The Night Before School

First day of school tomorrow, so I'm really busy getting ready!  I spent my day making name tags for cubbies, rearranging 21 desks to fit in as small a space as possible, and scanning chapter books to make sure they're appropriate for 1st and 2nd graders.  I think we'll start with Mr. Popper's Penguins tomorrow. I put up a bulletin board with lots of pictures on it from the Marshall Islands.  Even my co-teacher said she's excited for me to talk about it. We just found out our permanent principal is coming on Friday so it will be interesting to meet him.  

Here people throw "feasts" for events like birthdays or funerals.  We were invited to a feast today at the 5th and 6th grade teacher's mother's house to commemorate the 5 year anniversary of her mother's death. It was in Akiuk, the other half of our village that's on the other side of the river, so we all piled in little tin boats and sped up the river for about 5 minutes.  There were lots of smoke houses for fish, with dried fish hanging out. When we passed the Akiuk  school, they told me it was built to be moveable.  It can be taken apart into 3 pieces so when the river comes too close they can move it.  They haven't had to move it yet but they expect to soon.

When we arrived, we went to see the other teacher's house first.  Moose season opened a few days ago, and her son had just caught a moose.  He was in the process of butchering it over a plastic tarp on their kitchen floor.  The head was in the middle, huge with fuzzy antlers.  Around it were various parts- ribs, a leg, the liver in a plastic tub, and a pile of dark red meat.  They were cutting it up to share with the elders and other family.  I wished I had brought my camera (we left straight from school and I only found out last minute).  If I had, I would have been sending along a picture of the moose head with a bullet hole in the top and it's tongue hanging out.  My roommate brought her cell phone, though, so I'll have to get the pictures from her.

At the feast, we sat around while the family passed out bowls of food.  I had moose fried rice and Akuda (sp?) which is a favorite local dessert.  Originally it was made with animal fat, but not the recipe has been updated to Crisco, sugar, and whatever berries you have on hand.  Ours were salmonberries, which look like orange raspberries, and little round, black berries that had crunchy seeds.  

After the feast we headed back, and now I'm back in my classroom getting last-minute things done before the kids come in the morning.  I'm sure I'll have lots more to tell you 24 hours from now, but I'm not sure I'll have the energy to tell it!  Wish me luck.