Saturday in quarantine

I awoke to rain on the roof and darkness!  Stony is farther South than Fairbanks which is still light at least 18 hours of the day.  Not so here.

The showers in the school don't work but there is hot water in the kitchen sink so I filled up a few pitchers and took a refreshing self-running-water shower.  Thinking that it was cool enough outside (maybe in the 50s) to deter mosquitos, I went for a walk along the airstrip.  

Wildflowers are in bloom and the flora here is very lush.  The mosquitos were out in full force.  Which shortened my walk.  Where's the rancid alligator fat when you need it?!!

Every year I forget about the bitter cold of winter and need to relearn all over again.  On my walk I was reminded of what is to come by October.  Giant blades portend serious snow.

My world right now is the school and looking out the window.  Here's a few photos from Inside the Big House.

This is the view from the window that has become my temporary dwelling.  The local caretaker keeps the grass cut and the playground is well used.  

The library is generous for a 15 student school.  It's organized (sort of) by Accelerated Reader levels for fiction....I haven't had much time to inspect it yet.  I know it will be closed off during the Covid precautions.  Anything that can't be disinfected is off limits.  I think I'll be able to make book bins for each student though as long as they don't share, at least outside their families-in-residence.

These rooms look empty without students!  When school opens, the kids will come directly into the gym, put on their masks, get their temps taken and have breakfast.  The cook comes on at 10, so the other teacher and I will take turns setting out the cereal, fruit and milk for breakfast.  We think that students can eat in family groups if we have enough tables.   I'm not sure yet how opening the gym in the evening will work.  Maybe it won't.  Cleaning equipment will be problematic.

This portrait of Gusty Michael hangs in the hallway surrounded by portraits of other Elders.  The school here is the Gusty Michael School and probably just about everyone here is related to him in one way or another.  He drowned in 1984 on a hunting trip and was an inspirational hero for the people in this region because of his self sufficiency and traditional knowledge.  I tried Googling him and couldn't find anything else.  The school was built 20 years later and named after him as a memorial and to make him a role model for the children of the village.

I will be pacing myself today to spread out the basic events of living.  The shower has already been a highlight.  I am also posting invitational messages on the outside of the school for parents and children.  The other teacher and I will be enjoying stuffed cabbage for dinner.  I brought one from my Fairbanks garden and will be glad for a taste of home.  I actually go on contract on Tuesday...it will be Zoom all day.  I plan to work on finishing homemade student masks while listening.