Worst week ever!

I wrote the entry below last week. Here is the update since then - Jimmy and I got on a plane to leave for Camai on Friday afternoon. When we got there we met up with our state mentor, Pat and some more first-year teachers for dinner. After this, we decided to go to the Camai festival. It was really interesting to see all of the dancers from different villages. We stayed long enough to see about three different schools participate. Toksook Bay did not perform because we have our own dance festival this weekend. We then went and stayed at a bed and breakfast for the night.

On Saturday we both had our last class of the year and we were supposed to leave to come back to Toksook. This way we figured that we would be able to relax a little before planning for the big testing week. Jimmy and I both lugged our luggage to the church where we met. The class got over around 2:00pm and when we looked outside we realized how bad it was. The winds were horrible and the snow was heavy. We still decided to go to the airport in hopes that we would get out. We both hopped into a taxi cab (7.00 a person to get to the airport) and waited. When we got there they said that no planes had gone to any villages yet that day due to the weather in Bethel. At around 5:00 they cancelled all flights going out. Jimmy and I were the first in line in hopes of getting a flight out on Sunday. They said that there was a bunch of people trying to get out and therefore they would be doing first come – first served. Jimmy and I decided to try and get there around 8:00 when they opened to ensure we were on the plane that left at 12:30.

We took another taxi ride (another 14.00) back to the bed and breakfast. They said that they had given our room away, but there was a nice room in another building. When we arrived and checked in Jimmy only two questions, “This room has Internet and Cable right?” Which as you can tell, are luxuries that we go without in Toksook. The man said that they did, and we got the key and got settled. Of course neither the Internet nor the cable was working and we had to call the owner to come in and fix it. He was very kind, and got it working for a bit but it died again after he left. Jimmy and I were both frustrated and set off to get some snacks for the next day. It was calling for bad weather again, and we wanted to be prepared with food incase we had to be there all afternoon.

On Sunday, we arrived at the airport bright and early. We sat there all day listening to the intercom say that we were weather delayed. We had nice company because there was also a bunch of other first year teachers that were waiting for their planes. We were all on weather delay. Finally at around 4:00 they cancelled all flights going to Toksook. We were the first in line again to sign up for the 9:00 flight out in the morning. Thinking we were smart, we called the other airlines hoping that they hadn’t cancelled yet. They said they had so we cut our losses and tried to figure out where to go for the night. We called the bed and breakfast that we had stayed at the first night and they told us that we would have to remain in the same room if we came back. We didn’t want this and had slept so horribly that we decided to see what other kind of places there were in Bethel. Another teacher recommended another bed and breakfast called Highway Haven and we decided to give it a call. They had room and the women on the phone said they had Internet and cable so we were hooked! We called a taxi again (14.00) and went to the B&B.

When we arrived the room was so nice and so was the women who ran it! We were so happy! We then ventured out for some frozen food to take home and some dinner. We decided to stop at Subway and then to the large grocery store (compared to the small grocery stores we have) where we picked up a few pizzas, yogurt, and snacks for the next day of airport fun.
After we arrived back at the B&B we relaxed a bit and sent lesson plans to our boss for the next day. Jimmy talked online with our dean and he said that the other airline flew into Toksook! We were so mad that they had lied to us and told us that all their flights had been cancelled. About three hours later I began to feel really sick. My stomach felt horrible and I began to get a fever. I went to bed but woke up running to the bathroom. I spent most of the night curled on the bathroom floor on top of a towel hugging the toilet. It was the worst night ever.

We packed our things the night morning and I was feeling horrible. I was not looking forward to being in the airport again. I decided to lie down on the floor and try and sleep before they called us to board. However, I kept getting up to get sick in the bathroom. They called us to board at around 9:00 and I was so happy to be finally going home where I could be sick in my own bathroom. We boarded the plane and set off and I fell right to sleep. When I woke up and looked out I couldn’t see anything – it was so foggy. I was defiantly wide-awake now! Jimmy said that we were almost to Toksook based on the map. We got to the next village over and the pilot turned around to go back to Bethel. He said it was unsafe to land. I was so disappointed. Obviously, I didn’t want to land in that kind of weather but I felt so horrible and I had waited so many days I just wanted to be home! We got back to the airport where I curled up in a ball again and tired to sleep. The rest of the afternoon all we kept hearing was that we were on weather delay. Finally around 2:00 they said that they were flying their first plane to Toksook. Of course, as luck would have it, we weren’t on it. Thankfully we were on the second one though that left around 2:30. By the time we finally landed the weather had picked up again and they didn’t know if they were going to be able to fly anymore that night.

I arrived at home, took a shower and went to bed. This is where I stayed all of Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. It was the worst sickness that I have ever felt! I went to the clinic on Wednesday after another bout of sickness thinking that I had to be dehydrated. Thankfully she said that I was doing everything right and just to ensure that I kept drinking water. My kids were really sweet when I came back. They made me a large hope you feel better poster. The trip to Bethel sure was fun. We spent just $74.00 going to the airport and back alone for all of those days, lots of time in the airport, and then I got food poisoning.
I am looking for a much needed break this weekend. We have our dance festival here, which should be interesting. We are in another storm again so we aren’t sure how many people will be able to make it here. I sure miss the springtime weather that everyone in Michigan says they are getting. Enjoy it for me! It was -1 degrees windshield here today.

The pictures that you see are of a happier time, when my mom was visiting!