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Ouzinkie School 2008 |
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Ouzinkie |
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| Destination One - Cultural Ambassador Photos |
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Jake Parrett |
Austin
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Shahaila |
Alyssa |
Polly |
Mary |
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| Destination One - Community Profile |
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The Cultural Ambassador Team - This is a photo of our group. We are standing in our gym, which is under construction.
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Our School - The front entrance to our school.
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This is a picture of our main road
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This is the place where the comunity gathers.
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This is our church. The Church is 103 years old.
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This is a picture of our Mayor
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| Destination Two: |
| You Might Be From Ouzinkie IF... |
You take a skiff to McDonalds
Your are related to half the village
You drive a four wheeler to school
You go ice skating on the roads
Sourdough’s is a place not a bread
Your raingear is a hoodie
You walk home for lunch
Your school doesn’t have a gym
There are no paved roads to drive on
Your preschool is in an office building
Santa arrives in a helicopter
Taking the boardwalk is a shortcut home
You have 9 stop signs and no stop lights
You celebrate Christmas twice a year
You take a plane to get your groceries
You have less than thirty people in your entire school |
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| Destination Three: |
Highlights from our team's expectations for their exchange
see more on the Personal Profiles |
What do you think is one of the 3 top concerns in your Sister School community? I think one of the concerns in Wassila is crime.
What is another of the 3 top concerns? Another thing I think they would be concerned about is kidnapping.
What is another of the 3 top concerns? Another thing I think they will be concerned about is running over a moose. |
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| Destination Five: |
| View our plan to welcome our visiting Cultural Ambassadors |
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| Destination Six: |
Highlights from our team's thoughts about being a Cultural Ambassador
see more on the Personal Profiles |
What are some things you have learned about being a Cultural Ambassador that really stood out to you?: Even though we live in very different environments we are a lot like each other. We do a lot of the same things. Like we go to school, we eat like the same foods, have similar jobs. Also people in Wasilla hunt like people here in Ouzinkie. There are some different things too. The people in Wasilla drive snow machines, and people here don’t drive snow machines. In Wasilla they have a lot more buildings. They also have a greater population.
How do you feel about your role as a Cultural Ambassador?: I am happy that I got chosen to represent my culture, and get to go to Wasilla. |
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| Destination Seven: The First Time We Meet |
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When we walked through the door, the WMS students greeted us with a banner
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Ouzinkie Kids were a little nervous.
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Ice Breaker Games at Wasilla Middle School
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| Thoughts from our team about our first day of the exchange |
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If you are visiting: Describe the trip to your Sister School Community.: We had a snow delay in Ouzinkie, then we were late for the Era flight. When we were driving to Wasilla there were 27 cars in the ditch and more police than most of us had ever seen. The trip was full of anticipation and excitement. The snow impacted our travel from the time we left to the time we arrived.
If you are visiting: What are your first impressions of the community you are visiting?: There were differnt trees and animals. There are snowmachines along side the road. People train their dogs by pulling four wheelers. There were people using dog sleds. They have stoplights and paved roads. We went to stores and attended different churches. The families wake up really early.
If you are visiting: What were the best parts of being welcomed to the community?: Metting the families was the best part of being welcomed. We were impressed they would take the time to meet us at the airport. Everyone of the students raved about going to dinner at Ding Hou. We also enjoyed having the games to meet new people. Everyone enjoyed the games.
If you are visiting: What are you most looking forward to doing now that you are here?: Going to school with the Wasilla students was something the kids looked forward to doing. They also looked forward to arriving in Wasilla. Several of the students were looking forward to shopping while in Wasilla and Anchorage.
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| Destination Seven: Getting Reacquianted |
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Ouzinkie and Wasilla students ponder instructions for getting reaquainted.
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Polly climbs the staple ladder as the group cheers her on.
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Students break down barriers by problem solving.
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| Thoughts from our team about getting reacquainted |
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| Go to the Personal Profiles |
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| Area for Exploration One: One Thing We Must See Or Experience When We Go To Wasilla: |
| Dairy farming and production in the Mat-Su valley |
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What we learned. Students compiled this list of things they learned: Pigs can get up to 900 lbs,Pigs are messy eaters, One bull controls the herd, What it looks like when chickens molt, Chickens eat their eggs if they break, Pigs kill their piglets on accident,It was 95 degrees in the chick hut,Cows produce 5 gallons of milk a day. |
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Austin smiles at the opportunity to hold a baby chicken. |
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| Area for Exploration Two |
| Visit to Job Corp |
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What we learned. It is community living where everyone pitches in to cover the work that needs done. You don't have to have a CDL to drive heavy equiptment while you are in training. They had to do their chores everyday or they would loose points. |
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Ouzinkie Students gettting a tour of the construction program at Job Corp. |
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| Area for Exploration Three |
| Mat-Su Regional Hospital Tour |
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What we learned. Alaska has very nice hospitals. We didn't realize there were such things as live x-ray. Even in the Mat-Su, if you get seriously injured, they will fly you to Anchorage for better medical care. |
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Students view different injuries through X-Ray |
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| Destination Eleven: Our First Week Together |
| Closing circle thoughts from our team on the first exchange |
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What are some of the important things that you have learned about your Sister Schools culture from this visit?: Wasilla is much more rural than the team had anticipated. School is more rigerous in Wasilla. There is more diversity in Wasilla. There are also more opportuniites for kids and adults.
How do you think that this visit has changed how you think about yourself and your own culture?: Studenents made a lot of comparisons to their own culture during the week. The visit gave them an appreciation for their village. It also opened some dialoge about simple differences in where we live. Several of the students were able to experince a different type of church and daily routine.
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| Destination Eleven: Our Final Time Together |
| Closing circle thoughts from our second (and final) exchange |
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What are some of the important things that you have learned about your Sister Schools culture from this visit?: As a group we decided that Wasilla and Ouzinkie are very similar. 8th graders are pretty much the same at each school. We decided that Ouzinkie and Wasilla watch simalar movies and wear similar clothes. The differnces are much more subtle than we had expected.
How do you think that this visit has changed how you think about yourself and your own culture?: As a group, Ouzinkie agreed that they had fun in Wasilla, but they enjoyed hosting the Wasilla students in the village. Ouzinkie studnets decided that they had more freedoms in the village and learned to appreciate some of the different opportunities here. |
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| Destination Twelve: Last Words |
| Final thoughts from our team about the journey |
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1) What was the greatest thing about this exchange?: We really enjoyed meeting new people. Getting reaquainted with the Wasilla students was great.
2) If you could have changed one thing about your trip to your Sister School community, what would it be?: We would have liked to stay in Wasilla longer and had them stay in Ouzinkie longer. Learn a little more about Wasilla and the host families prior to traveling.
3) As you looked at your Sister School’s Destination Log, what did you notice about how your Sister School Cultural Ambassadors see your community?: They saw our community as small and quiet.
4) How does their perspective influence your view of your community?: It is small and quiet for the most part. We have more technology than they thought we would have.
5) What are two things that you learned about your Sister School community’s culture as a result of your trip?: They are a lot like us in many differnt ways. They are very nice to visitors.
6) How are the people in your Sister School community different than the people in your home community?: They were not that different. Many of the people live on farms. Their houses were generally bigger than village houses.
7) What do you think the people of your Sister School community have most in common with the people in your community?: They fish, hunt, and ride four wheelers. They act the same as us.
8) During the exchange, when were the moments you felt most like you were being a Cultural Ambassador (i.e., sharing culture, learning culture, or building bridges)?: When I was talking to them about our culture. When we were dancing for them.
9) Why do you think it’s important for students to be Cultural Ambassadors in Alaska?: Not all people in Alaska live the same.
10) What are two things you learned about yourself by participating in this program?: My culture is rare and a lot of people can learn from it.
11) What are two things you learned about your community?: We didn't realize how old our church is. Our church is differnt from other churches. There were more fish in the past.
12) What are some things you think that all Alaskans have in common?: They all fish. They are used to the cold. They all live in houses. They all have some form of transportation. |
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