Kivalina at last!

I am here! It was a LONG day of sitting around the airport (a room that is 15 x 40) waiting to fly out. There was rain and for in Kivalina, so we were grounded in Kotzebue for a while. There is no TSA to deal with at the airport. There is a local lady who sells bake goods in the airport waiting lounge. 20.00 for a loaf of banana nut bread. I passed on it. Several people were having food delivered to the airport while they were waiting for their flights. Once the weather cleared, we loaded up into a Cessna Caravan 10 passanger plane. (it is one of the larger ones) the cargo/bags are carried in a pod under the plane. Any weight over 50# is .90/lb, it can add up quickly. I was 30# over, plus I had some frozen food to bring to Kivalina. The store selection of food in Kivalina is hit and miss. We were flying to Noatak, Ak first, we had 4 people to drop of there, it was about a 25 minute flight. The landing strip is a gravel strip. As soon as the plane is on the ground, pick-up trucks and quads pull up to the plane and the have the cargo/baggage off in minutes. Very efficent operation. We sent less than 10 minutes on the ground and headed off to Kivalina, it was about 20 minutes in the air. The scenery below was awesome. mostly flatland, with streams/rivers and tundra. Some trees but everything was so green. It was a bit foggy coming into Kivalina, but

no problems. We were met by a few people with quads and trailers, our luggage went on and off we went to our homes. There were 4 of us on the last leg of the flight, 3 new teachers like me and 1 returning teacher. Our homes are at the south end of the penninsula, I am about 30 second walk from the school. I do have a flush toliet/running water and a shower,(thank God) but other than the school and the teachers, most people do not have either or any of the above services.

After unpacking and getting something to eat, the 3 new teachers went for a walk around the village. There are about 400 people here, and around 100 k-12 kids. The kids found out we were new teachers and we were swarmed. 32 million questions later we made it back to our homes. I looked at my watch and it was 11:30. Really weird having the sun still out at that time of day. It was setting and was gone around midnight. The villagers are very nice and receptive. Everyone came by and said hello, I have had people stopping all day today (Sunday) to welcome me to the village. I head back to Kotzebue tomorrow for 4 days of in-service training along with the rest of the teachers from the district. A majority of the teachers have to be flown in by bush plane, it is the only way to get around. We will be staying at the school, we get air mattresses and a sleeping bag, I prefer my own sleeping bag. I will have room to load up on some more food supplies, get supplies every time you can.