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.
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.”
Chuckerator: (chuk•ə•rādər) noun. 1. When it is so cold outside that your cunnychuck can serve as a refrigerator or freezer.
Side Note: Chuckerator is just a word used by some of my coworkers, but it often results in slushy or frozen pop and can be a good place to keep extra freezer items…if you keep an eye on the temps.
Not all villages have 3G or 4G access. Mine is one of those.
Washateria: (wäsh•ә•tir•ēә) noun. 1. The water tower in town where people can go to get their water for $0.25/5 gal.
Side Note: Because I am blessed to have running water, I’m not sure on the exact price or the operating hours, but I do know that everyone in the village has to fetch water from the washateria.
Uvlaalluataq: (üv•la•lō•tuk) 1. Inupiaq greeting translating to Good Morning.
Side Note: This greeting is used at the beginning of the day when the school meets to start off its day with announcements and the pledge (said in Inupiaq)
Honda: (hon•da) noun. 1. Any brand of a four wheeled all terrain vehicle.
See Four Wheeler or ATV
Side note: My students call all four wheelers “Hondas”, even if they are not Hondas…kind of like buying Target-brand facial tissues and calling them Kleenex.
