Happy Holidays!

Just wanted to wish everyone a happy holiday season from the top of the world! We are on winter break (it's three weeks long, we return to school on January 7th).

We decided to stay here over break since it's tough flying in the winter in Alaska with two dogs. We have been relaxing and enjoying the time off. The weather turned really cold though--negative 30 for a few days! That seems to be the major cutoff when you feel the intense cold. Today it is warmer, at only four below right now.

So Busy!

Sorry for the sporadic posting again--things have just been so busy! We had our big basketball tournament this past weekend where the village kids came in to play our middle schoolers. The kids had a great time.

This week we have a band concert for our school on Thursday, and there is a big craft fair at the Inupiat Heritage Center this weekend. We are looking forward to checking out the handmade Inupiat Eskimo crafts. No doubt there will be a lot made with baleen, polar bear fur, fox fur, and much more.

Today in Inupiat class at school, the teacher brought in a seal and the class cut it up right there in the classroom. One of my reading students video taped the whole process, and she was trying to email the video to me. It's certainly not for the weak stomached, but it is quite interesting. The locals will eat the seal meat and use other parts for lots of different things.

Challenge this week: Find three facts you didn't know about seals.