Well, I have swine flu. That's fun. Its funny that I left the furor of H1N1 in Seattle only to find it alive and well up here... and then it got me pinned in the miserable pig pen of fever, chills, sore throat, headache and body aches. Hey, I'm just happy I don't have crap spewing out of either end, that was a possibility. (Yes, that was crude, sorry! But I just want my readers to be informed.) So, yesterday I woke up and felt gross. But, I powered through and went to work anyway. I was already shivering, though it was one of the warmest days we have had in a while (like 41-47), so I took my temp. 98.3. Oh sweet, I'm not only not sick, my temperature is extra low. I must be extra healthy! Not so, not so. I'm an idiot and probably made myself worse when I politely declined 3 (count 'em, THREE!) rides home after work. By then I knew I was sick but I am ridiculously stubborn and have made it a habit to pretty much always refuse rides home. Why? Good freaking question.
Let's just say I was cursing myself the entire walk home as my throat felt like it was corroding away and my backpack felt a million pounds. By the time I got home, I was a mess. I went straight upstairs and laid in bed for a few hours, trying to get warm. Then, I woke up and went downstairs... felt like more crap and so I went back to bed. I woke up one more time, popped some ibuprofen and drank some tea and soup and started feeling better. After a bit more time, I went to bed for the night, woke up in the morning, called my boss and went back to sleep.
Today has been one of the most boring days in the history of sick days. I can't function if I don't take some fever/pain meds but if I do take them... I get sooooo bored. I watched Little Women and Great Expectations, talked to my mom (I may have moved away... but I still need my mommy when I'm sick :) ) and slept. The interesting parts of my day have been when it is about time for another dose of ibuprofen. Then my day starts to get really good, I get to find out how crappy I am going to feel before it kicks in again. Let me tell you, its the best game. NOT.
But, before everyone starts freaking out, I'm fine. I called the clinic (aka the hospital) and they told me it will last like 3-5 days and then I will be right as rain. And, I'm already on day 2. So basically, by the time you read this, I will probably be better and one of my roomies will have gotten it. :)
Other than turning into a pig... life is good. Work is exciting, we had 4 new students start yesterday and I keep making deeper connections with the kids. I really missed work today. I even had my roommate go grab my computer from BABS today so that I could get some work done tomorrow.
As for the roommates, I have had a lot of requests for bios of my roomies. I will do my best. My roommate Ariel, aka the one I share a room with, is working at the Tundra Women's Coalition, a woman and children's shelter. She is the legal advocate there. She gets to go to court sometimes for restraining orders and such. She really enjoys singing and is involved in Unitarian Universalist religion. I don't know much about it, except it is a very open set of beliefs, people find their own path to God.
Joe is the "old" one. He is 27 and is working at the Senior Center. He used to live in Illinois where he worked in asset management but he decided that he didn't like his life's trajectory, so he changed it. He is absolutely great, quiet with a good sense of humor. He definitely contributes a lot of laughs to our group. He's got some sweet dance moves, some of which he learned from the Senior Center's "aerobics" class.
Abby is also working at TWC but she is the children's advocate. She is in charge of Teens Acting Against Violence (T.A.A.V.) a group of teens that meets a couple of weeks to combat domestic violence. She was the one that I feel like I clicked with the fastest, but now I feel like I don't see her all that much. She works a lot of nights and with my volleyball practice schedule (7-9 every weeknight) I'm not home that much. She is pretty cool though.
John is working at Bethel Community Services dispursing a really cool grant. He has chosen 10 candidates, some of whom are my students, who will spend the next year saving up to 1,000 dollars. If, at the end of the year, they have accomplished this and have attended mandatory financial education classes, BCS will match each dollar they have earned with 2 dollars. John is a great person but we are definitely two very strong willed people. We have had a few heated conversations but each one has made us closer.
Justin is the youth minister at the Catholic Church. He is easily one of the most original people I have met in my life. He is very outdoorsy, very knowldegable when it comes to all things technological. He has already proved to me that .99999 repeating actually equals 1. Fun fact, even the math teachers at BRHS can't argue that with him. He is full of all sorts of weird quirks, but it is always entertaining to hang out with him.
PJ works at the public defenders. He is in charge of prepping parents who have lost their kids to CPS to go to court. It is definitely an interesting position because it could potentially pit Abby and Ariel against PJ in the courtroom. He is great, definitely has a Boston accent and is always entertaining and laid-back. It is awesome to get Joe and PJ together. They love to rap and dance and just be ridiculous.
Overall, I spend most of my time with the boys. I have had plenty of nights filled with Sports Center, farting and dirty jokes, but I love it. So, for those of you so impatiently waiting to hear about my roomies, now you have it. And, I have killed a bit of time writing this so hopefully one of my roomies will be home soon to entertain me.
Also, for those of you anxiously awaiting my volleyball team's results, this past weekend we went 1 for 3. Its ok, we are improving. At least they didn't get beat 25-0 like they did when they were in Nome. (Yea, I didn't know it could happen, my girls were dedicated to losing!)
Ok, thats it. Love and miss you all!
Jill
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Don't freak out. Two blogs in two days. Haha. But really, this is just an update to yesterday's blog.
1. I ended up making salmon chowder and we found some B&M brown bread in a can that we baked up. It was such a good meal. Everyone was freaked out about the idea of eating canned bread but I remember eating it back in Maine and I loved it. But, by the end of dinner, there were 6 more canned bread converts.
2. I did play football yesterday and didn't break any bones, in fact, I scored two touchdowns. I was terrified at first because it was one other girl, me and then a bunch of big 20-30 year old guys. I was pretty convinced I was going to end up crawling off the field through the goose poop crying, but I held my own. In fact at Chris' surprise party (refer back to previous quote for a description of Chris) I kept being called over and compared to Hayley, the other girl that was playing. We were, of course, guarding each other (seriously, why would one of the guys need to guard a girl, obviously girls can't be good at sports, haha) but the guys decided that I got the better of her. Sweet. Haha.
3. I keep forgetting to share something really important! I have new irrational fear! Most of you should already know about my fear of umbrellas, I am convinced that one of the pokey ends is gonna stick into my eye one of these days. People are just not very careful with them. But up here in Bethel, we don't really have umbrellas so instead I am now terrified of getting a rock in my eye. I walk on dirt/gravel roads all the time and when cars drive by, the tires spray up a stream of rocks, dirt, trash, whatever. The other day a stray rock came up and hit me in the leg. What if I were bending down and tying my shoe? What if it had flown up like 3 feet higher? I would be Jill, the one-eyed girl. Not cool.
Ok, that it. Love you and miss you all!
Jill
1. I ended up making salmon chowder and we found some B&M brown bread in a can that we baked up. It was such a good meal. Everyone was freaked out about the idea of eating canned bread but I remember eating it back in Maine and I loved it. But, by the end of dinner, there were 6 more canned bread converts.
2. I did play football yesterday and didn't break any bones, in fact, I scored two touchdowns. I was terrified at first because it was one other girl, me and then a bunch of big 20-30 year old guys. I was pretty convinced I was going to end up crawling off the field through the goose poop crying, but I held my own. In fact at Chris' surprise party (refer back to previous quote for a description of Chris) I kept being called over and compared to Hayley, the other girl that was playing. We were, of course, guarding each other (seriously, why would one of the guys need to guard a girl, obviously girls can't be good at sports, haha) but the guys decided that I got the better of her. Sweet. Haha.
3. I keep forgetting to share something really important! I have new irrational fear! Most of you should already know about my fear of umbrellas, I am convinced that one of the pokey ends is gonna stick into my eye one of these days. People are just not very careful with them. But up here in Bethel, we don't really have umbrellas so instead I am now terrified of getting a rock in my eye. I walk on dirt/gravel roads all the time and when cars drive by, the tires spray up a stream of rocks, dirt, trash, whatever. The other day a stray rock came up and hit me in the leg. What if I were bending down and tying my shoe? What if it had flown up like 3 feet higher? I would be Jill, the one-eyed girl. Not cool.
Ok, that it. Love you and miss you all!
Jill
Saturday, September 19, 2009
So, we all know that I have a 40 minute walk to work in the morning, yes? It is great, it wakes me up in the morning and gives me lots of time to think. Back in Seattle, I had a 20ish minute walk to Meany in the morning (where I tutored foster kids through Treehouse). Usually I used that time to call my grandparents or Lauren. (That three hour time difference was important because I was walking at like 7:15. Then on my way back, I was always busy texting someone or another, talking to my mom or studying for that Arabic test I knew was going to kick my butt. Here, I walk to work, just listening to my ipod and thinking about big ideas like, what is going to be for lunch? What skills should we work on at volleyball practice? Did I leave the water heater on when I left? Oops. The other thing that I think about a lot is what I would tell people about my experiences here. Basically, I write my blog. But then when I actually sit down to write something, I've forgotten all the funny, clever little stories I was going to tell. Lame.
To address a huge question I have gotten a lot, I will post pictures soon. As soon as I find my camera. I think I may have left it on the Klejka's boat when we went out on Labor day, or maybe it is lost in the disaster of my side of the room. But once I do find it, BABS has a camera cord that I will be able to use, so I promise to post some soon.
This week was pretty good, it went by really fast. I am super bummed because I should be in Nome right now, coaching my girls, but my boss at BABS still won't budge. It sucks. But, on the other hand, I understand where she is coming from... a little bit. And, instead of flying to Nome yesterday, I helped out some BABS students that were preparing for a soup kitchen that is happening today. It was actually super exciting, one of the girls was like, I'm not sure I wanna go to this, will you go with me? I said yes and she was pumped. Guess what, ladies and gentlemen? My kids are starting to like me!!!! I think I gained major cool points with all of them yesterday cause I was a bit ridiculous. BABS has this super sweet thing called Fun Fridays (yes, I feel like I am back working at summer camp) and yesterday's theme was Gender Bender, aka girls dress as guys and vice versa. I wore my roommate John's flannel shirt, his baseball hat, a pair of baggy pants and used eyeliner to paint myself a moustache and goatee. I was looking pretty handsome. It was great, people didn't recognize me all day yesterday. But, I wasn't even the most dressed up, one of the other teachers, Chris, dressed up in a pink dress, wore blush and lipstick and wore cute red flats. It was perfect. His bushy beard really completed the outfit. Don't worry, there are definitely picture of this, I am going to get them emailed to me soon and those will be posted ASAP. We even took cute couple pictures, I don't wanna brag... but we look pretty good together.
So, Friday was pretty fun but this week has been harder than previous weeks. I was telling one of my roommates this earlier but I definitely feel like my heart express mailed itself back to Seattle this week. Between terrifying family stuff to just missing my life at home, it is not easy. Its funny, I feel like my life is so often filled with drama and stress but when I look back on the first half of 2009, I am so thankful for the people that were there with me. I am sure that I will look back on this experience with the same amount of nostalgia, but I still catch myself wishing I was closer to family that drives me nuts but offers me so much joy and love and friends that know me and my quirks but love me anyway.
Now, don't think that I haven't made any friends. Its not like I am back in elementary school. People seem to like me here. Haha. But seriously, there are quite a few people that I am so excited to be spending the next year living near and becoming closer with. In fact, in about an hour, I'm going to be joining a bunch of them to play touch football. My goal is to not break any more bones. (For those of you that didn't know or forgot, in the championship game of intramural football last winter, I broke my middle finger and had to have two surgeries and be in some kind of cast for like 3.5 months) I will be sure to let you know if I can accomplish my goal. :) And then after football I am going to make dinner. Since I have been coaching football, our dinner situation has seriously sucked. No one else really cooks. I have eaten more Top Ramen here than I did in all of college. Then after that, we are going to Chris (my coworker at BABS)'s surprise birthday party. Guess what? Somehow I got put on the email listserve for his party! I really am making friends! Haha. (I mean, it may have something to do with the fact that his girlfriend and her roommate just got my email on Tuesday for something else... but still!) Anyway, it is time for me to plan a real dinner and then get changed. I promise to try and find my camera and post pictures soon.
Gah, another super long post. Who wants to nominate themselves to be my blog editor and cut down on the useless info? Anyway, love you all. Miss you lots. You should call me. The chance of me answering is 1/7... it could be worse, you could be calling a pay phone in the middle of town. Then the chance would be like... 1/150. Haha. (Thats a joke people, there are almost 6000 people here!)
Ok seriously, now I'm done.
Love you,
Jill
To address a huge question I have gotten a lot, I will post pictures soon. As soon as I find my camera. I think I may have left it on the Klejka's boat when we went out on Labor day, or maybe it is lost in the disaster of my side of the room. But once I do find it, BABS has a camera cord that I will be able to use, so I promise to post some soon.
This week was pretty good, it went by really fast. I am super bummed because I should be in Nome right now, coaching my girls, but my boss at BABS still won't budge. It sucks. But, on the other hand, I understand where she is coming from... a little bit. And, instead of flying to Nome yesterday, I helped out some BABS students that were preparing for a soup kitchen that is happening today. It was actually super exciting, one of the girls was like, I'm not sure I wanna go to this, will you go with me? I said yes and she was pumped. Guess what, ladies and gentlemen? My kids are starting to like me!!!! I think I gained major cool points with all of them yesterday cause I was a bit ridiculous. BABS has this super sweet thing called Fun Fridays (yes, I feel like I am back working at summer camp) and yesterday's theme was Gender Bender, aka girls dress as guys and vice versa. I wore my roommate John's flannel shirt, his baseball hat, a pair of baggy pants and used eyeliner to paint myself a moustache and goatee. I was looking pretty handsome. It was great, people didn't recognize me all day yesterday. But, I wasn't even the most dressed up, one of the other teachers, Chris, dressed up in a pink dress, wore blush and lipstick and wore cute red flats. It was perfect. His bushy beard really completed the outfit. Don't worry, there are definitely picture of this, I am going to get them emailed to me soon and those will be posted ASAP. We even took cute couple pictures, I don't wanna brag... but we look pretty good together.
So, Friday was pretty fun but this week has been harder than previous weeks. I was telling one of my roommates this earlier but I definitely feel like my heart express mailed itself back to Seattle this week. Between terrifying family stuff to just missing my life at home, it is not easy. Its funny, I feel like my life is so often filled with drama and stress but when I look back on the first half of 2009, I am so thankful for the people that were there with me. I am sure that I will look back on this experience with the same amount of nostalgia, but I still catch myself wishing I was closer to family that drives me nuts but offers me so much joy and love and friends that know me and my quirks but love me anyway.
Now, don't think that I haven't made any friends. Its not like I am back in elementary school. People seem to like me here. Haha. But seriously, there are quite a few people that I am so excited to be spending the next year living near and becoming closer with. In fact, in about an hour, I'm going to be joining a bunch of them to play touch football. My goal is to not break any more bones. (For those of you that didn't know or forgot, in the championship game of intramural football last winter, I broke my middle finger and had to have two surgeries and be in some kind of cast for like 3.5 months) I will be sure to let you know if I can accomplish my goal. :) And then after football I am going to make dinner. Since I have been coaching football, our dinner situation has seriously sucked. No one else really cooks. I have eaten more Top Ramen here than I did in all of college. Then after that, we are going to Chris (my coworker at BABS)'s surprise birthday party. Guess what? Somehow I got put on the email listserve for his party! I really am making friends! Haha. (I mean, it may have something to do with the fact that his girlfriend and her roommate just got my email on Tuesday for something else... but still!) Anyway, it is time for me to plan a real dinner and then get changed. I promise to try and find my camera and post pictures soon.
Gah, another super long post. Who wants to nominate themselves to be my blog editor and cut down on the useless info? Anyway, love you all. Miss you lots. You should call me. The chance of me answering is 1/7... it could be worse, you could be calling a pay phone in the middle of town. Then the chance would be like... 1/150. Haha. (Thats a joke people, there are almost 6000 people here!)
Ok seriously, now I'm done.
Love you,
Jill
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Ok so, I've been really slacking on my blog updating. Sorry. I have been super busy.
Every day I leave my house around 7:40 (7:50, when I'm tired) and don't get back until around 7:30 that night. I go to work and then walk straight to volleyball practice and then head home. Some nights my roommates have dinner waiting for me, which is fantastic, other nights I scavenge and then just hang out. Volleyball is super fun and has been keeping me pretty darn busy. This weekend I helped out with two volleyball fundraisers, a car wash and a spaghetti feed. The car wash was on Saturday from 11-3 and during that time we made 1300 dollars. No joke. We also charged 20 bucks per car. Ridiculous Bethel prices. Then on Monday night (labor day) we had a spaghetti feed, all the girls brought a dessert and we made spaghetti, sauce, garlic bread and salad together. That night we made 1600 dollars. Yea, I know. That is nuts.
Speaking of Labor day, I had a great day off. I went out on the Klejka family boat. The Klejka's are a super sweet family that invites us to dinner every Sunday night (and asks us to paint their sled dog houses, nothing is free these days, haha). We went up to an abandoned Moravian Mission and walked around that and ate fried chicken (delicious. absolutely awesome. haha) Then we went and pulled over on the bank of the river and climbed about 15 feet straight up to walk around the tundra. No, I'm not joking. I was grabbing onto stray branches, feet slipping down the mud and freaking out, yelling at all the boys that this apparently came easy to. I'm sure I was a rather entertaining sight. But, once we got up to the tundra, I saw something amazing. TREES! No joke. Trees that are taller than me. Trees that some of the guys climbed. It was awesome. We walked around the tundra for a while which is a really interesting experience. Its like walking on clouds. Squishy, spongy, muddy and pothole filled clouds. Its quite a leg workout. The ground sinks beneath you and you have to keep pulling your feet up. High knees across the tundra.
After our tunra adventure, we had to climb back down. That was also an adventure. Sliding down feet first, trying to grab onto branches to slow myself down. It was actually pretty sucessful. (Yes, I know, I sound like such a city girl. Deal with it. I never spent much time outside. Let's be real, I'm more comfortable in the streets of Seattle at 2 am than I am in the wilderness. Haha) So, we climbed down and headed to the Klejka's fish camp.
A ton of people have fish camps in Bethel. Fish camps are little huts/tents/houses on the rivers that people go to to fish during the summer and fall. At the Klejka's fish camp we did some weedwacking and branch trimming so that the trail would be more visible. After working for a while, we all headed home and I headed to the spaghetti feed.
Lets see... what else would you be interested in hearing about. Oh, men. I'm a pretty hot commodity around these parts. Things I have in my favor: 1. I have a pulse. 2. I'm single. 3. I have a pulse. Wait, I already said that. But, thats probably the most important one. It is definitely a change from what I am used to at Seattle U.
The only place where the girls outnumber the boys is at BABS. My work has been kind of rough this week. Between swine flu (yes, swine flu is in Bethel) the regular flu, kids being dismissed for failing drug tests and just needing to take time off for family reasons, BABS has been in constant transition. I'm definitely feeling more at home here but its been weird with all the students coming and going. It is also stressful because a big part of my job is making sure the school is full. Lets just say I have been doing a lot of interviews for prospecitve students. (slightly frantically, haha)
Anyway, time for me to head to volleyball practice, we are starting late today so I took this break to update you all. I hope everything is great for all of you. Don't forget that just because you know what is going on in my life... I don't know what is going on in yours. Keep me updated too!
Lots of love!
Jill
Every day I leave my house around 7:40 (7:50, when I'm tired) and don't get back until around 7:30 that night. I go to work and then walk straight to volleyball practice and then head home. Some nights my roommates have dinner waiting for me, which is fantastic, other nights I scavenge and then just hang out. Volleyball is super fun and has been keeping me pretty darn busy. This weekend I helped out with two volleyball fundraisers, a car wash and a spaghetti feed. The car wash was on Saturday from 11-3 and during that time we made 1300 dollars. No joke. We also charged 20 bucks per car. Ridiculous Bethel prices. Then on Monday night (labor day) we had a spaghetti feed, all the girls brought a dessert and we made spaghetti, sauce, garlic bread and salad together. That night we made 1600 dollars. Yea, I know. That is nuts.
Speaking of Labor day, I had a great day off. I went out on the Klejka family boat. The Klejka's are a super sweet family that invites us to dinner every Sunday night (and asks us to paint their sled dog houses, nothing is free these days, haha). We went up to an abandoned Moravian Mission and walked around that and ate fried chicken (delicious. absolutely awesome. haha) Then we went and pulled over on the bank of the river and climbed about 15 feet straight up to walk around the tundra. No, I'm not joking. I was grabbing onto stray branches, feet slipping down the mud and freaking out, yelling at all the boys that this apparently came easy to. I'm sure I was a rather entertaining sight. But, once we got up to the tundra, I saw something amazing. TREES! No joke. Trees that are taller than me. Trees that some of the guys climbed. It was awesome. We walked around the tundra for a while which is a really interesting experience. Its like walking on clouds. Squishy, spongy, muddy and pothole filled clouds. Its quite a leg workout. The ground sinks beneath you and you have to keep pulling your feet up. High knees across the tundra.
After our tunra adventure, we had to climb back down. That was also an adventure. Sliding down feet first, trying to grab onto branches to slow myself down. It was actually pretty sucessful. (Yes, I know, I sound like such a city girl. Deal with it. I never spent much time outside. Let's be real, I'm more comfortable in the streets of Seattle at 2 am than I am in the wilderness. Haha) So, we climbed down and headed to the Klejka's fish camp.
A ton of people have fish camps in Bethel. Fish camps are little huts/tents/houses on the rivers that people go to to fish during the summer and fall. At the Klejka's fish camp we did some weedwacking and branch trimming so that the trail would be more visible. After working for a while, we all headed home and I headed to the spaghetti feed.
Lets see... what else would you be interested in hearing about. Oh, men. I'm a pretty hot commodity around these parts. Things I have in my favor: 1. I have a pulse. 2. I'm single. 3. I have a pulse. Wait, I already said that. But, thats probably the most important one. It is definitely a change from what I am used to at Seattle U.
The only place where the girls outnumber the boys is at BABS. My work has been kind of rough this week. Between swine flu (yes, swine flu is in Bethel) the regular flu, kids being dismissed for failing drug tests and just needing to take time off for family reasons, BABS has been in constant transition. I'm definitely feeling more at home here but its been weird with all the students coming and going. It is also stressful because a big part of my job is making sure the school is full. Lets just say I have been doing a lot of interviews for prospecitve students. (slightly frantically, haha)
Anyway, time for me to head to volleyball practice, we are starting late today so I took this break to update you all. I hope everything is great for all of you. Don't forget that just because you know what is going on in my life... I don't know what is going on in yours. Keep me updated too!
Lots of love!
Jill
Friday, August 28, 2009
Driving/Dog sitting/Doaching (Ok its actually coaching... but I wanted to use alliteration)
My roommates have been making fun of me for my super detailed blogs… so if they start getting shorter, blame it on peer pressure :) But, with that said, its time for the next edition of Jill’s adventures in the tundra.
I have been here for almost three weeks and it already feels like I have been here wayyyy longer. We were told at the very beginning to treasure the times that you get lost, because it will never happen again. For those of you who have ever been on a car ride with me when I didn’t know where I was going (like every time I went, well, anywhere) you will be shocked to hear that I haven’t gotten lost once. It’s pretty simple because no streets leave Bethel so, if your street dead ends… you know its time to turn around.
Speaking of streets though, guess what? I’ve been driving, a lot! I drive a Pilot (a Honda? I don’t know cars so I won’t pretend to know) a short bus and I have been dog sitting this week so I have had a little blue two door to drive to work. My boss also doubles as the drivers ed teacher in town so driving with her in the bus was terrifying. “Jill, stop BEHIND the stop sign next time.” “Don’t forget, your mirrors stick out a foot and a half on either side, you could’ve taken that guy’s head off.” But, surprisingly, I must have passed because now I drive the bus to pick up kids in the morning and drop them off in the afternoon. I also drive the Pilot to drive kids to their jobs in the morning.
One downside of driving, and I guess of living in Alaska in general, is that on Wednesday I had to scrape frost off the windshield. IN AUGUST. I was so pissed. I’m still complaining/worrying about the cold but everyone tells me that I will survive. I’m not convinced yet.
But, other than being worried about the cold, I had another terrifying experience this week. Like I said, I had a car this week because I was dog sitting 2 dogs, a 120 lb Akita (2 Akitas can take down a grizzly bear, fyi) and another dog that likes to hump legs. Sweet. I also had to feed the Akita two pills, as in open the dog’s mouth and throw pills down its throat then hold its massive jaw closed until it swallowed. The first day I had to call in reinforcements, aka my roomie John, because I was convinced I was going to be Lucas (the Akita)’s dinner. But after that day, I showed that sucker who was boss. Or whatever.
Oh and guess what!!! I’m a boss. Well not really, but this past weekend I was asked to be the JV volleyball coach at the local high school, BRHS. Unfortunately, my boss at BABS wouldn’t let me do that so now I am just “helping out” but either way I am getting to play volleyball and coach, which makes me so happy. I’ve been running practices and everything. They even gave me a whistle. :)
Now this is real long and I’m gonna catch a lot of crap about it from my roomies, but whatever. If you know me at all, you know I like to talk. And write. So there you go.
Love and miss you all!
Jill
I have been here for almost three weeks and it already feels like I have been here wayyyy longer. We were told at the very beginning to treasure the times that you get lost, because it will never happen again. For those of you who have ever been on a car ride with me when I didn’t know where I was going (like every time I went, well, anywhere) you will be shocked to hear that I haven’t gotten lost once. It’s pretty simple because no streets leave Bethel so, if your street dead ends… you know its time to turn around.
Speaking of streets though, guess what? I’ve been driving, a lot! I drive a Pilot (a Honda? I don’t know cars so I won’t pretend to know) a short bus and I have been dog sitting this week so I have had a little blue two door to drive to work. My boss also doubles as the drivers ed teacher in town so driving with her in the bus was terrifying. “Jill, stop BEHIND the stop sign next time.” “Don’t forget, your mirrors stick out a foot and a half on either side, you could’ve taken that guy’s head off.” But, surprisingly, I must have passed because now I drive the bus to pick up kids in the morning and drop them off in the afternoon. I also drive the Pilot to drive kids to their jobs in the morning.
One downside of driving, and I guess of living in Alaska in general, is that on Wednesday I had to scrape frost off the windshield. IN AUGUST. I was so pissed. I’m still complaining/worrying about the cold but everyone tells me that I will survive. I’m not convinced yet.
But, other than being worried about the cold, I had another terrifying experience this week. Like I said, I had a car this week because I was dog sitting 2 dogs, a 120 lb Akita (2 Akitas can take down a grizzly bear, fyi) and another dog that likes to hump legs. Sweet. I also had to feed the Akita two pills, as in open the dog’s mouth and throw pills down its throat then hold its massive jaw closed until it swallowed. The first day I had to call in reinforcements, aka my roomie John, because I was convinced I was going to be Lucas (the Akita)’s dinner. But after that day, I showed that sucker who was boss. Or whatever.
Oh and guess what!!! I’m a boss. Well not really, but this past weekend I was asked to be the JV volleyball coach at the local high school, BRHS. Unfortunately, my boss at BABS wouldn’t let me do that so now I am just “helping out” but either way I am getting to play volleyball and coach, which makes me so happy. I’ve been running practices and everything. They even gave me a whistle. :)
Now this is real long and I’m gonna catch a lot of crap about it from my roomies, but whatever. If you know me at all, you know I like to talk. And write. So there you go.
Love and miss you all!
Jill
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Oh my goodness. So much life has happened in the past week. Most importantly, I started my job! BABS (Bethel Alternative Barding School) is super fun. The school is in a big two room building with the girl’s dorm above. All of the students (all 31 of them) can fit into one room. The other room holds the kitchen, another classroom, the administrative assistant’s desk and my desk. My desk is pretty awesome. I have half a bookcase that I share with the printer and a file cabinet where I put all of my folders. I’m in charge of making sure that the school is filled to capacity, 35 students, so I do a lot of organizing and answering potential students and parents’ questions.
So far, this is a really fun place to work. The students are super great, a lot of them are really quiet but are hilarious once they open up. I haven’t spent much time in the classroom but I get to eat lunch with the students and just hang out with them, which is great. My coworkers are also really cool, they have all made my disorganized, hyper, silly self feel right at home. I also really like that my philosophy of teaching is really reflected here. This is many students’ last chance. If they don’t make it here, they probably won’t ever get a GED or a diploma. Because of this, the teachers have adopted a powerhouse mix of challenge and support. They will do everything they can to help a student but will not hesitate to give that same student a good, swift kick in the pants.
As for the rest of my life, it is great. I am really enjoying Bethel. I love my walk to work in the morning, it takes me about 40 minutes but it is a great time to just think and look around. Bethel is insanely beautiful. Well, maybe I should qualify that. At first, second and maybe third glance, Bethel is not pretty at all. Houses are on stilts because just 5 feet down there is a layer of perma-frost. You can’t dig foundations here. Many yards are covered in broken bikes, cars and whatever else. One of my housemates said this place at first reminded her of a third-world country. But, it’s the craziest thing. Go inside any of these houses and they are beautiful. Look out at the tundra and it is a beautiful color of green with a huge sky above. I’ve never seen such a beautiful view.
On Monday morning while I walked to work across the tundra on the boardwalk, fog had settled. I could only see about 35 feet in front of me. Every time I saw someone walking toward me, I started thinking that I was about to be touched by an angel. (Everyone knows the show I’m referring to, right?) People would walk out of the mist from nowhere. It was crazy/beautiful.
My housemates have been great. We are all starting to settle in and starting to get real with each other. We’ve even had a few “heated discussions” but I am still so excited for this year. It will be a challenge but I love the support and fun that I have already found. I am so lucky to be here.
Even though I am really liking it here, I do miss you all. If you have some extra time to kill, I'd love to hear from you, snail mail (see last post for the address) or email (jill.bruton@gmail.com).
Love and miss you all!
Jill
P.S. I even wore my turtleneck shoes! (For those of you that haven’t heard, I bought a pair of hiking boots, the high top kind. I feel like my feet are wearing turtlenecks. But they were surprisingly comfortable. Weird.)
So far, this is a really fun place to work. The students are super great, a lot of them are really quiet but are hilarious once they open up. I haven’t spent much time in the classroom but I get to eat lunch with the students and just hang out with them, which is great. My coworkers are also really cool, they have all made my disorganized, hyper, silly self feel right at home. I also really like that my philosophy of teaching is really reflected here. This is many students’ last chance. If they don’t make it here, they probably won’t ever get a GED or a diploma. Because of this, the teachers have adopted a powerhouse mix of challenge and support. They will do everything they can to help a student but will not hesitate to give that same student a good, swift kick in the pants.
As for the rest of my life, it is great. I am really enjoying Bethel. I love my walk to work in the morning, it takes me about 40 minutes but it is a great time to just think and look around. Bethel is insanely beautiful. Well, maybe I should qualify that. At first, second and maybe third glance, Bethel is not pretty at all. Houses are on stilts because just 5 feet down there is a layer of perma-frost. You can’t dig foundations here. Many yards are covered in broken bikes, cars and whatever else. One of my housemates said this place at first reminded her of a third-world country. But, it’s the craziest thing. Go inside any of these houses and they are beautiful. Look out at the tundra and it is a beautiful color of green with a huge sky above. I’ve never seen such a beautiful view.
On Monday morning while I walked to work across the tundra on the boardwalk, fog had settled. I could only see about 35 feet in front of me. Every time I saw someone walking toward me, I started thinking that I was about to be touched by an angel. (Everyone knows the show I’m referring to, right?) People would walk out of the mist from nowhere. It was crazy/beautiful.
My housemates have been great. We are all starting to settle in and starting to get real with each other. We’ve even had a few “heated discussions” but I am still so excited for this year. It will be a challenge but I love the support and fun that I have already found. I am so lucky to be here.
Even though I am really liking it here, I do miss you all. If you have some extra time to kill, I'd love to hear from you, snail mail (see last post for the address) or email (jill.bruton@gmail.com).
Love and miss you all!
Jill
P.S. I even wore my turtleneck shoes! (For those of you that haven’t heard, I bought a pair of hiking boots, the high top kind. I feel like my feet are wearing turtlenecks. But they were surprisingly comfortable. Weird.)
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
8 Fun Facts about Bethel!
Hi everyone!
I realize that my last blog was real long and not all that interesting. There are so many crazy, fun and ridiculous things about Bethel that I was too scatterbrained to share before but I will try to do now. But, before I do, I want you to know how much fun I am having. This is a crazy experience and while these fun facts may give you pause or make you want to send me a plane ticket out of here ASAP, you should know how cool it all is.
1. We need to reset our clocks every night or they get off 5-10 minutes (or in Abby's alarm clock's case... 2 hours) We live right by a power plant and everyone says that won't kill us but it does interesting things to our power.We are still brainstorming ideas for how to get up for work on time.
2.We are going to eat salmon... a lot. We have eaten it for almost every meal since arrival, though we finally ran out of leftover salmon from our potluck last night. Don't worry though, people have already offered to take us fishing. We are going to need to go soon while the weather and the salmon runs are good, but apparently the fish we catch will be a majority of our food this winter.
3. Things are really expensive here. A bag of Lays potato chips is $10. I'm not exaggerating. At all. We went to the AC (the local grocery store) today and almost cried about the prices. For lunch today because we were walking around town and got hungry, we went in and got 1/2 price yogurt (it expires tomorrow) and two candy bars (one candy bar was for later, but the total cost was $2.76) That might be the way to go on our food stipend ($72 per person per month) Actually, I'm pretty excited because I get free lunch at BABS once I start work on Monday which will be nice.
4. The bugs are ridiculous. There are little bugs that go through screens and even some clothes. I'm so sick of bug bites that I have worn sneakers since I got here. Me. In. Sneakers. Goodness gracious.
5. Another reason I wear actual shoes is because of all the dust. We walk on dirt roads all day long, even the side of the paved road is covered in dust. I swear I have swallowed more dirt and bugs in my few days here than ever before in my life.
6. Everyone recognizes us. I mentioned this before but there are flyers everywhere with our faces and bios. But, I still feel like I'm introducing myself 134 times a day. I swear I'm back at SU Orientation. "My name is Jill Bruton. I'm from Shoreline, WA and I'll be working at BABS (Bethel Alternative Boarding School). "
7. There are a ton of 20 somethings here. It's weird. One of my fellow JV-ers was invited to play in a slow-pitch game last night so the rest of us went to cheer him on. When we got there, we were all invited to play but because I didn't want to make a complete fool of myself yet, I played frisbee and hung out on the teeter-totter with Abby... obviously a cooler activity. :)
8. Bethel just got cell phone reception a little bit ago. But, I'm pretty sure the phone only works in Bethel to other Bethel cell phones. I'm seriously considering it. Not. Also, to get internet at our house, it would be over $150 a month. So not gonna happen.
That is all I can think of right now. I'm sure I will have more fun facts later. I don't start work at BABS until Monday but we get to visit the school on Friday, which I am super excited about. I will write more about my roommates later but so far, so good. We are all super excited about our jobs and can't wait to get started.
Also, if you want to send me mail, my address is:
P.O. Box 1765
Bethel, AK 99559
I forget my number but I will post it soon so you can call and save my phone cards :)
Love you and miss you all!
Jill
I realize that my last blog was real long and not all that interesting. There are so many crazy, fun and ridiculous things about Bethel that I was too scatterbrained to share before but I will try to do now. But, before I do, I want you to know how much fun I am having. This is a crazy experience and while these fun facts may give you pause or make you want to send me a plane ticket out of here ASAP, you should know how cool it all is.
1. We need to reset our clocks every night or they get off 5-10 minutes (or in Abby's alarm clock's case... 2 hours) We live right by a power plant and everyone says that won't kill us but it does interesting things to our power.We are still brainstorming ideas for how to get up for work on time.
2.We are going to eat salmon... a lot. We have eaten it for almost every meal since arrival, though we finally ran out of leftover salmon from our potluck last night. Don't worry though, people have already offered to take us fishing. We are going to need to go soon while the weather and the salmon runs are good, but apparently the fish we catch will be a majority of our food this winter.
3. Things are really expensive here. A bag of Lays potato chips is $10. I'm not exaggerating. At all. We went to the AC (the local grocery store) today and almost cried about the prices. For lunch today because we were walking around town and got hungry, we went in and got 1/2 price yogurt (it expires tomorrow) and two candy bars (one candy bar was for later, but the total cost was $2.76) That might be the way to go on our food stipend ($72 per person per month) Actually, I'm pretty excited because I get free lunch at BABS once I start work on Monday which will be nice.
4. The bugs are ridiculous. There are little bugs that go through screens and even some clothes. I'm so sick of bug bites that I have worn sneakers since I got here. Me. In. Sneakers. Goodness gracious.
5. Another reason I wear actual shoes is because of all the dust. We walk on dirt roads all day long, even the side of the paved road is covered in dust. I swear I have swallowed more dirt and bugs in my few days here than ever before in my life.
6. Everyone recognizes us. I mentioned this before but there are flyers everywhere with our faces and bios. But, I still feel like I'm introducing myself 134 times a day. I swear I'm back at SU Orientation. "My name is Jill Bruton. I'm from Shoreline, WA and I'll be working at BABS (Bethel Alternative Boarding School). "
7. There are a ton of 20 somethings here. It's weird. One of my fellow JV-ers was invited to play in a slow-pitch game last night so the rest of us went to cheer him on. When we got there, we were all invited to play but because I didn't want to make a complete fool of myself yet, I played frisbee and hung out on the teeter-totter with Abby... obviously a cooler activity. :)
8. Bethel just got cell phone reception a little bit ago. But, I'm pretty sure the phone only works in Bethel to other Bethel cell phones. I'm seriously considering it. Not. Also, to get internet at our house, it would be over $150 a month. So not gonna happen.
That is all I can think of right now. I'm sure I will have more fun facts later. I don't start work at BABS until Monday but we get to visit the school on Friday, which I am super excited about. I will write more about my roommates later but so far, so good. We are all super excited about our jobs and can't wait to get started.
Also, if you want to send me mail, my address is:
P.O. Box 1765
Bethel, AK 99559
I forget my number but I will post it soon so you can call and save my phone cards :)
Love you and miss you all!
Jill
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