What it means to live in a “dry” village.
arctic
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.”
When heading anywhere but the store and school is over-stimulation.
Open waters not too far from the island
What does one do with a visitor in a remote village?
Word of the Week
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.
Touristing Around Kivalina
Student: *looks up weather in class* "Oooo, it's 40ºF outside!" Me: *shakes head* "check again" S: "Ooooo, it's 16ºF outside!" Student proceeds to "hula dance" while singing: "It is so warm outside."This happened last week while we were in the middle of a blizzard with up to 70 mph winds...
I never once questioned what life would be like to not have running water…now it’s my students’ reality.
Word of the Week
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.
“Here comes the sun, here comes the sun…and I say, it’s all right.”
Tumbleweed Soul 