3 months down and 12 bullet points.

I have gone too long without writing a blog; I have too many things to write about! I will just make a list of important events/realizations whatever that I have had recently.

1. I went to Anchorage for a JVC retreat. Crazy. Did you know that they have paved roads, Starbucks, streetlights, houses with foundations and basements, a mall and vegetables?!?! I realize I sound ridiculous, but those were all super exciting parts of my time there. If it were physically possible, I would’ve overdosed on vegetables during my long weekend. It isn’t that I don’t eat veggies in Bethel, but there is something different about fresh ones versus frozen or canned ones. The retreat itself was full of ups and downs. It was awesome to get to hang out with the rest of the Alaska JVs and get away from Bethel for a few days. It also brought some hard community conversations but I am happy that we got the chance to retreat together.
2. One of the tough retreat conversations ended up having some serious consequences for our community. One of my roommates was asked to leave JVC this week. He will be missed very much in our community because he brought a lot of good things, but I hope this will give him an opportunity to take care of himself and it has definitely made the rest of us concentrate more on the health of ourselves and our community. Everyone said that community would be the hardest part of JVC; so far they are totally right!
3. I have been very blessed in that even when I was having a rough time at home, I had a lot of great things going on other places. Volleyball is over, which is a bummer but it was so much fun. I am so thankful that I got to work with such a great bunch of girls. I also learned that coaching is a lot more work than it looks. I have a lot of improvement to do with my next team, but I really hope to keep coaching volleyball wherever I end up!
4. Work is awesome. I love my students and all of the awesome opportunities I have to get to know them better. The other night, I went over to the girl’s dorm and helped the girls make spam sushi and noodle soup. (Delicious :) ) After dinner, I helped one of the girls with her science homework. It was super fun.
5. I joined Curves. The owner doesn’t charge JVs, which is awesome, and since I have to try and keep getting exercise during the cold weather, I figured it was a good idea. Curves itself is hilarious. You have a bunch of machines that choose the resistance for you and then a mat between each machine. You do 30-second rotations, 30 seconds on a machine and then 30 seconds on a mat. So, what do you do on a mat? Good question. You do whatever you want. Some people dance, some people jump, some people (me) just kind of flail around and hope that the 30 seconds goes by fast. But, its super fun. I don’t feel like I’m getting the best workout of my life, but it is definitely entertaining.
6. It is getting cold. Well, that’s not totally true. We have had snow on the ground for like 2 weeks but then the past few days have been warm. It’s been like 36-38 degrees during the day (warm by Bethel standards) and gets colder at night. So basically, it gets warm and rains. Then it gets cold and ices over. Then it rains more, things melt, then freeze again. The roads are covered in ice. School was actually cancelled yesterday because of the icy roads. The buses decided they weren’t going to run, so the schools had to cancel school.
7. I’m sure you are wondering how this weather has affected my driving the school bus. Well, sad news first, they took my school bus :( There is no one to do check ups because we don’t use the bus company, so the school district made me give it back. But, I still have to pick kids up, I just don't get to use the bus. Because I am new to the whole winter driving thing, this week has been “teach Jill how to drive on ice” week. It could also be called, “scare Jill so badly that she pees her pants” week. First of all, I was driving Chris (teacher at BABS)’s car on Saturday and spun his Jeep 270 degrees, going straight into a driveway and narrowly avoiding a ditch on either side. (The avoiding of the ditch was dumb luck, not due to any talent I had) So, on Monday, Chris and I both told Starr what happened and she took me out to practice. It is a good thing that she teaches drivers ed, because anyone else may have freaked out while driving with me. But, good news to everyone that worries that I don’t pray enough. I prayed more in the 2 hours we were driving than I think I ever have before. After a while, I started getting the hang of it and I am now back in charge of driving kids around. I am the annoying driver that drives under the speed limit, but I get the kids where they need to be, without any injuries to them or the car.
8. Speaking of cold and driving, I have a couple of winter firsts to report. I wore my first pair of snow pants since like 3rd grade! I also rode on my first snow machine (snow mobile for you lower 48-ers) and I DROVE my first snow machine! And finally, I rode in my first dog sled. But, I should back up and tell the whole story. I got a phone call at work the other day and it was Jesse Klejka (one of the 7 Klejka kids, the family that feeds us almost every Sunday and has 20 dogs) he was like, Mary (a BABS student and Jesse’s friend) is coming over to get you, lets go mushing. I said yes and 5 minutes later, Mary was at BABS on a snow machine. We went speeding and bumping across the tundra and got to the Klejka’s house just as the last of the 10 dogs were being harnessed together. Mary winter geared me up with snow pants, a puffy jacket, big gloves, ect, and then we were off. I blocked the street so that the dogs could cross safely and then hopped on the back of a snow machine and followed the dog team. Less than 1 minute into the run, however, Jesse fell off and the dogs were dragging along Mary, who was in the sled, until she could get the hooks into the ground. The hooks are connected to the line that the dogs are all connected to and it is basically an anchor, it stops the dogs. Well, once that mess was straightened out, Mary didn’t want to ride in the sled anymore so everyone else generously volunteered me to be next. As soon as I got in, I peppered Jesse with questions about what I was supposed to do when he fell off. He assured me that he wasn’t going to fall off again and for the next almost ½ hour, he kept his promise. But, then a steep incline surprised Jesse and all of a sudden I was alone in a sled, being pulled by 10 dogs who had no intention of cooperating with my loud “Whoa, stop, oh god, please stop, F&*$, really!?!?! STOP!” Well, anyway, I ended up getting the hooks into the ground by lying on my side and pounding them into the ground as we sped along. It actually wasn’t that bad. Then after that was sorted out, we went for a while longer and then went back home. Back at the Klejka’s, I learned how to unharness and put dogs away. They are strong and basically try and pull you around, but I showed them who was boss (right... It was more me holding onto them as hard as I could while trying my best not to look stupid in front of all these scrawny high schoolers that were handling the dogs with ease). Anyway, good times. I’m excited to keep working with them.
9. Fun fact. I wear my Ugg boots all the time. Its pretty much guaranteed that if I am wearing shoes, they will be my Uggs. They are the only shoes, other than my intense winter boots, that keep my feet warm. My hiking boots have better traction, but my Uggs are way more comfy and warm. Yes, I am an Ugg convert. I might look like a tool, but I am a happy tool. Haha.
10. On a completely unrelated to Bethel note, I’m gonna be a bridesmaid in Christina and Josh’s wedding!!! I am so excited. For those of you who don’t know, I was an OA with Christina and Josh and then lived with Christina my junior year. Christina is easily one of my best friends and one of the people I have been able to keep in pretty good touch with since moving to Alaska. (Thanks to the miracle of gchat.) But anyway, I’m psyched. I love both of them lots and I’m super excited to be a part of their wedding party :)
11. I’m also super excited for another wedding coming my way. Amy and Chris’ wedding in January! I will be heading out to Maine a few days after Christmas to spend time with my Maine-iac family and be a bridesmaid in my cousin Amy’s wedding. It will be awesome to get to see everyone and be a part of Amy and Chris’ exciting day. I’m looking forward to Chris being a part of the family, because then my teasing can be even more merciless (right, “Precious?”).
12. Last note. After Amy and Chris’ wedding, I will be heading to Seattle for a few days, Jan 3-9. I can’t wait to see everyone I love that lives in Seattle. I don’t know how it is all going to work, I hope that I will get to see lots of people during my relatively short stay. It will be interesting to see how easily I adapt to a big city after what will be almost 6 months in Bethel. Am I gonna be a total hick by then? Well, I guess I will find out in 2ish months. I can’t believe how fast this year seems to be going. It will be August before I’ve even figured out how to fill out my Americorp monthly timesheet correctly.

Ok, that is all I can think of right now. I’m sure there is a ton more but maybe that just means you need to call me and ask me in person. I should have a bit more free time coming up since I don’t have volleyball and I still hope to do a better job of keeping in contact with people. Anyway, time to go. I will update again soon!

Love and miss you all!
Jill