My Nome Trip So Far . . .

Hi everyone!
I'm sorry I haven't posted much for the last week! I don't have easy access to the internet - my cousin Toni has internet at her home, but with the kids and Toni herself using it, I may only have a chance to grab a few minutes myself. We can sometimes get a wireless, but the signal comes and goes.

Then, so much has happened since I arrived! Our first day, we went to camp at Woolley Lagoon. It was fun seeing what kind of changes have occurred out there in the last three years. We rode with Kim and Will, both of whom are birders, so they taught us some about the birds we were seeing. We also saw an Arctic Fox on the way down the road - if I remember, I'll try to post a picture.

Then, on Monday, I ran some errands and then that evening, we had an Eskimo dance at Nome Eskimo Community. Turns out there were some filmmakers in town from Australia who were filming for National Geographic. They were filming a new series and Episode 6 (or was it 10?) was on Alaska. They were working with Matt, our archaeologist/mapper for the King Island placenames project, and Matt really wanted them to film the King Islanders dance. That was fun. Before that, we went to the Rock House on the Nome-Teller highway and the kids climbed up on top. When I went to AC, I also found a nice Columbia Sportswear shirt for $14 - down from $60.

Tuesday, I ran errands again and made phone calls. I was interviewed by KNOM in the morning (I'll post the mp3, if I get it) and in the afternoon, I agreed to an interview for a company that was doing interviews for a "cancer treatment company" that turned out to be GlaxoSmithKline, the makers of Tykerb. More on that later.

Then, Toni threw a birthday barbecue for me (I'm 45 now). Caroline gave me some ivory earrings, Gemma gave me some hand-knit gloves, mom gave me a big card that had the song Celebration on it, and Ugi gave me a blown up photograph of the village on King Island. I bought myself a new sweatshirt with a wolf dancer on it and the words "UgiuvaNmiugurugut" (We are King Islanders) and also "Setting a Precedent". There's a story there with the subtitle . . . and I'll try to tell it later.

Wednesday, I again ran a couple of errands, then I interviewed one of the Bering Straits Native Corporation's former board members, past President and also past-President of AFN. It was a really good interview. That evening, it was really warm and hot and we ended up with a thunderstorm. We tried to go to the beach but it started pouring down rain.

Thursday, I again ran errands, then in the afternoon, we worked with the elders on placenames and corrections to the map in the afternoon. Thursday night, Toni and her kids, Eddie, mom, and I went to the West beach in Nome and the kids played in the waves.

Friday, I gave a presentation at the Nome Youth Facility at the request of Charlene Saclamana and told them about the King Island project. Then, mom, Teddy, Iviana (Agnes), Aapak (Frances Muktoyuk), and I drove out to Nuuk, parked at Helen Pushruk's cabin, and picked tugayuq (a type of green) for 30 minutes. We ended up with four grocery bags full. In the afternoon, I interviewed two people at the BSNC offices - both interviews went well. In the evening, we went to the East Beach near the Nome River - Eddie played in the waves and mom and I collected beach glass.

Today? Not sure yet. My days unfold as they will. I'd like to go to the Senior Center. I may call a couple of people for interviews. We may go to Gemma's house and visit and also I need to sit and visit Uncle Edward for a bit, too. We may go to camp later. Who knows? I also need to pick up a receipt and also some more cash.

I really want to spend a whole month up here. Hmmm . . .

Overall, it's going well. I'm staying busy but also taking time to just hang out and "be". Have a great week-end! I'll think of you all today - it's going to be a high of 60 here and I see that it's supposed to be really hot down south! Have fun!