Looking back

I have been back in Fairbanks for a while now and keep thinking a lot about my experience in Noorvik.

The visit was really enlightening, I had some idea of what life was like in rural Alaska before, but now I have the first hand knowledge what life is like there.

What stands out was how warm and inviting the students and staff at the Noorvik school were.

Every time we walked down the hall, or down the street kids would come up to us curious to ask us questions or show us things.

The teachers were just as graceful opening up their classrooms for us and answering all our questions even the silly ones with a smile.

Life in Noorvik was different from what it is in the "big" city of Fairbanks. The best and the worst with life in there it is a small close knit community, everybody knows one another, you can walk from one end of town to the other 20 minutes.

The size and the location is also the challenging thing. Jobs are hard to come by, supplies are expensive and unfortunately some of the students struggled with challenging family life.

But still what stands out are the warm welcomes that we got, once again thanks one and all that made us so welcome!

ORV-IAN-OTZ-OME-ANC-FAI

Finally on the way back after having to spend the night in Anchorage. 25 hours to travel from one spot in Alaska to another, yeah!

Lesson on Bush travel

This trip has been full of learning experiences.

This morning we had another one, this one was on bush travel.

It goes like this: the plane that is supposed to be here at 11:05 will land and go again at 10:00, when the airline office tells you first, no no it is on schedule, expect the next conversation to be oh, it is gone already and then when the agent tells you, oh it will stop again on the way back from the next village and pick you up, that means it will go straight to the hub and not stop here at all!

So there we were two sad students standing out on the frozen runway with the ravens eating the newly arrived groceries...

Trying to reschedule, but we probably won't make it back until tomorrow.

Moon over Noorvik

Took one last walk through town, interesting just walking alone.
The sun was setting, the ravens were calling, dogs howling in the
distance.

Got really cold with the wind, feel like those pictures
capture what was going on.

Basketball obsession

If there is one thing that the kids here like, it is basketball. The gym is open before school and it is full of kids playing basketball. It is open during brakes, and it is full of kids playing basketball, it is open during lunch and it is full of kids playing basket ball. There is open gym at night and it full, well you guessed it kids playing basket ball!

























I even talked to a kid that taking an additional year as a senior more or less to play on the team.

Like the saying goes, practice makes perfect, the kids are incredibly good as is evident in Noorvik winning a number of state championships through the years for both boys and girls.

I had a great time playing even though I got my butt kicked; those 6th grade girls know what they are doing.

At least I got selected for the team, first it was we’ll take the old guy, but after a while it was we’ll take the tall guy, that is improvement right?

Student of the Week Assembly

Hey those guys should not be in kindergarten any more!

Animal, vegetable, miracle

In Icelandic there is a special term "matarás", that would translate to food love, that is you love somebody for the food they give you!

Here it is the two ladies in the cafeteria, give us double servings without asking and today we were running late so they sent out a messenger to fetch us so we would not go without.

Thanks!

Fire drill

How many kids can you fit under a single arctic Parka during a fire drill, answer quite a few!

Small language

We attended Lawrence´s Inupiat classes with the young kids yesterday.

The third graders went listened to stories and practiced words and phrases while the little guys in kindergarten were mostly singing. Lawrence was wonderful, really engaging the kids, some of which were fluent, although many were not.

There are a few textbooks for them to work with as well as dictionaries, but sounds like there is a lack on of new text and daily opportunities to use the language. One teacher aid told me how she wished there were more children's book available in inupiat, and as far as I know there are no newspaper in the language.

Speaking a small language myself, there are only three hundred thousands Icelandic speakers, I can relate. Language is such a large part of ones identity and sort of unimaginable to think of it disappearing. But luckily Icelanders are fortunate enough to have good publishing, radio, tv, newspapers and of course Bubbi byggir, Bob the builder

The assignment towards the top of the page is from this morning, when I attended elders Martha´s class.

First day school day in Noorvik

On Monday we attended the first classes with Amy the science teacher.

Her students were like everybody else that we have met here exceptionally friendly and welcoming to us.

We assisted a bit with the lessons, but mostly observed the school life.











After the school day was over we walked in on Native Dance practice at the library. The students had made their own drums in shop class and the whole practice was being led by a student.

I don't know how much talent we showed with the drums, but hey we gave it our best!

To end the day we were invited over to Amy's and Rod's house for their daughter Stephanie's seventh birthday. Not only were we feed excellent brownies but also invited skating on the river afterwards.

Noorvik has a nice public transporttation system, pile as many kids and adults that will fit on a snowmachine sled and than tow it along!

This slead was even made in the highschool shop.

Sunday in Noorvik

Spent the first full day in Noorvik. We attended a church service this morning at the Noorvik Friends Church. It was heartfelt service and a nice way to meet some of the local elders. Parts of the service were in English and parts in Yupik so I can´t say that I followed along the whole time.

When I was looking around for more information on the Church a stumbled upon this story, I did remember it but not that i was in Noorvik


Dancing ban lifted in Noorvik

Otherwize if anybody is looking for me I am staying in the Noorvik library, filed under fiction between the Hardy boys and Dante's Inferno.

Extra, Extra, volcanic eruption!!!

In Eyjafjalljökull, Iceland that is, just thought I should let you know.

The area is rather remote and has been safely evacuated, but it looks like the eruption might be quite a spectacle.

I am trying to get a hold of my parents, they have a summer cottage in the area that they were planing on visiting over the weekend. Would not be surprised if this was the view that greeted them in the morning.

Eruption News

Noorvik

Finally made it all the way to Noorvik, via a very scenic loop through much of Alaska, it was a gorgeous clear day so every mountain from Denali on was clearly visible.

At the airport Amy Eakin science teacher and Gordon Newlin school maintenance supervisor and village leader came out to great us, and gave us a warm welcome.

We managed to see much of the town already on the drive from the airport to the beautiful school building at the heart of the village.

Amy who will be our main contact during the week gave us a tour of the building, told us a little about town and then we plan to meet again tomorrow to see where Sam and I might be of assistance during the week.

Sam cooked me dinner in the teachers brake room, thanks Sam!, and then we went on a short walk through the rest of town.

Even though it was getting late the young kids were still out sliding in the snow while the older once zoomed by on four wheelers and snow machines.

On one of the pictures you can clearly see the 50 mile ice road between Noorvik and Kotzebue.

Kotzebue

This is Kotzebue the hub city for the whole area.









We had a good two hour stopover there which gave us the opportunity to walk around a bit and see a little of the town of about 3300 people. The Kotzebue Sound was frozen solid so we walked a little out on the ice, far enough to see snow machiners crossing in a distance, returning from a hunt perhaps?

Three Chinese restaurants in a town of three thousand, wish we would have had a little bit more time to check those out!

Nome

Does it count as having been in Nome if I stayed on the plane and took this from the landing ramp?

Ssh… just don’t tell anybody!

Anchorage

Short stop in Anchortown, first time I have flown on ERA nice little propeller plane and now we are changing over to Alaska for the next two legs before flying ERA again for the last one.

The Alaska air jet is a combo, freight up front passengers in the back, I guess I second class is good enough for humans, while the groceries fly first.

Taking your job seriously

It is 6 am Saturday and here is a group of education students in a competition seeing who can be the first to update their blog.

I belive I lost ):

22 hour to go

Just about ready, finishing the lesson plans for my biology class next week while I'm gone.

All I have to do in the next 22 hours is to get food and pack and figuring out those little things, like what I will be doing and what will I need.

This is a picture of the group that is going, Sam (tall guy, beard, checkered shirt nr.II on the right) and I will be heading to Noorvik while the other students are visiting Buckland, Russian Mission, White Mountain, Kaktovik, Ambler and Kiana.

The community of Noorvik ( the name means “the place you move to”), was established in the early 1900s. It is located right on the bank of the Kobuk River about 50 miles or 15 minutes flight from Kotzebue the nearest “large” town. The community is accessible from air all year long, while the river provides boat and barge access in the summer time and a winter road connection to Kotzebue.

There are 634 people living in Noorvik according to the latest census. A bit more than half of the population are men and over 90% are Alaska Natives, Iñupiat Eskimo. The population is young, with median age of only 21 compared to 35 years old nationwide.

Substance activates are important for the population both for cultural and economic reasons. Them main employers are the school district, two stores, and the Maniilaq Association. In addition some work seasonally for the BLM or Red Dog Mine.

Services in the village include among other a post office, clinic, stores, churches and K-12 school. About two thirds of the houses are connected to water and sewage, which gets treated before it released and the rest of the village is in the process of being connected.

More information here:

http://www.maniilaq.org/noorvik.html
http://www.americantowns.com/ak/noorvik-information

Oh the internet

I am writing up a little community profile on Noorvik.

Like always the Internet is a fascinating place for information, who would have guess that Noorvik has similar population density to Oklahoma City and more than five times higher than the Anchorage.

That is to say according to the 656 residents are live in an area a bit smaller than a mile giving a population density of 689 people per square mile!

Details, details

Well the plan is starting to get a little clearer, I got my travel dates.

Flying out early next Saturday, staying the whole week and getting back late the follower Saturday after.

Still not quite sure what I will do there during the week there, but the experience is what counts, right!

And if I can help with some classes even better.

Map of Noorvik

That's were I'm heading!

View Larger MapDriving Directions

A week to go

A week from now I will be heading to Noorvik Alaska, as a part of my rural practicum with the education department at UAF.

I have covered pretty much the whole road system in my time in Alaska, but this will be my first time in Western Alaska and only the second village that I get to visit so I am looking forward to it.

Judging from the pictures it is nice and fairly large school that they have, and I am sure I will get to know it inside out be the end of the week, since I will not only be trying to be helpful there during the school day, but will also get to role my sleeping bag out at night.