Not that I had any time to go riding around today, but yesterday, Woody, the assistant superintendent took me down to the river to take that fabulous sunset picture. Don't worry- I walked back. And, if you don't know it already, riding on the metal rack on the back of a 4-wheeler is not that fun in below freezing temps. Besides the metal pipes to sit on, metal conducts heat- away from bodies. Also, the roads around here aren't exactly highways. Still, I appreciated the ride and Woody dropped me off in front of Don's house, just as I requested. No dogs chased us and it didn't stall, so I'm happy.
When I got up this morning, it was about 5 degrees F, quite a bit colder than yesterday. The key wouldn't turn in the lock because it was frozen. Eddy came down and thawed it out with a blowtorch. He says that because of the slight hill, the lock is in line with the ground a few feet away and that is the coldest layer. He thinks that if the building were 2 feet higher, the lock wouldn't freeze up. I noticed that the doors opened out. Yesterday I was almost blocked in by drifted snow. Usually, doors open in.
The Baptist Church is one of 3 in the community. Besides this one, there is an Episcopal Church and the Assembly of God. If you want to get to know a community, pick a church and go. That's where all the action is outside of school. The congregations form a great support group and everyone is at their most welcoming in church. Just to give you a refresher on Alaskan history, in the first decade of the 1900s, Sheldon Jackson "gave" different regions of Alaska to various denominations to provide schools to rural areas. The religious affiliations of today reflect those boundaries, so whole areas are Swedish Evangelical, or Mormon, or Episcopalian. And now, since they have been present in those communities for at least 100 years, many of the clergy are from the region and conduct services in the Native language. Not here though. The Native language, Gwich'in Athabaskan is not widely spoken. It is making a resurgence though and elders are beginning to make headway in "re-teaching" the language.
We played "Stump the Chump" today in the High School Graduation Qualifying Exam Academy. Two kids faced off with a dinger. Audience had to also get the answer. The problems were multiple choice on a variety of topics. Kids liked it and they practiced for the exam. Peggy was the overall winner I think, although quite a few kids stayed up there for a few rounds. The kids are homesick especially since it is Saturday, normally a rest day. They are over the hump though- 4 more instructional days and an assessment/finish up day. We can do it if we don't have any more pizza.
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