In Elim.. for the long haul

Hey Peeps,

I  got back from my trip to Nome today. The only really exciting part was seeing a dead whale floating in the water. .. oh and having two beers there.  The dead whale (I was told) was a baby humpback whale. Apparently killer whales kill young humpbacks just to eat their tongues. Totally odd. Meetings were good. I learned a lot about working with staff and about teaching my kids what they need in order for them to succeed. I really like the people that I work with and i think we will all have a great relationship.

Nome is a good place to go for about two days. It has some good places to eat and a lot of bars but it reminds me of an old run down cowboy town where the wind is whipping through your hair but instead of dust and tumbleweed there is rain being blown into your face. HAHA But really, I got to see some cool stuff there, like the Iditarod ending point and the nome nugget hotel.

All in all I am glad to be back home in Elim. I found myself missing the staff here and especially missed my roommate who makes me laugh out loud daily. It's really odd to think that I have become so close to these people in such a short time. Just seeing the smile on people's faces when they see you back makes you feel welcomed and at home. We are all like a family here and I feel like if I needed anything... anyone of these people would help me in a heartbeat. Its a good feeling to have when you leave home for the first time by yourself. If I didn't have good company around me I wouldn't be able to stand it. As you all know, I am a people person afterall.

I at least got my parent letter and my mandatory training done on the computer tonight. I also had a chance to face time (video chat)with Paul and I even talked to Ruth for a bit. Its good to see familiar faces once in a while. When I came back today I had 3 big packages at school for me which I lugged back home and left until I got back from the post office. At the post office I had a HUGE box from Walmart with some things that I ordered while I was in Anchorage. It is really nice to have an actual size bottle of shampoo, body wash and conditioner for once. They took my hairspray out though. It's the one thing I really need but can't get shipped here because it's flammable. Damn.
Anyway, I also got a box from my Aunt Renae today and it was filled with  yummy goodies which I added to the goody stash in my cupboard. Rachel and I decided that we might as well put a lock on that baby because it has so many yummy things that we will for sure weigh 300 pounds by December. Hhahah I am so thankful for everyone who has been sending me things. It's like Christmas every time I go to the post office. I SWEAR. I also got a wonderful letter from my Grandma in the mail which I loved because no one ever sends regular letters anymore. This way I get to save them and read them over and over again :) (i guess you could do that with email too) but its not as fun!

THANK YOU GRANDMA AND GRANDPA!

The next four days are going to be seriously busy trying to get my classroom ready for the kids on Tuesday. I will send out the parent letters tomorrow as a reminder of what time they need to be there and introduce myself as their new teacher. I am excited to get to know them all! I have a feeling that I will become very close with some of the parents and with the community during the school year. Again, it's a good feeling to have. Just thought you should know that I am happy... smiling and thinking of you all.

Much love,
Sammy

this is the plane that our school district owns. the BSSD plane

this is the Russian store where I bought my seal skin slipper for 100 bucks. They are awesome

Real Polar Bear teeth. They made them into earrings.

Dead whale

I couldn't get this video off of here. It's nothing just a mistake with the camera.

goodbye nome