SeaWeek 2008

So, those of you who know us well may recall our reference to our fondest memories of Tonga as Peace Corps moments. Generally, the term was reserved for those special times we found ourselves in the middle of an experience so unbelievable that it forced us to stop and appreciate how truly lucky we are to have been there. As you well know, we are now addicted to such moments and continue to seek them out wherever they hide. However, since we are no longer in the Peace Corps, I decided we needed a new term. The best I've come up with so far is NatGeo Moments, short for National Geographic, of course. It seems to capture all the feelings of visiting remote locations, doing adventurous deeds, and learning about different cultures. I'm not sure if it'll stick but its the perfect description for the subject of this post-SeaWeek.

Each year, during the the second week of the school year, the high school goes out for SeaWeek, a 4-day camping trip to the tundra. This year, I was lucky enough to tag along. We loaded up 8 boats with around 35 students, 4 teachers and 7 drivers and headed downriver towards the coast. After 2 or 3 hours, we pulled over and setup camp.

We spent the next day right around our campsite- traipsing along the spongy tundra, picking wild berries (a variety of blackberries and raspberries), and manuqing (fishing with a stick and line). I caught three and was pretty proud of myself until I learned that one of my students caught 23 in the same time period. Rehardless, it was a very relaxing day.

The next day was much more exciting as we went on a seal hunt. All 8 boats, crowded with students, had 1 or 2 shooters on the bow and worked together to track down the seals. Basically, we waited until they ran out breath and came to the surface, then whoever was closest shot at it until someone "caught" it. Once a shot was landed, the boat driver would speed up next to it and sick it with a harpoon to drag it in. We caught 6 spotted (50-150 lbs) and 1 bearded (200-300 lbs) seal that day, which was a very big deal around here. A few of the catches were the hunters' first, so according to tradition they were gifted to the elders that accompanied us on the trip. Catching a bearded seal is one of the rights of passage required to "become a man," so my two students who got it are now men and I am not! You can also catch 5 of the smaller seals or one bull moose, so there's still hope as I have been invited to go moose hunting.

The last day we headed for home home, but ran out of gas due to the longer than expected seal hunting. The smallest boat had enough to make it back and filled up tanks and returned to deliver fuel to each of the bigger boats. It was a very long, cold, rainy, hungry day.

If there are any teachers reading this, can you imagine a field trip like this? Over 4 nights? Hunting with guns? on boats? Only in Alaska... and I'm loving it.

All geared up and ready to go:
From Day 1
Making a manuq:

My first catch:

Cleaning the fish:
Berry picking...

Blackberries are everywhere:
Laverna's Raspberries
Duck Hunt, better than the video game...

Plucking birds

Elder Cecelia plucking and telling stories:Somebody caught a swan:
Hanging around camp:






My home on the Tundra:
Playing on a sand bar:


Day 2

My students on the hunt:










Harpoon hunting:

The bearded seal: