So much for April...

How is tomorrow the start of May? Honestly, how did that happen?

This month has gone by in a blur of activity and I'm sorry I haven't really been posting about it. I could blame my lack of posting on being too busy, but that wouldn't be entirely honest. Instead, I think I'll blame my perpetual state of sleep deprivation that has been forcing me to live on a never-ending caffeine buzz so that I can function.

My arch nemesis at 9:45pm

I can already hear some of you in my head: maybe if you stop drinking so much coffee you'll be able to sleep. Oh, if only.... You see, I have this problem: a giant ball of gas suspended one astronomical unit from earth. It's conspiring with the tilt of the earth to ruin my sleep patterns! For now I will just refer to it as my arch nemesis...

At this time of year in Scammon Bay the sun is rising every morning at just around 7am, with its rays starting to peak over the horizon around 6:40. That doesn't bother me, I'm an early riser and having the sun up that early is nice. The problem comes in the evening, when I climb into bed and it still looks like it's 7pm! The sun isn't setting until well after 11pm right now and sadly my blackout curtains have a gap in them.

Other than being sleep deprived, I have spent my month getting ready to wind down the school year. The kids have been working hard to finish their levels in time for summer, studying to pass their SBAs and HSGQE (state standardized tests and graduation exam), and have stayed motivated for longer than I expected, although now I have a feeling spring fever will hit full force.

Last week was culture week at our school, and we took a week off from regular classes to immerse ourselves in cultural activities. Some highlights included harpoon making, ptarmigan hunting, and cooking. I spent three days of the week teaching students in my home, where we prepared and cooked all of the food we had been gathering recipes for. Some of the yumminess included agutaq, fried moose steaks, fried rice, and oil bread. 

On the home front, M. and I have been getting things ready for next year. We've ordered a lot of our household supplies from Amazon (got to love the free shipping to Alaska) and started grocery lists for the fall. I've packed up stuff that I never ended up needing and shipped it back to Colorado to make some room at home.

Both M. and I are counting down the days until we fly out to Anchorage. Summer is so close!!!

Yes, it' been almost a month since I last posted.