Cousins! (Gretchen, Heidi, me)
Christmas in Ethiopia (dad, mom, me)
my dear friend Emma who lives in Nepal
Me and my amazing dog Jaro!
About Me
My name is Mandy Morell and I teach English and Photography at West Anchorage High School. Everyone knows who I am because of my long dreadlocks!
About My Family
My mother is Patricia Meyer Morell and my father is Allen Nelson Morell. I am their only child. I have cousins who are like brothers and sisters to me, and I love my family dearly.
Deep Thoughts
Nothing easy is ever worth it.
Daily Blog
04/17/2010
“It's going to be hard to leave.” I didn't think this was going to be something I would hear at the end of our trip. As we started our Closing Circle I talked about a few housekeeping items, one of which was our flight time for tomorrow. I mentioned that we are scheduled to leave at 9:30am, weather permitting. “I hope we get a storm!” Janelle and Henry shouted. Angie and I smiled, and we weren't the only ones with wet eyes. This week has flown by, and the kids have really bonded. I know every single one of them is excited about a nice long shower, some privacy in the bathroom and a flush toilet, their favorite foods, and texting, yet they all agree they're not ready to say good-bye. Even though we've only spent one week together in Shishmaref, and one in Anchorage, it feels like we've known each other a lot longer. This is definitely due to the host family experience; living together and spending so much time together really made them feel like they were brothers and sisters, daughters, sons, nieces and nephews. We each received an Eskimo name today; the kids chose our names after they returned from Anchorage, and had them translated for us today. My name is “Pikkagiktuaq” which means “one with energy and bounce.” Pretty appropriate! However, I have definitely been given so much more than a name. I have been given friendship and love that will last much longer than this trip. This is why we're here.
04/16/2010
Riding out toward 5 Mile was like riding into a white abyss. On our photo scavenger hunt in Anchorage one of the items to find was “Something you can't find in Shishmaref,” and almost every group took a photo of a tree. It was funny, but definitely didn't have an impact until today. I took some photos this afternoon that could be held upside-down or right-side up; they were almost identical either way. The white ground seemed to be reflected in the sky, or vice versa. I think if I was a pilot I might get vertigo. There was white everywhere you looked, not a tree in sight to break up the scene, no mountain, no structure, no people.
Angie and I were bundled up, only our goggles showing as we rode in the sled behind the sno-go. The warmest part of us was the spot where Sadie, her new puppy, lay in our laps. We were in the first sno-go in the group, and Bill, Henry Jones' dad was driving, Henry A. riding on the back. Behind us were three other groups: Henry Jones, Dennis, and Terry were the drivers. Bill was scouting a trail and even considered heading back because the weather up ahead looked foreboding; he was worried we might not be able to see when we headed back to Shish. We pressed on however, and as we came within a few hundred yards of a burm up ahead and land was in sight, we saw the overflow. We had be driving on the frozen lagoon that separates Shish from the mainland on our way to go “sliding” (sledding). This overflow, a beautiful green color to look at was not a positive sign for travel. This was what kept us from heading out to the hot springs on our second day here. Bill slowed down a bit, and all of a sudden, we dropped. He cut the engine, turned around real quickly, and put his hand up, “STOP!,” for the others behind him. Angie and I held our breath and looked at the slush engulfing our sled. Bill got off, and his bunny boots sunk up above his calves. “Not good, “ he said. Nope. He amuked (piggy-backed) Henry A. back to the others, and Angie and I stood up on the sled. I was dreading having to walk through this; it was bitterly cold, and my warm, but short boots, wold soon be filled. Bill came around the sled and motioned for Angie to climb on. Dennis came for me and threw me up onto his shoulders in a fireman's carry, and in a few steps we were on solid ice again. Phew. Maegan got it all on tape and we laughed at the sheer adventure of it all! This is why we're here.
04/15/2010
It's 10pm, and we're altogether in a relo, sewing. That's right, sewing. And we're staying because we want to! Who knew 5 kids from West High would be staying up late to sew. Not texting, Facebooking, playing video games, or talking on the phone with our BFFs. We started making these kuspuks yesterday morning, and worked for a few hours before we had other engagements. Today we worked on them for 4 hours then had dinner and met back up at 7:30pm to work on them again. And we've got at least an hour to go. Tomorrow is Eskimo Day at school, so everyone will be sporting their Eskimo regalia, and we want to wear our newly made kuspuks. The fact that we made them ourselves, a first for all of us, makes them pretty priceless. I love this evening. We're hanging out, getting to know one another, and laughing at everything because we're to the punchy stage. I love thinking how different this Wednesday night is from what we would be doing back home. This is why we're here.
04/14/2010
Third day in Shishmaref! Chris just informed me that we are at our halfway point! Great that we’ve been having such a good time, but sad because that means there is only three more days. Another great sleep, quality time with Angela, her husband, father-in-law, and students, has been incredible. Breakfast before school at 7:30am, and then on to the classroom where we all met up for the day. First hour was a treat: Ester came in and helped us cut out our kuspuks and prepare them for sewing tomorrow. We’re quite excited to wear them all together; we’re such dorks! (Even dorkier: Angie and I have are making matching ones!)
As her next class began the Anchorage students headed to Percy Nayokpuk’s general store. We interviewed him for our Food/Subsistence Area of Exploration video. He was amazing. We all learned so much! His father started the store 50 years ago, and it has seriously changed the community. On the extreme end of things, the store has rid the town of starvation; it has also made people lazy. Percy noted how easy it is now; people aren’t’ forced to find (hunt/fish) their food when they are hungry. Instant gratification. Sadly, the Flip camera froze, and when rebooted, the video was gone! We caged the words we felt in our mouths and filmed an alternate video instead, remembering what Percy told us. Ahhh technology.
Lunch, then on to the bilingual classroom. John and Bessie Sinnok (related, not married) head this classroom where they work on traditional arts and crafts. John talked to us about the work hanging around the room and the opportunities for the students: mainly carving and sewing. The Anchorage students tried their hands at both. We are bringing home some amazing antlers and a couple beaded keychains!
At the end of school Inupiaq Days began! Kicked off with a basketball game, the gym filled up. I watched for a while, then went home to help Angie with dinner. At 7pm we all met back up again in Angie’s room for blogging and homework time. Another great day.
Today I really witnessed the Anchorage students settling in, beginning to remember names, go places on their own, and feel a sense of place. Some are a little homesick, but others are already looking forward to coming back. This is why we’re here.
04/13/2010
Monday rocked!
I slept well and slept in! On Mondays at the Shishmaref school classes don't start until 10:30am because they have staff meetings! I attended the meeting, which began at 8am, so this was still sleeping in for me! I usually get up at 5:45am to get to West High by 6:45am! At the meeting the major topic was the schedule for Inupiaq Days, the festival starting Wednesday.
At 9:30am the students met us at the school and we went to Clifford’s house (he’s the school board president) for sourdough hotcakes! Dee-lish! Clifford is quite an interesting man; he is a guide, and takes people out from all over the world to hunt bears. He had some great stories! And best of all: the sourdough he used for our hotcakes is 92 years old! Yum. What an honor that he invited us.
After breakfast we went to Angela’s classroom. Student Government is her first hour class, and all the RURE kids are in it. We talked about our Areas for Exploration, and I uploaded the notes to the Destination Log. Then the kids went to their second hour classes and the Anchorage students followed. I observed Angie’s next class, and then she had a prep hour.
Best moment today: I donned a cheerleading uniform complete with hair ribbons and pom-poms! Go Shishmaref! This week is spirit week, and today was Sports Day, and I happened to be walking by a classroom where uniforms were being doled out…next thing you know I’ve got team spirit. These could very well be blackmail photos in the future. ☺
After lunch we headed out on snowmachines (well, actually, we were being pulled in sleds by the snowmachines) to the lagoon. There we were instructed on the traditional way to break through the ice: pound the ice with a pick on the end of a long stick; when you fill the hole enough with chipped ice, shovel out the ice, keep chipping; chip until you hit water! It took about 30 minutes to hit water on that first hole. Only later did an auger show up, and it took 3 minutes and 50 seconds to get to the water that way! We started a video for our Subsistence/Food Area of Exploration, and can’t wait to upload it! (There is no way to upload pictures or videos to anywhere on the web from my computer, because I do not have access to the proxy settings on my school laptop, therefore cannot upload….grrr.)
After the amazing ice fish adventure in which Maegan caught one fish, and Henry A. caught two, we headed back to town. Dinner with families and then we met back up at Angie’s classroom for homework, blogging, and the start of our kuspuks!
Maegan just told me, “Doesn’t it seem like we’ve been here like a week already?” Yeah, we’re settling in.
04/12/2010
Wow. Great Day.
Today began EARLY! Our flight from Anchorage was at 6am, so we met at 5am; however, my nervous internal clock woke me up at 2:30am, 3:30am, and then at 4:00am I got up! The sun is rising earlier, but not quite that early!
Many thanks to the diligent parents who woke up this early to get their kid to the airport on time! We made it through check-in no problem. No bag was overweight: Chris won the award for the heaviest bag (48.6lbs), and Davide won the award for the lightest (26lbs)! Security was almost as smooth, except Davide got held up with his ID card. We learned a trick: if you're a minor, say so because then you don't need to show ID!
The flight from Anchorage to Nome, by way of Kotzebue, was sweet. For a few, this was the smallest plane they had ever been on, and not naming names, to say one of us was nervous would be a huge understatement! The student sitting next to said individual has bruises in the shape of a hand grip after two take-offs and two landings!
...and the next plane was even smaller! We took a Cessna Caravan 208 B, a little plane with 10 seats, for the 45 minute flight to Shishmaref. Most of us were lulled to sleep by the loud engine, and woke up as we were coming in for a landing. Just in time to see the Shish kids on the tarmac waving, and desperately hanging on to their handmade welcome sign in the wind. What a welcome! We flip videoed the whole ordeal and got Angie with her new puppy through the window!
Upon landing we hugged, jumped, and giggled our hellos before getting into a sled or on the back of a snowmachine for the ride into town. The Anchorage students were taken to their host homes to settled in and have some lunch. I had a delectable meal with Angie, her husband Steve, and her father-in-law, Steve Sr. (who was on the same flight as us, coming up from Seattle for the first time!), at their home and became acquainted with my new home for the week. Joy for a great place to live!
At 3pm we headed out on a photo scavenger hunt, in honor of our last activity together during closing circle in Anchorage. This jaunt gave us an up-close introduction to the town and many of it's residents. (*Fact: there are eight sets of twins in Shishmaref!) On our itinerary was a trip to the hot springs tomorrow, but today the was an overflow, cutting off our route. This is what we're here for: to learn to be flexible and enjoy what the day brings! So, the dog mushing was off, and it looks like we will not be heading to the hot springs tomorrow. Something else in store...
The scavenger hunt was won by none other than Janelle and Davide, the reigning champions from the Anchorage hunt! The prize: two Shishmaref t-shirts! After the photos were presented we had a potluck with the students, their families, and the host families, as well as some other members of the community. Many "firsts" were eaten, although some more mundane than you might think: Sophie had fried chicken for the second time! Ah, the subsistence life!
We are all wearing down, slowing down, and getting ready to lie down. First item on the agenda in the morning: sourdough hotcakes at Clifford's home!