Playing with Polar Bears

Well, I'm going to have another rural Alaska adventure this year!  I'll be headed to Barrow--yes, that Barrow, the northernmost city in the US--tomorrow at 5:10 p.m.  I'll be teaching 3rd grade at Fred Ipalook Elementary School, the only elementary school in town.  It will be, however, the largest elementary school I've ever taught at--680 students K-5.  By comparison, Will Rogers in Edmond, where I first taught, had 600-620 students K-5.  The principal says that there are 4 or 5 teachers per grade level, so I should also have one of the largest classes I've had--when I do the math, I get an average of 25 students per class.

I'm very much looking forward to it, believe it or not!  First, I'm very glad to have a job!  Second, there's the cool factor (very cool, of course), of living north of the Arctic Circle.  Third, Barrow is a town of 4,000 people, complete with restaurants (plural) and a well-stocked grocery/general store.  Fourth (though this maybe should have been first), there's a Catholic parish there that I can plug into.  Like all parishes in the Bush, they don't have a resident pastor, but I'm used to that from St. Michael.  Fifth, I get to learn about and experience the Inupiaq Eskimo culture--somewhat like, but not entirely, the Yup'ik Eskimo culture I experienced last year.  Sixth, there are polar bears in Barrow! (Yes, Mom, I'll be careful.)  There are more reasons, but I'm a bit unfocused right now, since I'm trying to get everything done by tomorrow.  How do I have time to post, you ask?  I can't take my totes (never unpacked from St. Michael) to the post office until the pastor of my church here in Anchorage gets back with the keys to where they're stored, so, as much as I have to do, I can't do any of it for a while.  Hence the post.

I'll post pictures and more impressions once I get there, but I can't promise to be too prompt about it:  school in Barrow started today, and so I'll have only the weekend to get everything ready (at school and at home) and be ready to teach on Monday!  Prayers are still very much appreciated.

AMDG

Tim