Potluck

Jimmy and I both had a good week here at Toksook. We have been busy this weekend getting ready for next week (our last full week until spring break). We are both so excited that spring break is almost here! My mom will be visiting Toksook Bay in about a week and a half now.

On Thursday, we had a potluck for the interns that were here from the Anchorage area. They were both really nice guys and stayed here for two weeks to see what teaching was like in the Bush. It wasn’t as large as our normal potlucks but there was quite a variety of food. I felt adventurous and tried a bunch of it, which amazed me. The first thing I tried was Halibut, which I have wanted to try. It was amazing, and it reminded me a lot of the way that perch tastes. Then, I tried Musk-Ox sausage. It was interesting and tasted just like regular sausage, which I don’t care for. I then debated and finally was talked into trying beluga. I now have a new meaning for the song baby beluga. I don’t know of those who have tried it, but beluga is very chewy. It is not at all what I expected and I didn’t enjoy it. Then for dessert I had some amazing Eskimo Ice cream made by one of the teacher. I even took a little bit for my mom to try when she comes to taste it. It had salmon berries, blueberries, and a few other types of berries.

My kids also came up with a Yupik name for me this week. I am now named Naunraq Ilanaq. The first word Naunraq means salmon berry. The second word is named after a women that died this past week in a village nearby. The kids were really sweet and made me posters with my ‘new’ name on it.

The pictures you see here are the ones that I took with my mentor Pat last week on our walk around Toksook. Overall, it was a good week for both Jimmy and I. We still have a lot of work to get done this weekend and I am sure that the time change is going to mak for an interesting week with our kids. Thankfully, we only have one week left and then we are done with this quarter. Only one more left!