Checking Net

I have been very lucky and blessed to be able to participate in many cultural activities. I have become good friends with many who are excited to share their traditions and culture with me. From my first fall here, I have gone on many boat rides with my brothers to look for moose, seal, and whale. I have followed people on snow machine to different villages for various events, to hunt ptarmigan, rabbits, and moose, or to go manaq (ice fishing).

This spring was the first time I've ever tagged along to check net. Here, many people put nets under the ice in the winter. Sunday afternoon, I got a text to go take a ride. The three of us dressed up, warmed up the ski doos, and headed out to the dock to meet Greg and Aggie and Donovan.

It turns out checking net is quite a bit of work. Greg and Donovan's nets hadn't been checked for quite some time so the ice was pretty thick. We all took turns ice picking and scooping the ice out. We had 3 nets to check, and started at the longest one.

I was so excited that Donovan was letting me help, and I even broke through the ice on the first hole. My feelings of being expert at ice picking was soon dashed as I was helping with our hole at the next net... Again, it was toward the bottom of the ice layer. Donovan was letting me have a turn. I broke through the ice and, OOPS, accidentally let go of the ice pick. Apparently my brain wasn't firing on all cylinders, because I just said, "OH NO!!" as I watched the pick fall through the hole and into the bottom of the river... Donovan was a second too late diving for the ice pick as well.

"You didn't come for nothing!"

Having a little fun on the river.

I wonder if this is when I dropped the pick... Or maybe the first hole when
I was excited to have hit water. 

It was pretty heavy.

Some old fish... Eeee.

The most important job is given to the most important person...
Counting fish!

Typical government worker. HA!

Cheese balls.

Such a beautiful day.

CHEESE!

Best buddies!

Scoop it Greg!

Love her.

Seriously Andrew.... 

Making the hole good so we can pull the net from the other side.

Everybody helps. :)

Checking net is HARD work, man! 

I think he's putting the net back in the water.

Break time for the bosses. :)

Break time for the workers.

Even Laura gave it a shot. 

And this would be when I dropped the ice pick... Oops!!!

The ONE fresh fish of the day.

Someone was a bit alapaa!

Made me a bit nervous to let Laura take my machine, but she did great!! 

 Later in the day... We went for a little ride to look for moose. Laura was really wanting to see one... Then we came back to the net... There we found Donovan, his mom Juanita, and his dad Willie... Attempting to get the ice pick out of the river.

 Tuesday afternoon... Back to the nets again... This time with magnets AND a fishing pole.

Shane, Christine, and I enjoying the sun. 

Just as Donovan showed up, they apparently had the pick on the hook...

Poor Don! The water is super cold. But thank goodness for his long arms... LOL.
Ice pick rescued!

Checking net. Caught a few fish on Tuesday!

I just love this picture. 

Ready to go for a ride!

Some of the best friends a girl could hope for... Thanks for
including me in your lives, teaching me your traditions, and
not getting mad when I drop things in the river. Kenkamken!

Looking forward to checking net again! :) This time, I'll tie a rope to the pick and put it around my waist. Or my neck. I won't go far into the hole, they're not big enough. HA!

Thanks again, my family and friends for the awesome afternoon out in the sunshine.

xoxo,
SJ

Laura and Andrew's visit March 2014

It has become a tradition for someone in my family to visit each year... My first year here, Dad came in January. Last year, Mom, Granny, Papa, Aunt Candy, and Uncle Ron came to visit. This year, the two triplets were supposed to come with their significant others. However, because of pregnancy, work, and whatever else, Hannah and Shane didn't make it.

Laura and Andrew got here on March 20th. My favorite pilot of all time flew them in, took care of them, and introduced them to Bush Alaska flying. I picked them up at the airport for a mini tour of Alakanuk before coming back to school.

It was highly entertaining watching people call Laura Sammy as we walked through the hallway. The looks of confusion and then the smiles when I explained made my whole week. The kids loved meeting Laura and Andrew-just like they loved the rest of the family on their visits.

Over the course of their stay, we played in a basketball tournament, practiced city league in the evenings, I graded and did report cards, we visited Emo, walked to the cafe, and checked net with some friends. Laura attempted to make dirt cake, but I didn't have the right kind of pudding or milk, so it wasn't perfect, but the kids at school still devoured it.


The highlight of my time with Laura and Andrew here was coming home to clean dishes, folded laundry, and Andrew vacuuming. HA!! I kid, that was really nice, but it was even more fun to show my sister and Andrew my life here in Alakanuk. Now they understand my love for this village and the people who have become good friends and family.

Here are a few pictures... I'll do a separate blog about checking net soon.

Their first look at AUK. 

Thanks Mike!

It's good to have good friends.

Some of us just never grow up...

Off to Emo!

Thanks Jim and Debbie for letting us
borrow your machine. :) Laura and Andrew on the river
just outside the AUK slough. Headed to EMO.

Big experience... Shopping at AC.

Taking a walk Saturday afternoon--power out so I couldn't
do report cards. BEAUTIFUL, warm weather. :)

Who says he's worthless... I was fine with him cleaning. :)

Happy birthday!

Checking oil... Nobody wants a blown piston.

Getting ready to check net on Sunday with
Greg, Aggie, and Donovan.

CRAYON!

Our "Where in the world is Lake County Examiner?" picture to submit.

Sisters at the dock.

This about sums up our friendship...

Maxine brought over some native foods for them to try.

Last night together, so much laughter.

He's a baller!

Laura's injuries from the tournament... But all worth it.
She got all star and the team gave her the 3rd place trophy to
take come as a souvenier. :)

We all know Laura is good at spoiling kids... No different for
my 17 munchkins.... Puzzles, pencils, balloons, whisles, erasers, candy...

This seemed to happen quite frequently...

Dinner at the cafe. Visiting with a teacher and her husband
who came over from Emo to have dinner.

It was a great trip!!! I am looking forward to their next visit. They are talking about coming back in the fall time so we can go out boating and looking for moose. Start saving those pennies and airmiles, guys! :)

I've got extra beds, plenty of food, and would LOVE to have folks come visit. Just let me know when you're up for an Alakanuk adventure!

xoxo,

SJ

P.S. Most of these pictures were taken by Laura, but in my impatience, she wasn't able to edit them... I think they look great as is, wouldn't you agree? :)

Celebrations!

Holy! A whole month has passed since I last updated... It was a BUSY March. My last blog post was the night before my birthday and included my big decision to stay in AUK. 

Here are a few pictures from that snow machine ride to Scammon Bay that I mentioned... It was a beautiful day, but the trail didn't have much snow. By the time we got home LATE Friday night, my muscles were screaming at me... 

Kuzi in the background.

My travelling partners: Donovan, Mikey, Buck, and Rena.

No fresh snow; really hard, icy trail.

Let's GO BRAVES!!!! Proud of you boys!

Superfan!

On my birthday everyone was gone... Theresa was travelling for science fair. Greg, Gregory, and Kaneisha were travelling for basketball. Aggie and Shane were still in Anchorage close to the hospital. So, rather than cooking myself birthday dinner, I got dressed up, fueled up, and followed a friend to Kotlik to watch our junior high basketball teams compete in the district tournament. Again, we didn't get any snow, so the trail was all icy and rough. HOWEVER, it was also another beautiful day for a ride. It was my first trip to Kotlik by snow machine. Our kids were successful, had a great weekend, and again I was proud to say I'm a brave. :)

Because, who DOESN'T skip warm up so they can do cake walk...
I love these kids.

The next week of March was full of the same general frustrations of me procrastinating all my grading and report cards to the last minute... We are getting more hours of daylight, more sunshine, but not enough snow... I'm hopeful that snow will come because my snow machine is barely over 3100 miles, and thats a mere 500 miles this season. LAME!

The next post will be about Laura and Andrew's visit. As always, here's to a spectacular week--hopefully something fun and exciting that I can share with you all.

xoxo,

SJ