Going Somewhere

 I spend a majority of each day imagining my life in Marshall. Picturing the house, the snow, the people.  So I thought I would share with you what I know about Marshall, why I'm excited to go there, and all the other things that cross my mind as I ponder this huge life change.

This is the house that Josh shares with Brian, another teacher at Marshall School.  Brian teaches Social Studies and is new to Marshall, but has been teaching within the Lower Yukon School District for a few years. They arrived here in August & had an additional roommate... a little mouse.  Eventually they were able to "take care of" their extra roommate, and Josh says they haven't seen anymore.  (For a more in depth look at his current housing, check out this POST over at his BLOG.)

This was one of the first sunsets Josh captured on camera.  It was 10:55pm in Marshall when he took this.  Josh said the landscape is large, beautiful & the river is especially breathtaking. He said it's true what they say about it being light out- it's really hard to want to go to bed.  He's had trouble sleeping because his body feels like it should still be up.

 This is the brand new school. Only in its second year, it has numerous modern conveniences.  (Sidenote: They only cancel recess if it is COLDER than 20 BELOW!)

Mr. Cunningham

 Here is my sweetheart on his first day of teaching. He said it was the first, and likely only time, he will wear a tie. The attire is generally much more relaxed.  The sign on his door says "Elementary Classroom" in both English & Yupik.  The students have lessons in Yupik everyday and the elders in the community are quite involved in the school.  He said as he was setting up his classroom, he kept waiting for someone to come in and tell him what to do.  He's been in education since 2004, working first as a sign language interpreter/staff assistant, and later as a substitute teacher, so he was always taking the lead from someone else.

 Josh's classroom (I still can't believe he finally has his own!) has 8 computers, its own bathroom and an incredible view.  He also has an entire wall of cubby's for his students to store their snow gear in during the snowy season (roughly October through April).  That's something we don't have in our classrooms here!

 Here's the view from his classroom!

For an idea of what Marshall looks like in the big scheme of things, here's a link to the Lower Yukon School District website's page for Marshall: Marshall School. There is an ariel shot of Marshall, sitting along the Yukon.

When Josh calls me, it is often as he's walking.  His house is about a half mile from the school, and I think he said the post office is even further, so he does a lot of walking. When we talk I can hear children running about, 4 wheelers driving by and lots of dogs barking.  This weekend he was out walking around the village (which is about 5 square miles total) taking pictures and he said a little boy ran up to him and wanted to see his "picture." Josh told him it was a "camera" and the boy tried to look through the lens. Josh showed him how to look through the view finder and the boy just couldn't get enough.  He said the small boy made him miss Logan & Jack.

 And here is our housing! This is what it looked like when he first got there about three weeks ago.

 And here's what it looked like this weekend.  Josh was able to climb into one of the three bedroom units & take pictures for me.  I was overjoyed to see how much progress they have made.  When you first enter when you walk into an arctic entry where you can take off your snow gear.  The arctic entry also serves as a hot/cold barrier so that you don't let all the heat out or the cold in.  It's like a double entrance.

This is the living room. I think that's a bedroom in the door on the right.  We will use the downstairs bedroom for a playroom since the living space is so small.  That bedroom will double as a guest room when we have company.

The stairwell.  

I am disappointed about only two things I've heard from Josh. One is that there will be no dishwasher. And the other is that they are planning to put linoleum throughout the units.  I believe I will be setting aside some money for rugs & carpeting squares. Brr!!!

Here is the upstairs hallway.  That's one of the bedrooms (likely the one we will stay in) and the bathroom is to the right.

 Here is what I think will be the boys' bedroom. We are looking into getting a set of bunkbeds.  The principal & his wife are currently staying with their four children in a two bedroom house, so they have two sets of bunk beds. Once they get settled into the new housing, he said they will only need one set. Their children range in age from seven to a sophomore in high school.  

Another teacher has four children as well.  His are three, two & four months old.  The four month olds are identical twin girls. His wife is still "at home" in Montana, and plans to join him after Christmas Break.  I can't wait to meet her!  It's a big comfort to me that other women have moved their children to Marshall. I can do this!!!

 This is one of two full size bathrooms in our unit.  

As a quick, random note for those of you really behind on all of this, Marshall is a village of about 400 people in rural Alaska along the Yukon River.  It's about 400 miles west of Anchorage. The people there survive mostly on subsistence- moose & bear hunting, fishing & gathering berries.  There is a school, a post office, a small store & an airport. We will not have a vehicle in Marshall.  We might decide to get a snowski or a 4 wheeler at some point, but not yet.  The school has vehicles Josh can borrow if necessary, for picking up visitors from the airport, for instance.  We will have most of our groceries flown in from the Fred Meyer or Costco in Anchorage.  Any fresh, refrigerated or frozen items we need will have to be purchased here in Marshall, when or if the store has them. (i.e. eggs, cheese, etc.)

 Another view of the upstairs hallway.

And a note on weather.  Right now in Marshall it's in the mid 40's. When Josh got there a month ago it was in the upper 60's.  Drastic changes already.  The first snowfall last year was in September.  So far, he hasn't seen a snowflake, but I'm sure he will soon.  He had to buy these special ice picks to wear on the bottom of his shoes because the snow develops an ice layer on top of it that makes falling a serious risk.  He bought full snow gear while he was still here in Washington and will keep a pair of tennis shoes at work to change into from his snow boots during the snowy season. The boys have snow pants & jackets already, I just need to get them accessories (hats, gloves & scarves).  And I need to get everything for myself.  Last December, the highest high in Marshall was 3 degrees. 3 degrees!?!

 This is the bedroom Josh, Wyatt & I will likely share.  There are two bedrooms upstairs and one downstairs.  For now, we plan to have Wyatt in our room since I am breastfeeding, and the boys will be in the other room upstairs.

 And finally this is the view from our bedroom. Stunning right?  I am so excited to leave behind this ghetto I live in now. Drugs, bumping music, drinking, cops every other weekend busting up parties... I could use some serenity.  I am also looking forward to slowing down.  

"Moving fast is not the same as going somewhere." -Robert Anthony

The other night I was freaking out about how much work it's going to be to sort through everything (sell? store? ship?) and get my life in order, and God spoke to me.  What really matters, what's really important, is very simple: Josh, Logan, Jack & Wyatt. Everything else is gravy.  As long as we have each other & our basic needs are met, material possessions are of very little importance.

The other thing I felt him whispering was to just "do the next right thing." Don't think about all of it- of course that's overwhelming- just take the next small step in the right direction.  So that's where I'm at right now.  I am currently working on prepping for the garage sale I'll have weekend after next. Then I will focus on putting things in storage, and then I will work on shipping to Alaska the things that we will need. One thing at a time. One day at a time.  And before I know it we will be in Marshall together as a family.