Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Noatak

Last week, after voting here in town, I headed out to Noatak. It was my last village visit for this semester.

Noatak has a new school, going on its 3rd year open I think. The old one used to be very close to the airport and village center. The new one is about a mile out if you follow the road and closer to the dump.


It's not a problem to walk unless you're carrying 140 lbs of gear and expected to teach a class in an hour. Usually at any school the teacher organizing the schedule also arranges transportation for me. Most schools have some forms of vehicle even if it's just a 4-wheeler. Having just confirmed everything with the teacher the previous day, I was expecting a ride and felt forlorn as all the vehicles drove away. One person, the village president, was walking home and stayed there with me a while. I gave them a moment thinking they might be running late. I finally called, and they said they were in the process of looking for a ride. I was glad it wasn't too cold.

After about 20 minutes, one of the teachers came roaring up on his Honda, stacked my totes up on the racks, gave me a moment to climb on, and tore off down the road. Boxes were bouncing all around, and I just about fell off while trying to keep my map tube and computer bag from bouncing out.


We made it to the school, and as I'm sighing relief, the teacher curtly mentions I'll be going to his class right after lunch. Well, that would be after HIS lunch because I still had to find out where to put my things, procure an A/V cart, set up my computer and projector, unpack program materials from the boxes...you get the picture.



My cart was a mess by the end of the day. I had 3 classes right in a row after that delayed start.


I was off to a rough start, but it got better. I didn't get much of a chance to get out last year because the old principal wouldn't give me a key. If I went out too long after school was out, I couldn't get back in. This year I didn't even have to ask. Each evening I got out and walked around while it was light. The people were some of the friendliest I've met in the villages. The NPS isn't liked by many, and although it may be subtle (or sometimes not), there's a certain degree of racism towards white outsiders. So in most villages I end up talking to the kids (who see me at school) who follow me down the street and just smile and wave to the adults who usually acknowledge me but rarely engage in conversation.


So it was refreshing in Noatak to have I don't know how many people stop to ask me if I wanted a ride as I walked between the school and the rest of town (not these girls, they just stopped to say hi and ask when I was going to their class). A couple even talked to me about what I was doing in town as we walked to the store.


Their store is big and pretty nice. I usually try to go just because that's about the only place there is to go, and I support the local economy a little. This time I browsed the popcorn because I had taken my latest Netflix movie with me to watch at night. I found some I'd never seen before.


Popcorn with pepper! It was really good!

As usual, the school days are busy enough that they go quickly. The rest of the trip was smooth, and although the plane was late getting there, it was only 32 degrees, so the 40 minutes standing on the runway weren't too bad.

As far as I know, the Noatak school has the newest building. It is fairly nice. Here are a few shots.



A mural of the village - on the wall in the cafeteria / commons area.



You can find local artwork around most of the schools. These are geese carved from caribou antlers.



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPod

1 comment:

  1. This was very interesting. It looks like a very nice way to complete the fall school year. One of the landscape pictures, with a tree in it, Mama said that you ought to decorate it. It is a good thing that the village people don't really hate you, you could have been dragging all your stuff to the school by yourself. Maybe you will have to get a cargo plane next time and bring along your own transportation to get to the school. If there is an evaluation to fill out, you might have to really put it to them and give them a F-.

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