I'm an English teacher and . . .

One thing I've learned here is that, yes, I am an English teacher, and I'm a speech coach and an NYO chaperone, and an art teacher. You may remember that I went to an art retreat a week or so ago. I'm off to another this coming weekend. This time it's about digital storytelling. I'm also taking Portia to the vet. So, we'll see how that goes.

Last week, I went to Bethel with two middle school students for a speech competition. My two students each had memorized a poem and had to perform it in front of judges and other students. Although neither of my students won any awards, they had fun and did a great job. I was so proud of them! However, I was not happy about sleeping two nights on the floor of a classroom. I learned why many bush teachers invest in a good air mattress. One will probably be on my Christmas list (hint, hint, Mom!). The worst part of the weekend was when we woke up Thursday and were greeted by snow flurries. It didn't bother me too much until the airlines called and said we were all "weathered in". Basically, the weather was too bad for any planes to leave.

So, picture this, 75 or so middle schoolers and teachers stuck in our district office all day because there was nowhere we could go. Every hour or so another school would leave. Unfortunately, Eek was never called. I was told that we would have to stay another night. This made me very unhappy, and the students weren't any happier, but the worst part was that my male student had to have a male chaperone, which we didn't have. I was stuck trying to find a relative to take him in for the night. No luck. By the end of the day, everyone left or was leaving, except us. I had just accepted the fact when, as luck would have it, the airline called and we could leave! Whew! It was probably the scariest plane ride I've ever been on, but we made it.

If that wasn't enough travel for me, this weekend I went to Napaskiak (another small village) to chaperone an NYO (Native Youth Olympics) meet. It was fun, and I learned a lot! NYO is a set of competitions that test strength, agility, and flexibility. There were ten competitions. I'll go through a few of them.
1. The One Arm Reach- Students must lie on their stomach, put one hand underneath their body (around their navel), and life themselves up with all three other limbs off the floor. They must then reach up with their that is not holding themselves up and hit a ball that is about 2 feet off the floor. They continue to raise the ball. If you miss it, you're out. They continue this until a winner is determined.
2. Indian Stick Pull- Students face one opponent at a time. The competitors face opposite directions shoulder to shoulder. Between them, they hold a stick covered in Crisco. When the judge says, "Go," they pull on the stick keeping their shoulders straight until one person pulls it out of the other person's hand.
3. Seal Hop- This is the worst event! Students must lay face down on the floor. Then, they put their hands, knuckles down, in line with their shoulders. Competitors use the force of their body to propel themselves across the floor. They have to keep their feet together and "hop" down the gym floor.

There are several more competitions, but I'll save those for another day!