Upterrlainarluta

There's a real rhythm to living in the bush that you can't help but fall into. In a place with few distractions, each seasonal activity becomes illumined and comes to really define that time of year. You feel the rhythm even more so because of how short and intense these seasons seem to be- all sharp bursts of activity. Spawning kings give way to halibut give way to silvers give way to moose and berry season and migrating ducks and geese and on it goes- and for that two or three weeks, that's all anybody does or talks about. Traditionally, Yup'ik culture has described this steady rhythm as "always getting ready," (Upterrlainarluta in Yup'ik) and I'm beginning to understand that phrase more every day- not just in fishing and hunting, but as a way of life. 

I'm really enjoying teaching Biology this fall. One of my goals is for my students to begin to look at the world around them and begin to investigate it like scientists. We're currently finishing up a project where students are making field guides for GNU plants. Next, we're going to be creating a complex food web of producers and consumers in the region. I'm excited to see these finished projects and I'll be sure to share them on here.

Students collecting samples on the tundra.

My appreciation for the tundra itself continues to grow. I had no real conception of it before moving to Alaska. I thought of it vaguely as ubiquitous and homogenous, like a field of grass stretching for miles. While that first descriptor may be accurate, the second couldn't be further from the truth. Tundra is incredibly diverse. From far off, it doesn't particularly strike the eye, but up close the richness of colors, textures, smells and the variety of life is really incomparable. I think the smell is my favorite. There's a small fortune out there to be made for someone who can capture the aroma of tundra in a candle. 

We traveled to Bethel a couple of weeks ago for District-wide Inservice- a week long training where all the teachers in the district get together to connect and learn from one another. It's fun to be able to catch up with friends from around the district and to learn new methods and techniques for improving our classrooms. Junie has become a traveling trooper- we're so proud of how good she's been with all of the traveling this job requires. It really makes our lives easier!

The bed and breakfast we stayed at in Bethel. 

Our view of the Kuskokwim. 

We ended up stuck an extra day in Bethel because our usual carrier Yute gave our plane away to another school that had overpacked and was overweight. There's a saying in the Y-K delta: "If you don't give a hoot, fly Yute," and we've found that to be pretty reliable advice. Unfortunately, Yute is the only carrier that has regular flights to GNU. However, there are a few carriers that will fly there via a charter reservation, so that's how we finally got out of Bethel. Notice how much bigger these caravan planes are than the little Cessnas we usually fly on. We felt like millionaires flying home!

Our little trooper decided that 4 days in Bethel away from home was just too much. Frankly, we agree.

It's official. I have become one of "those parents." I always scoffed at parents constantly sharing pictures of their young kids, insisting that their child is the cutest kid. But c'mon....seriously, look at that face. She seriously is the cutest, and I find myself showing pictures of her to my students and others declaring the same. Junie turned 3 months old yesterday, and we're enjoying raising her and watching her grow up in a hundred little ways everyday.