It's been a busy few weeks in Tuluksak with a basketball tournament, community-wide Thanksgiving feast, and the start of real winter weather.
The basketball tournament was put on by the school as a fundraiser for the food for the Thanksgiving dinner. I volunteered to organize the tournament, and while I don't want that job again for a long, LONG time, it was overall a successful event. There were four men's team and three women's teams who signed up to play in the tournament. Each player had to pay a $10 to play. We also charged admission and opened the student store to sell food and drinks during the games.
People in the village LOVE basketball. We had around 200 spectators come out and they were able to watch some very "spirited" games, but also a high level athleticism by the players--I was impressed by the level of play. The pace of life is different in the village, so both days games didn't actually start until the players showed up over an hour after I had planned to start. Being a fairly punctual person I had to actively practice patience, but once things got rolling I enjoyed meeting new people in the village and spending time with others I knew.
The teams didn't have any uniforms, but these guys know each other so well they always knew who they should be passing to.
The crowd was mostly students. I think some of them ate their weight in freezies and popcorn over the weekend :)
While we waited for the teams to get ready, we let the kids play some short games. They were really fun to watch.
This game was boys vs. girls. Tutus and socks welcome
Unfortunately, we had an eventful end to the tournament. During the last few minutes of the men's championship game, a Village Police Officer (VPO) came in and informed me that there was someone shooting at people in the village and we needed to lockdown the school. So, when the game was over everyone spent an extra hour hanging out in the gym while we waited for the State Troopers to fly into the village and take the man away. The shooter fired 13 rounds but no one was injured. As stressful as it was, I am thankful that many of the kids in the village were safe in the gym while that was going on.
Two days after the tournament, the school hosted a Thanksgiving meal for everyone in the village. Thanksgiving dinner in the village is called the Quyana Feast because quyana (koy-yawn-nah) means "thank you" in Yup'ik. At the feast, the teachers served turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, corn and pumpkin cake to over 350 kids, adults and elders in the village. It was a bit crowded and chaotic, but overall a nice event that helped to promote school and community relations.
The line for food snaked through the gym and then into the cafeteria called the "Hall of Elders" because of the photos of community members that adorns it. The Hall of Elders also features a dog sled, kayak and some fish traps.
Students from all grade levels decorated tables with Thanksgiving art that could be taken home by the community. Our high schoolers wrote things they were thankful for on the table cloths which included basketball, Slim Shady, family and even teachers!
The door decorating contest this month was about character traits. The trait I was assigned was "thoughtfulness." After a couple of google searches for inspiration, my students and I put together a "snow thoughtful" door complete with snowflakes with ways to be thoughtful written on them. When we were done, they were all annoyed with my snow puns, but our door got first place, so it was "snow" worth it :)
The weather the last couple of weeks is finally meeting my Alaskan expectations with high temps in the single digits and a covering of snow on the ground.
The hill in front of the school has become the most popular place in the village since the snow fell. It's an ideal sledding slope with stairs "attached" for when it gets extra slippery and you need to make it back to the top.
The hill has been used so much it has been compressed in some areas into ice lanes that the kids don't even need sleds to slide down.
The weather has created some great winter walking conditions.
The river isn't frozen enough to take a snow-go on yet, but the sloughs are which has opened up some new territory for Birkie and I to explore.
Although I just had a very restful break at Thanksgiving, I am counting down the days (10) until winter break when I will leave the village for the first time since August. Birkie and I will be spending time in Anchorage and Seward and I'm really excited to see some new parts of the state and to be back in the "real world" for a bit.
Birkie would probably rather stay on the couch with her bear over break than have to fly in a plane again, but once we get to Anchorage I think she'll enjoy the dog parks and glacier hiking. I know I'll enjoy internet, pizza and probably a couple adult beverages.
