Break Up




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Originally uploaded by Andrea Pokrzywinski

We are all anxiously awaiting break up. Well, maybe not the villages who are still enjoying ice travel. One icon of spring in Bethel is the break up marker. The High School has a 50/50 raffle to guess when this marker will fall through the ice. There is a timer on it and you guess to the second. Half of this year’s pot is ~$6,000.00. I have guessed May 8th. The scientist are guessing May 9th. The average is May 12. They are predicting an earlier break due to thinner ice conditions and more snow on top. It was 10 degrees this morning. It better warm up soon!

Girls’ Weekend




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Originally uploaded by Andrea Pokrzywinski

This is the crew who initiated me into the Bethel girls go to Anchorage club. This was a crash course in how to enjoy cosmopolitan pleasures not found in the bush. We went to day spas for all sorts of beauty treatments and pampering, dined out and consumed cocktails, enjoyed a show, and went dancing. We also shopped. This is just one example of how the people in Bethel creatively support each other. I am lucky to have met so many great friends in a short period of time.

Pike Anatomy




Pike Anatomy

Originally uploaded by Andrea Pokrzywinski

When I rode out to the village to work with students, we got to dissect Pike for Biology. The kids had me try raw pike eggs. MMmmmm! We carefully saved the parts for cooking and eating raw. The intestines are cooked and eaten too. I was also taught how to cut up pike for drying using an Uluk.

It was great to do a live activity instead of virtual. I am getting to know my way around that stretch of river. I must admit that I missed a turn and went to the wrong village one day, oops. Just a 5 mile mistake.

Oscarville, Alaska




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Originally uploaded by Andrea Pokrzywinski

I drove the snow go to Oscarville yesterday. I wanted to meet my Earth Science students from Oscarville in person. It was a nice change. It’s much harder to get to know your students by video.

Oscarville is the smallest village in the district. You can just see the blue school on the left. They have no post office or air strip. The only way in is by boat or snow go. They are just across the river from Napaskiak, so they share an air strip and post office.

Oscarville Alaska




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Originally uploaded by Andrea Pokrzywinski

I drove the snow go to Oscarville yesterday. All of the High School students (6) join me at 1:50 each day for Earth Science. I went out to teach the class in person. It was a nice change. It’s much harder to get to know your students by video.

Oscarville is the smallest village in the district. You can just see the blue school on the left. They have no post office or air strip. The only way in is by boat or snow go. They are just across the river from Napaskiak, so they share an air strip and post office.

First Solo Commute




First Solo Commute

Originally uploaded by Andrea Pokrzywinski

My first solo ride on a snow machine from a village. I followed the principal out to Napaskiak in the morning. Napaskiak is about 5 miles down river from Bethel. We dissected pike as an activity for culture week. I pointed out organs and how to age fish by scales. I also learned how to cut pike the Yupik way for drying. It was good to visit with elders too.

The trails are really nicely packed now. You can go almost anywhere in the tundra. The elders bet it’s going to be a late break up. It was -4 most of the day. A colder April than we are used to.

Happy Dog




Happy Dog

Originally uploaded by Andrea Pokrzywinski

Nolan is very happy that we get to have spring bird hunts. The Ptarmigan are in. We flushed 100’s of birds in one day. They are eating buds on the bushes in the tundra. Can you see all the bird tracks in the snow? Tom and Nolan got 3 birds this weekend. Not bad for a box of shells. Tom froze the birds for hawk food. I sense a goshawk in our future. Although Tom did tell me he saw a cool flight of a gyrfalcon on Ptarmigan Sunday.