Monday, November 30, 2009

Nothing Left to Add

Today, the wind was blowing almost 50 mph bring the temperature down to -30. Here's the gear I wore to walk to school (reminder: it's maybe two hundred yards at most):

- snow boots
- snow pants
- huge parka
- mittens
- neck warmer
- ear warmer
- hat
- goggles
- work clothes

So that's it. I have nothing else to add if it gets any colder.

Thursday, November 26, 2009

NY Times article, Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to all (both?) of our blog readers. Yesterday the kids had a half day of school and at noon there was a "feast" in the cafeteria. It was interesting - practically the whole village was there. Because the population here is so small, the families tend to be very intertwined, and when you add the casual adoptions that take place in many families and the way people who actually aren't related call each other their "Yup'ik cousins", well, pretty much everyone is family. Most of my interactions here are with the younger kids so it was nice to be able to match younger siblings with older, and children with adults. The feast itself was a little strange, it was all school food, with the teachers serving, which our neighbor E likened to a soup kitchen kind of environment - it did have a bit of a condescending feeling to it, and B commented that it would have been more of a community-building activity if it had been a potluck style thing. Still, the families seemed glad to be there and it really was a treat for me to see everyone together like that. In general Thanksgiving doesn't hold much relevance for the people here, at least not the kids. They were kind of vague and confused about the meaning and history of the holiday, and even more so when it came to their own celebrations. Which makes sense, since as my dad pointed out, the history of Thanksgiving is this nice story about two cultures coming together to share and help each other out, when in fact one of those cultures ended up just about wiping out the other. So as indigenous people maybe the community here doesn't find a lot to celebrate. But I actually think it's more that the people up here don't have a strong sense of being American, at least not in the way that I think many of us in the lower 48 do.

Later today a group of the teachers (all of us who live in the BIA) are getting together to eat, along with OFL and his wife K. B and I made: corn bread, pumpkin bread, pumpkin pie, apple-peanut butter-caramel bars, Tofurkey, green bean casserole, broccoli, and sweet potato puree. Should be a good meal. I don't think there will be any other vegan items on the table so my feelings are kind of torn between my love of sharing food I've made with others, and being annoyed that everyone can try our food while we can't eat any of theirs. Hopefully my more generous side will win out.

One other thing, my friend Holly sent me an interesting article from the New York Times website yesterday, about rural schools in Alaska. Many of them are closing for lack of students. Our Village isn't in that dire of a situation yet, but I do see that kind of situation in the future for many of the villages. The culture has been pushed aside by western values and technology to a pretty serious degree, such that many of the children here don't have a strong desire to stick around when they grow up. The language, though it's taught in the schools, is nonetheless being lost. So this article was, in my opinion, a look at what will happen to many schools and many villages if things keep going the way they are.

I know that's kind of a downer on a day we're supposed to be thankful, so I'll end with a short list of a few of the many things I'm thankful for:

  • B (Besides his many wonderful qualities, there's the fact that I honestly don't know if I'd make it through a year up here alone).
  • Family and friends, who've made a point of staying in touch and keeping us feeling connected while we're away.
  • Mail.
  • My parka, which so far has kept me warm even in the chilliest of wind chills.
  • Full Circle Farms CSA, for sustaining us with fresh vegetables every week.
  • E, for being a good friend to us here and for having all the Wes Anderson movies on his computer.
  • Children, for being utterly unique, yet so much the same no matter where you go.
  • Tofurkey.

Monday, November 23, 2009

Pictures and cold

Here are some new pictures to give you an idea of what early winter looks like in The Village. There's not much snow yet, maybe 3-6 inches (it piles and drifts because of the wind). Last year they got about 20 feet - most of it after the new year. I'm just hoping that whenever it comes this year it doesn't mess with our December travel plans.

Anyway - it doesn't look too wintry yet, I think because you can still see tundra grass sticking up through the snow. However, though it may be early in the season, it is already by far the coldest weather I've ever experienced. Today coming up to school the wind was blowing like crazy, for a wind chill of -25. We really couldn't look straight ahead but had to keep our eyes down (tomorrow we'll remember our goggles), and the wind almost blew me over once or twice. B actually did take a spill when he accidentally stepped off the boardwalk and into a snowdrift that was deeper than he expected (in his defense, he was wearing his glasses which immediately frosted over so he really couldn't see anything).

The good news is, so far it seems we're well-prepared as far as gear goes. The skin around my eyes was my only exposed part this morning, and the only part of me that felt cold. So I'm happy for that and hoping my jacket, boots, snow pants and everything else continue to keep me warm as the weather gets colder.

Friday, November 20, 2009

Since I've Been Here I Haven't:

- ridden a bike (the stationary one in the "Fitness Club doesn't count)#
- driven a car#
- played music with anyone%
- seen anyone I met before July 2009#
- been to the movies
- been to a grocery store%
- played frisbee
- done any work in behavior support (my area of expertise -such as it is)#
- eaten ice cream#

I have
- gone fishing+
- driven a 4-wheeler+
- watched a seal get 'cleaned'*
- walked across the tundra to the nearest village*
- flew in a 6-person airplane*
- ridden in the trailer of a 4-wheeler*
- done the Indian Stick Pull (and strained my back in the process)*
- taught algebra*
- experienced 50 mph winds*
- made my own soy milk*
- grown alfalfa sprouts*
- eaten Eskimo ice cream*

Key:
+ denotes first time since I was a kid
* denotes 1st time ever
# denotes something I did daily before moving here
% denotes something I did weekly before moving here

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Forth, and fear no darkness!

Today is Sunday, November 15. The sun rose today at 10:01 am and will set at 5:28pm. For the next 5 weeks or so, we have a lot more darkness coming. On the winter solstice, the sun will rise at 11:08am and set at 4:48pm. Now, keep in mind that we live among several hills, so it takes a while for us to actually see the sun, even after it has technically risen, and likewise, it goes down behind the hill to the south well before the official sunset. It's been amazing to watch the arc of the sun get smaller every day. The light never feels strong or full because the sun is always slanting down at us these days - never directly overhead.

Just to give you some comparison, on the day we arrived in Tununak (Friday, August 7), the sun rose at 6:51am and set at 11:21pm. And on the summer solstice, the sunrise was at 5:29am, while sunset was at 12:35am.

And in the way of further comparison, today in Portland the sun rose at 7:09am and set at 4:41pm. So as you can see, it's the morning that's really killer. When we walk to school at 8am it is absolutely middle-of-the-night pitch black. About two weeks ago we started bringing our camping headlamp for the walk up the stairs to school (we also put our cleats on our boots, but that's a different matter). If it's clear, the stars are actually pretty amazing at this time of the morning, but it's too cold to stay out and look for very long.

And speaking of cold, yesterday for the first time we got really, super bundled up. We've been postponing the use of our heavy-duty winter gear as long as possible so that we would still have something warmer to put on when it went from cold to "holy s**t" cold. I think we're still well away from that level but it is definitely getting pretty chilly and we wanted to test out our gear. So, I have a Mountain Hardwear Subzero women's parka. I put on long underwear, jeans, snowpants, fleece socks, my snow boots, a fleece jacket, fleece scarf, and my parka. I skipped a hat because my jacket has a serious hood. I also have gore-tex fleece lined mittens. So we both got all suited up and we were waiting for E to get ready (we were all going to walk to the post office) and I was sweating bullets. I thought once we got outside I’d cool down but I actually had to loosen my hood and scarf about halfway there because I was so hot! It was a relief because it means it can get a lot colder and we’ll still be warm enough. However, I have to admit that yesterday was very sunny and not at all windy, which helped. Today I walked up to school and on the way back home the wind felt like a knife. It really hurts to have anything exposed in wind like that, and I didn't have my scarf, so I had to hold up my hand to block the right side of my face while I walked.

So, how are we planning to get through this long, cold winter? Lots of tea, lots of games, lots of music practice, lots of movies, lots and lots of books. Letter-writing, phone calls, Wii, bread baking (baking in general) and, hopefully, the occasional letter or package from the lower 48.

On that final note, just want to say thanks for all the mail lovin' we're getting. It's hard to express how exciting it is to get a package or even a letter. We miss home and our "real life" so much and mail is like a little connection to that. We've been very spoiled by our parents who've sent us tons of goodies, and our friends have also sent us amazing care packages filled with books, chocolate, coffee, games, tea, vegan treats, and even 1 dried sunflower. Thanks thanks!

(I'll just add that getting mail is SO exciting that even when I order something from Amazon, it usually takes so long to get here that I've half forgotten it by the time it arrives, and then I'm like, "Oh, a package...oh, look, it's a _______! Fantastic, I've been wanting that!" )

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Homework and Pants

Most of the students don't carry bags back and forth to school. They usually stick their homework in their pants' pocket and usually have it done by the time it's due. The other day a student stayed after school to get some missing work done. He hasn't been doing his homework much lately so when I suggested he spend his time working on that I figured he'd say he lost it or left it somewhere. Instead, it was in his pants pocket. He took it out and got most of it done in fifteen minutes.
A lot of the houses in town don't have running water. The families in these houses have to use the expensive and disgusting village laundromat. We have laundry facilities in our apartment. These facts may be why the the students often notice and remark that I wear different clothes to school every day. Conversely, I notice that they usually wear the same clothes all week. My method is good for conforming to "down-states" standards of smelling and looking acceptable for work; theirs is good for saving money, avoiding a trip to the laundromat and having your homework on you at all times.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Another Day

I woke up in the night to the sound of the wind. It's 50 mph today. Also, the alarm at the diesel generator for The Village went off at 5:15 AM. The alarm signifies that it's running short on fuel. This means that The Village was using the generator instead of the connection to another nearby village with wind turbines. The wind doesn't usually equate to losing power because there are no trees to knock down power lines. I don't know why we're using the back up.
The ocean, which is usually totally calm, is sporting double digit wave height and white caps. The students were complaining of being kept awake by the crashing waves all night.
As I write this it's 28 degrees out but the windchill brings it down to -1 (earlier the numbers were 29 and 4 with a 40 mph wind). You can see people getting blown around by the wind from the window in my classroom.
Just another day.

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Alcohol

Since its introduction into their world, alcohol has been a constant source of destruction and sorrow for Alaska Natives. Experts have put forth any number of reasons as to why Alaska Natives become abusers of alcohol virtually at the same time that they become users. One theory suggests that because the chemical is new to the Alaska Native body, Natives lack the chemical and genetic capability to break alcohol down the way other races of people — with long exposure to it — can. Others believe that the answer is purely genetic: that is, many Alaska Natives are genetically predisposed to becoming addicted to alcohol whereas, in other races, those genetically predisposed have long since died out through alcohol-related deaths. Still others feel that the type of alcoholism prevalent among Alaska Natives, the so-called "binge drinking," is behavior learned from the trappers and miners and traders with whom Natives had initial contact.”

This quote is from a paper I found online here. I think the whole paper is worth reading to get a better idea of the way alcohol is affecting Native populations throughout Alaska. I can speak only to what I see here in the Village.

Last Wednesday almost half of our high school students were absent because the night before there had been a big party, and the kids were drinking. Absences due to drinking are very common, and I also hear from B and E (who both work in the upper school) that kids are often coming to school hungover or extremely exhausted from being out the night before. OFL tells us that he hears regularly from kids who are thinking of hurting or even killing themselves. Alcohol is a major problem in the village, and no one seems to have any idea how to address it.

A few weeks ago we had a community meeting up at the school to address the issue. Many adults are in agreement that this is a serious problem in the village. Some adults even pointed out that the people who are causing the problem are well known, but that there is no real enforcement of the village ordinance against alcohol. I left the meeting feeling, on the one hand, encouraged that so many adults had turned up and expressed concern, and on the other hand frustrated that no real ideas or action plans had been set forth.

Alcohol gets here in one of two ways: either people brew it themselves, or they buy it. I don’t know much about it but I have to assume that homebrew is the more common way of getting it, since to buy it is wildly expensive. A bottle of cheap whiskey, for example, something that might cost $10 at a liquor store, can fetch $200 here in the Village. However the villagers get it, they definitely have it. Kids as young as 8 or 9 make jokes and references to homebrew or to drinking in general.

I think part of the problem is the extreme isolation, and the lack of alternative activities. Part of it is modeling – if children grow up seeing the adults in the family abusing alcohol, then, genetic predisposition or no, there’s a good chance those children will drink when they grow up as well. Another part of the problems is Fetal Alcohol Syndrome – among the host of difficulties this causes, one is poor judgment skills, which make it more likely that someone with FAS will choose to drink and may, as a result, end up abusing alcohol themselves. Finally, I think a big part of the problem is a lack of education. Most of the kids seem to know that they shouldn’t drink, but have been given little or no training on how or why to avoid it. If I’m hearing my kids talk about, young as they are, then it seems to me that they should be getting educated about it.

Sometimes when B and E and I are sitting around having our nightly mugs of tea and we get on to this topic, I feel despair. Alcohol is a crafty and a wicked enemy, very hard to fight. To make things worse, Athol, the nearest city, recently voted to stop being a dry city. Everyone here expects that this will only increase the flow of illegal alcohol into the villages.

Here are a few more statewide statistics from the paper I quoted above that may help to express the severity of the problem. The paper is a little old at this point but I think the point is still made quite clearly.



• In fiscal year 1993, the state and federal governments spent approximately $13 million (not counting Medicaid, Medicare, or other third-party reimbursements) providing substance abuse programs for Alaska Natives;

• Between 1980 and 1989, once every 12 days an Alaska Native died from alcohol (i.e., alcohol being the primary cause of death), for a total of 305 Alaska Natives deaths attributable directly to alcohol;

• A majority of Native crimes for which Natives are serving jail time are alcohol related, and a majority of those crimes fall into categories deemed among the most violent: assault, sexual assault, sexual abuse of a minor, and murder/manslaughter;

• Initial findings of a special IHS/Alaska Native Health Board project indicate at-risk prenatal alcohol/drug exposure among Alaska Natives ranging from 14% to 78% by region in 1991;

• Though it is impossible using current numbers to clearly define the overall role alcohol plays in injury deaths, it can be established that, all other factors being equal, the rate at which alcohol is an underlying or a contributing cause of injury death among Alaska Natives is nearly triple that among non-Natives.

• "The commission finds a clear connection between the abuse of alcohol and the commission of criminal offenses in Alaska. This alcohol connection is particularly strong in rural areas and among Alaska Natives wherever situated. It is estimated that at least 75% of offenders have problems with substance abuse, and this figure is probably even higher for Native offenders."

• Alaska Natives have an FAS rate more than double the national average.