Akutaq and Berry Picking

This has been yet another busy week here in Chevak and it's only Monday! Professional Development is underway and there is a lot of information to gather. It's a little over-whelming but I'm thankful that all the people seem to be really committed to helping the new teachers! 

Today, after lunch one of the village elders came to speak to us. It was very interesting. He is the older elder that is left in Chevak. He used an interpreter (He only speaks Cu'pik) to give us encouragement and to help us realize just how much support we'll have during the school year. It was very comforting! 

Also, today we got ALL our literacy materials. Let me tell you there is a TON! Just when I thought that I had my classroom almost completely set up, there is so much more now that I have to find a home for. Tomorrow the presenter is going to come in my room and go through all the components with me! That makes me feel better because otherwise, I'd probably just sit there for who knows how many hours trying to figure out all the components! I was also excited to hear about the leveled library...might be something that I'll have to check out sometime soon! 

Okay, now for the exciting news! 

I have officially eaten Akutaq (eskimo ice cream)! This particular recipe (pictures below) had

• Cristco
• Instant Potatos
• Berries 
• Sugar

And I'll have to say it wasn't terrible (my pictures might depict otherwise) it had a very funky texture and it definitely wasn't something I would have expected "ice cream" to taste like. It's definitely nothing like traditional ice cream...

 This is what the Akutaq looked like!

 Here we go...

 Still a little unsure...

 Wasn't a huge fan of the texture! 

I also got the chance to go berry picking today. I probably should have stayed and working on my classroom but it was just too gorgeous outside to stay at school. However, that's exactly where I'm at right now (ironic) Here are some pictures from that journey...

 On our way to berry pick! It was just beautiful outside!

 This is the old airport "runway" a lot of people ride their four wheelers on it!

 We were debating on whether this was the river...we decided it wasn't

 A view of the village from the old airport

 A dead crane. Zoe made sure to pay it respect before we went any further.

 The FIRST Salmon Berry

 Salmon berries and blue berries!

Me with my loot!

 We didn't get to stay out there too long. Mary and I both had work to do in our classrooms so this was all the berries that I got to pick!

 So gorgeous!

I'm glad that I choose to take some time to get out and do something! I'm excited for this weekend and the festivities that will take place. Kiddos come on Friday here comes some very busy preparation days...