Election Day!

 It's Election Day! And its time to vote for all the important offices in Barrow. I saw this when I was headed home. It is the current North Slope Borough Mayor holding a sign! I love it! She had supporters out rallying for votes. Do you see the snow? 

1 hour later it looked like this outside! This type of snow is called whale snow because its large snowflakes. 

I can barely see down the road because of the snow. 

1 hour later it was clear again. 

All I can say to that is, "Welcome to Barrow." I've slowly learned that if you don't like the weather, wait an hour. 

10/5 Pics and More Whales!

Its getting foggy. We are losing lots of daylight. I think the average is about 10-15 minutes of daylight loss a each day. 

After school we heard there was a whale. Our neighbor's crew got a strike! That's a whale for everyone else. This end of season we were allowed 8 strikes. These were strikes 4, 5 and 6. 

We had to drive out to the old airport. 

I love the scenery out there. 

The first whale was almost finished. We waited to see them bring in the next whale which was our neighbor's crew. 

The blue flag is the crew flag. You can see the muttuk (mutt-tuck) on the snow. It's blubber and skin from the whale. I skipped the unalik which is boiled muttuk. 

This is the whale I was waiting on. 

It was 33 feet and a few inches long. 

Everyone looks at the whale while scientists and whalers measure it before harvesting it. 

Georgia and her friend wanted to see it. It was really cold so they didn't last long. I took them and Abi's friend home early. 

This is not uncommon. Everyone likes to take pictures with the whale that gave himself up for the Village. Everyone will be eating this whale for a long time. 

Picture of the crew!

We stayed until almost 10pm. It was a work night and we just couldn't keep going. I didn't do much work. I mostly observed what was going on with the cutting and watched the women cook. I have great ideas for my physics class. 

Babysitting

I babysat for three wonderful children because my three and their two friends that spent the night weren't enough children for me to enjoy. 

I had to take this picture because it was the cutest thing I have seen in a long time. I see all the beautiful children in Barrow and I keep thinking....hmmm.... one more?

Lunchtime!

Pictures of what I go through to get some lunch. 

I only have to make it a block to pick up my lunch that I phoned in my order.

The clouds make me nervous. The weather changes very fast. 

I got my food and I headed back. I like not having to jump into my car each time I forget my lunch at home. I enjoy my ability to walk to lunch or simply eat lunch with my students. I remember having to speed down 28 to stop at McDonald's and speed all the way back to school. Then I would have to quickly eat my food in front of the kids or teach and eat at the same time. 

The slower pace of life is treating me well. 

Dental Treatment for All!

This is Samuel Simmonds Hospital. Its the brand new hospital in Barrow. 

I wanted to get a picture of the grating walking up to the hospital door. It gives you a bit of traction and you can stomp the mud off your boots. 

This is the view from the Dental Clinic. 

It looks like the ocean, but its not. You are looking at the frozen tundra. 

Start Moving Early

I took Georgia and her little friend to Start Moving Early. Its getting cold outside and kids need to get all their wiggles out. 

This is the Kindergarten/K3/K4 wing of the building. It has a huge open space and lots of classrooms. I had to take a picture of the furs on the wall. 

What's under the parachute? Its a playcenter for kids. There are several in this space. 

There's the play center!

Music from Kaktovik, Alaska

Kaktovik is a small village in northern Alaska. The Kaktovik School started a small radio station. It plays 24 hours a day with new stories and songs chosen by the students. 

Enjoy the Arctic Heat at:

http://www.live365.com/index.live