Homesick for Fall Colors

I am missing the fall colors of Tennessee. Barrow is either summer or winter. Summer means 40 degrees, and winter means -40 degrees. I took the pictures above in November 2006. I sure wish I could go home just for awhile to see the fall colors again.

Homesick.

iḷauraaq | a dear friend

Here are more pictures from Amy's visit!

Amy & moi!

A full rainbow! Beautiful, no?

Amy and I celebrated our Ukrainian heritage with borscht!

Why I Don't Shop At Wal-Mart.Com (The Alaska Surcharge)

Nope. I'll stick with Amazon Prime.

pikiaġaq | to jump in and out of water, or how to be completely awesome

A few weeks ago, my college friend Amy visited all the way from Taiwan, where she teaches English. She was returning to the states for the first time in a year and a half, and her first stop was Barrow. So, of course, since she was at the top of the world, she had to do the polar bear plunge!

Let's just say that it was CRAZY cold, and it probably wasn't the wisest idea doing the polar bear plunge without any nearby medical help available.

But hey, now she can say she's done it. :)

More later...

In the snow

Supreme Court Live! - Climate Change

TRUST Alaska from Our Children's Trust on Vimeo.

Barrow High School was privileged to have this young Y'upik Eskimo man, Nelson Kanuk, from Kipnuk, Alaska, come to Barrow. The high school students had the opportunity to watch a legitimate court case in their auditorium, which was judged by the Supreme Court of Alaska. Not only did the students get to hear Nelson speak about the gravity of climate change, they also were able to ask questions to the judges (not about the case itself, of course), the lawyers, and the appellants.

Here's a NPR story about Nelson's court case.

Supreme Court Live is an educational outreach program for high school students, enabling them to see court cases in their own schools. The program started in 2010. Read more about Supreme Court Live here.

puuvruktuq | to plow through deep, soft snow

The snow is finally here...

This is the van that belongs to the Church of God in town.