MOOSE!!!

Friday started off as any normal day. However, it ended in a way I will never forget. Loni called me and asked if I was doing anything. I thought this was a joke, because, well, I like in Eek! Was I going to go see a movie? Anyway, she explained that her brother-in-law had gotten a moose and gave her family a quarter. She wanted to know if I wanted to come help with it. Of course, I was all over that!

Later that evening, I went over and helped Loni cut up her moose. I didn't actually know I was helping her until I got there. That will explain the clothes I wore. Loni's husband Micah took pictures so everyone could experience this along with me!

We cut up the moose on the kitchen floor over a tarp and some cardboard. We started by removing the hide and the top membrane. Then, we just hacked the meat off the bone. Luckily, for me, there is no special way to cut it!
This is a picture of the moose quarter and some of the ribs. Loni cut the ribs with a saw, and said they would prepare them just like any other ribs. BBQ?Loni is holding out the tools we used to cut the moose. These are traditional women's knives. I used the smaller one.

This is me really getting into it and carving it up!This is a picture of Loni and I cleaning the meat. After, we had finished cutting the meat from the bone we had to pick off all the hair. We wet our fingers in order to grab the hair better.
At the end of the evening I was sore, but happy. Although I'm glad I don't have to do this to all my food it was a great experience. I now have a lot more respect for the women in this village who do this all the time! Loni and I only had a quarter cut up and it took us 2 hours! Imagine a whole moose!

I left with a bag of meat for my freezer, and I have to admit I'm looking forward to preparing it!

The town of Eek!

I've been living here for a little over a month, and I decided it was time to post some pictures of my new town. My friend Loni (a fellow teacher) took me and showed me some of the sights, such as they are!

This is the steam house outside of Loni's house. Most the houses in Eek do not have running water. Therefore, most residents are unable to shower on a regular basis. So, they take steams. It's like a sauna, but a LOT hotter!! For instance, Loni told me a friend of hers had set up a steam and the thermometer said it was 330 degrees. The steam was that hot. Of course, they did not go in because it was too hot.

Three of the pictures are the inside of the steam house. Generally, there are not tools lying about, but Loni's husband is working on it. The black stove just above is the heat source. To get the steam you place rocks on the stove and then pour water over them. The picture with all the wood is a pile of steam wood. It's kept on end so it doesn't get covered in snow.

This is a picture of Loni's house. This is what many of the houses look like here. Many houses are painted a bright color like this one. I'm not really sure why.

The following pictures are sites of Eek.

This is a picture of me in front of the most happening place on a Saturday night- the Bingo hall.

This is the city building where they take care of city business. For instance, if there is a death in the family, the village will help offset the cost of the plane ticket and pay for the coffin.

This is the end of the road. That's what it's called. If you ask someone where they were they might answer, "At the end of the road." Before the newer houses were built there was one road from the airport to the river, and this was it.

This is the graveyard here in town. The second picture is of a newer grave. When someone is buried the kids in town are responsible for decorating the grave and making it look nice.

This is the post office here in town.

This is the native store. It's called Iqfijouaq. They sell all the supplies in town and take care of other things. This is also where I pay for my cable.

That's it! That's the town! The last picture is an aerial view of the town.