A really unique set of visitors to the Arctic. (& a small video showing off my village)
Category Archive: Northwest Arctic Borough
Word of the Week
Brodeo: (brō•dē•ō) noun. 1. Driving in tight circles with a vehicle (ATV), often causing the back wheels to slide out and around. See also: whipping cookies, shitties, doughnuts
Side note: Students have been doing this frequently on the road outside my living room view.
“After this week is over…I think I’ll hibernate for a little while.”
Word of the Week
Rack: (rak) noun. 1. A case of pop.
Side note: I often think of rack as a word that should pertain to something alcoholic, like a flight, when not pertaining to deer. (Or the stories I’ve heard about ‘running the rack’…), so when my students say something about someone buying them a rack, I always need to pause and remind myself of where I am.
Side note: I thought someone was teasing me because I was from Minnesota and we say ‘pop’, by offering me a pop…so I said “Sure, I’ll take a soda”…to later realize that in Alaska, they do indeed use ‘pop’. Home Sweet Home.
It might cost 3x more than the lower 48, but our store is considered one of the best in the district!
Word of the Week
Tupak (tü•puk) verb. 1. Inupiaq word that translates to the verb startle.
Side Note: Similar to katak, the verb doesn’t really have conjugations. “One time, I tupak my mom. You really tupak, eh? The dog make me tupak.”
When you joke about sleeping in your classroom…and it really might not be that much of a joke.
All the Kids Were Doing It: Over the House Edition
After I scolded handfuls of students, day after day, for climbing over my roof…I figured they were on […]
What it means to live in a “dry” village.
Word of the Week
Pop: (pop) noun. 1. A sugary sweet carbonated beverage, soft drink. Also known as soda, coke.
Side note: I thought someone was teasing me because I was from Minnesota and we say ‘pop’, by offering me a pop…so I said “Sure, I’ll take a soda”…to later realize that in Alaska, they do indeed use ‘pop’. Home Sweet Home.
Word of the Week
Katak: (ku•tuk) verb. 1. Inupiaq word that translates to the verb fall.
Side Note: It may be for all conjugations, but the students use it with English endings if they “conjugate” it at all. “He kataked. It katak. He katak it. I katak.”
Open waters not too far from the island
Tumbleweed Soul 