yup'ik heritage, a specific culture of Alaska Native.

Over the summer, I was able to spend some time in a Yup'ik village and summer fish camp with the C3 program to help introduce some of the new teachers to the Yup'ik way of life. It was easily one of the best experiences I have had in my short life. Not only did I learn so much useful information to help with life in the village, I was able to make some amazing friendships.

Heading up to Alaska at the end of my summer break was terrifying and thrilling.