Paris sounds like a lovely trip. I studied in England for just one term and it was very handy how close everything was. It was no big deal to go to France or Spain or Italy for a long weekend. Here, everything is soooooo far away! And it’s an ordeal to travel. This past summer my husband and I spent some time in the U.K. We crossed 11 time zones to be there. It took quite a while to get our sleep back to normal.

About school . . . Hopefully I’m not giving a false impression of what teaching here is like. When I say here I don’t mean the U.S. Brevig Mission really is not like the rest of the United States so anything I describe shouldn’t be applied to the rest of the country. (So you may still want to consider moving somewhere in the U.S. to teach) =)

How is Brevig Mission different than most of the rest of America?
1) The population is primarily Inupiat Eskimos. (Teachers are about the only non-native folks living here.)
2) It wasn’t until the 70’s that there was a K -12 school.
3) People drive snow machines and ATVs, not cars.
4) There are no roads, we fly bush planes in and out.
5) There is only one store with basic supplies.
6) People eat seals, whales, and walrus.
7) About 350 people live in Brevig.
8) People had running water in their homes for the first time in 2002.
9) Alcohol is illegal to possess by local ordinance.

Why do I love living here?
1) It’s a small village where you can know just about everyone and feel like a part of a community.
2) My students come to my house to visit on a regular basis.
3) It only takes me 5 minutes to walk to work. No commute!
4) I am learning how to do new things, skin sewing for example.
5) I am learning first hand about another culture that is far different from what I grew up with.
6) When employees attend district wide in-services or meetings the school district plane picks us up.
7) No hustle and bustle. Life just moves a little slower here.
8) Like you, my students really are wonderful little people.

Sure we have our problems but what place in the world doesn’t have problems?