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The little green and yellow Frontier plane came early this afternoon. I had settled in cozily in my parents' modest abode, playing catch with my puppy, when the phone rang...it was nearly an hour and a half before I was supposed to leave, but whoever called said that we had 15 minutes. I deplore the rush-hour---the not having any time to say goodbye.
Just as well, I guess. I do loathe goodbyes.
Of course, I'll miss my parents and my puppy, but I'm also somewhat surprised by how much I'll miss all the kids that I met and became close to in such a short time---especially the little ones. They're adorable.
Above is a picture of Sunny (parents' golden retriever) and Spencer (my gorgeous & evil puppy). Little Spence is on the left.
The parental unit...We took this picture in my mom's classroom just before 1st period. Later on, while I was warming up in the gym with the high school kids, my dad started to shoot around with us. Then, he decided he would play. Well, for not playing in a LONG time, he did a good job. Though, he tends to dribble as high as his shoulders. I think the kids enjoyed playing with him; one of them used my dad's back as an inbound check.I'm kind of sad to be leaving so soon. I had thought before I arrived that maybe 7 days would be a long time, but I could definitely spend another week here at least.
In Kaktovik, the whaling season starts in the Fall after Labor Day. Though there is a strict limit of 3 bowhead whales a year, there certainly is no shortage of food or celebration. Normally, about 7 crews go out at a time to try to bring in a whale. Guns that shoot out harpoons with explosive devices are used to kill the whale, then 3 or 4 boats help to pull the whale by its tail to shore. A frontloader is used to finish beaching it.As tradition calls for, all the kids in the village run on top of the whale and pose for pictures. Measurements and blood samples are taken by a biologist, then the frontloader dumps sea water on the whale. The men begin to butcher the whale, which (depending on the size) can take up to 12-14 hours. Meanwhile, the women cut the larger pieces into smaller ones. Some of the meat and maktak is boiled for people to eat that day. But the next day is when the real celebration begins. The captain of the crew who caught the whale has a lunch feast at his house. He shares his large portion of the whale with the village. Other shares of the whale are divided up among the crews; some of these are brought back to the village during upcoming holidays, and some are shared with other villages nearby. The scraps and leftovers are brought to the Boneyard and left out for the polar bears to eat.
We walked to the Kaktovik Community Center after lunch today. I was intrigued by some of the posters hung on the walls inside the main room. The "No Abuse" poster is striking, especially the statements about elder abuse and bootlegging. The other poster is for Bingo, which is quite popular here.
All of the students made Eskimo doughnuts and bread (which they shaped and put raisins on) today. The entire school smelled like a greasy bakery. By the afternoon, the kids were predictably hyper and plenty of them had rings of flaky frosting around their mouths.
This is the Pledge of Allegiance in Inupiaq. I heard the 5th and 6th graders recite it this morning before they recited the English version. I was quite impressed. Afterward, they worked on irregular verbs and then explained the difference between a simile and a metaphor. I spent 2nd period playing basketball with the high school kids (girls v. boys), and once again I am sore and it is painful to walk. I read with the 1st and 2nd graders this afternoon; we worked on reading comprehension and word puzzles. We also played "Simon Says," which made me feel a bit ridiculous but it was fun.
