Initiation on the River!

Day 11: Monday August  20, 2012

(I’m publishing these entries about a week late, but I was writing out a detailed list of the events as they took place...I’m just piecing it all together now.)

Monday was a setup kind of a day, with a meeting thrown somewhere in there, and the promise of a “fishing trip” that afternoon (a form of initiation for the new teachers - bonus!). It was a relief to still have ALL DAY Monday and Tuesday to setup my classroom. It’s funny, because upon arriving in Patuanak, I had initially been under the impression that we were teaching on the Monday, so I was very relieved to learn that we didn’t teach until Wednesday.

I picked up Chester and we got into school before 8:30...met the principal for the first official time in the hallway. He seems very nice, just like everyone else! I was expecting the meeting to be at 8:30 but I heard over the intercom that it was moved to 10am. That was fine by me - it meant I could start getting setup. Soon after, we heard that the meeting was moved to 1pm. Okay - so I now had ALL morning to setup. I thought that seemed like a lot of time...but wow, it takes a long time to figure out a classroom. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank SO MANY OF YOU who blessed me with financial gifts or supplies/resources for my classroom - THANK YOU! I feel so fortunate, because this year the supplies to the school were delivered about a week late, so your gifts were extremely valuable to me and to my students.

I could hear the kindergarten teacher across the hall, laughing about something, so I went to check it out and GET THIS: she had come across miniature cowboys and indians! HILARIOUS. We went into the Grade 1 room to show the teacher there - she is married to a man from Patuanak, so they had a fun time plaing with the small figurines (see picture) - these two are SO sweet and helpful - I’ve decided that they are my Saskatchewan version of Uncle Bern and Aunt Janine. (Also, incase any of you are concerned about privacy/confidentiality: I did ask their permission to upload this picture onto my blog!)

I went to use the photocopier for my first time and it felt so funny - they have it setup to require a password to access the photocopier - I felt so...professional? Anyway - I actually managed to photocopy for the first time without asking anyone for help and without messing anything up. What a miracle!

So strange to be writing
"Miss H" in my books...

Throughout the morning, the Grade 1 teacher kept giving me sweet tips...for example, she taught me a magical trick for getting permanent marker off of whiteboards/plastic...I didn’t even have to ask, and she showed me the most strategic way to put paper up as a bulletin board background! People kept coming into my room and checking on me, it was very nice. I drove home at lunchtime to grab some clothes from fishing, we learned that we would be heading out to the boats right after work that day. I got to my house and there were kids playing across the road... “Hey Mrs. H!”
I like hearing that. So cool but also SO weird.

I got back to the school after lunch and we had our 1pm meeting. The principal randomly suggested that we have a potluck and staff volleyball game the next evening (YA, exactly...the one before school starts!). Sure, this sounded like fun and I could really use a good meal...but this was a scary concept in the mind of a procrastinator!
We were handed some financial paperwork stuff and rushed to finish completing it before heading out on the river. It was a stressful time - but I think it’s all figured out and I should be able to get paid now...Sometimes I forget that I am getting paid - but I suppose this is my job now!

We got down to the river and there were two “skiffs” sitting there with the guides patiently waiting beside them. A skiff is just a wooden motorboat, from what I can tell...but apparently I’m supposed to call it a skiff instead of a boat. I was in a skiff with two other female staff; they came because they hadn’t been out on a river tour yet either. It was a BEAUTIFUL day and the river was amazing. I felt so blessed to have been given this opportunity. How many other first year teachers do you know that are exposed to so many rich cultural welcoming experiences?! Ah, it was SO BEAUTIFUL. The two ladies in the boat with me are very sweet and they make me feel very comfortable here - both so helpful and encouraging. We had fun boating through the rapids (CRAZY AWESOME THRILL!)...saw a lot of pelicans, some eagle nests...I probably took over 300 pictures! Unfortunately, the pictures don't allow you to see how intense the rapids really were - so, you'll just have to trust me on this one! ;)

We stopped for a rest near a little waterfall and I picked some wild blueberries. One of the other female staff was informing us all about plants used for medical purposes (someone in her family is a medicine woman) - it was really neat! I learned a little bit of history - about the portage trail built by a priest back in the day, when he was responsible for visiting all of the neighbouring people who used to live along the river, before everyone was concentrated in one town. I also learned on this trip that St. Louis school is a safe place for me to use the name of God! I can say "praise the Lord" in my classroom without losing my job - AWESOME! I was overwhelmed with joy - it seems very normal to the rest of the teachers here...but I am completely shocked. It's not a Catholic school - but my faith is not a problem here. Imagine that! As if the boat tour hadn't already made my day - learning this was year-changing for me!

On the way back to shore, the sun was starting to set and the water seemed more calm...this passage floated into my mind...“He leads me beside still waters, he restores my soul...” I FELT SO REFRESHED. It was a very peaceful experience and I felt like napping when I got back! I decided to head back to the school to get a little more organized in my classroom, I wasn’t quite satisfied with the amount of work I had accomplished that morning. 

I was feeling exhausted, my head was so full of new information. I got home and finally did some laundry...the washing machine seems to work well! The dryer? Not so much. Perhaps I was trying to dry too many things at once...I also hung some to dry and that’s always effective!

I drifted off to sleep, the night before my last day of prepping.

Orientation & First Weekend

Day 8: Friday August 17, 2012

Sarah & Josh Fessl’s Wedding Day!

After a good Thursday, I had somewhat high expectations for the things to come on Friday. We had orientation at the school, starting at 8:30, and I was a little bit nervous...but we arrived and had a SUPER delicious breakfast - crepes, bacon, eggs, hashbrowns and so much more. I'm learning VERY quickly that they eat A LOT and they eat well around here! A lot of staff that I hadn’t met yet were introducing themselves and everyone was just very casual and friendly. Another huge and unexpected blessing: they say grace before every meal/meeting (apparently) - so an elder said grace in DENE (their language) - I had NO clue what he was praying, but it was so beautiful, I almost cried. After breakfast in the home ec. room, we headed to an english classroom and I received my school set of keys! That was pretty cool. Orientation started off with some introductions of the staff, new teachers, Chief and council (they each had a little speech), we were given our manuals and a bunch of important information. 

I found out that we have a ‘roadtrip’ to Meadow Lake in a couple of weeks for some orientation meetings. I guess we’ll be staying there overnight and I’m bunking with a teacher who’s getting married at the end of the month! She’s the volleyball coach and I’m likely going to help her out with the teams this year. We were supposed to head to the office to discuss sleeping arrangements, I got there a bit after most of the others and the VP told me “Sorry Marsena, you weren’t here right away so we’ve put you with 3 male teachers.” HAH. Ya right. I’m not picky about who I stay with, but it will NOT be dude staff!

After the more formal portion of the meeting, last year’s Grade 2 teacher gave me a bunch of files, plans and showed me the helpful set of math books, etc. It was reassuring to be able to talk with someone who went through basically the same thing last year. It was his first year of teaching, too. It was really nice of him and eased my mind A LOT, but I still have a lot of planning and figuring out to do..

We finished up at the school early afternoon and we went back to the beach with our plates for supper! Chester, Mr. B and I were hanging out with the kids on the beach, it was such a sweet time. I was chatting with some girls and teaching them a couple of words in french as one girl braided my hair. During our meal, two nice elders welcomed us and told us some neat stories. 

That night, I was settled in my home, on the phone with Jord and Mom, when I hear a knock at my door around 9:30. It’s getting to the point when I can tell when students are at my door - they have a small knock and it’s fairly evident. This knock was different. I was a little bit nervous, but I opened the door to two friendly RCMP officers. It caught me off guard, but they clearly aren’t threatening in anyway! They apparently had seen my Ontario license plate (and likely heard that a new teacher moved in) and I think they just wanted to meet me and say hello? They were posted here and one has been here for about a year, the other only two months. Neither of them are from Saskatchewan and one has a girlfriend that I should apparently be friends with! It was nice to get a warm welcome from them, but also a little strange. They assured me it’s a fairly safe neighbourhood and a couple of the RCMP guys live right across the road, so that was also comforting to know. They still lock their door at night and suggested I do the same (I already was). I basically kicked them out though, since I was still on the phone with my family and they were really just small-talking, they didn’t have a huge purpose in coming over. I was happy that happened!

It seems that the teachers often carpool into town to get groceries and to spend time together. I’m looking forward to learning more about this community as time goes on. 

Day 9: Saturday August 18, 2012

Okay. This is ODD for me - in fact, I can't think of another time when I experienced this - but I'm fairly certain I had NO face to face human contact on this day! It was nice though. It was my first Saturday in Patuanak and I didn't feel the need to be with people. I slept in and was happy to do so (I don't think I slept past 10)...It was a VERY hot day and I got some cleaning, unpacking and organizing done in my house. (It's changed slightly since then, but I'll attach some pictures from that time anyhow.) 

I decided to checkout the trail behind my house, I was excited to see how close the water was - but as I started to head off, my bear-fear kicked in a little bit, so I grabbed some RAID bug spray...I'm sure that it wouldn't have actually saved my life, but in theory - I was armed and ready to go. I am actually VERY close to water, and I walked down a cute little trail, reminding me a lot of my childhood...there was a cute red boat down at the water's edge and I could look out at the Churchill river and see pelicans and, well..BEAUTY! I didn't end up reading down there (bear-fear still in place), but I ate a few blueberries (bear bait, I know...duh), took a few pictures (embarrassing self-taken photos of course) and then I headed back home and read on my porch for awhile. 

I don't think that I 
accomplished anything for 
school on this day, but it 
was nice to relax and 
enjoy my new home.

Day  10:  Sunday August 19, 2012

Hmm, so much for church! I was really looking forward to going and meeting with other believers...I woke up pretty early, had a lovely Skype date with Maura (IN FINLAND!), got all ready and walked there (beautiful day by the way) ... and nobody was around...went into this rustic old cobwebby building (or, I opened the door) and realized it hadn't been opened in ages....so then I looked over and saw this other building that's partially open, but covered with a  roof...and looked in and there are several pews, and all the Catholic 'decor' setup...so I figured that was it...went in and nobody was there! It was nearing 10:30 so I began to assume everyone was doing church at the beach - would have been neat to have gone to that, but I was walking and wasn't going to walk home to get my vehicle and show up late...next weekend hopefully! 

the trail to school

Instead, I decided it'd be a nice time and opportunity to tour the town...so I walked to the school and learned I'm just a comfortable 15 minute walk from the school, and between 5 and 10 minutes away from the church & the Northern Store! awesome!

After getting home from my little walk, I finally felt TIRED, so I napped, read the ERFN Personnel management manual, and planned/organized for a little while that afternoon!

Later that evening, I went to Chester’s to cook supper for us! I didn't have a working stove, and he hadn't cooked very much before this, so it worked out quite nicely. 

I guess that's it for my first weekend in the Patch!

Thankful for all of the loving comments and so much encouragement from my home peeps!

7 is my Favourite for a Reason: EXCITING day!

Day 7: Thursday August 16, 2012

Thursday morning. I woke up a happy girl! I felt a little out of place (which I am) but I had a WONDERFUL sleep in my comfy, new bed. I made my first coffee in Patuanak and had my first shower...still missing a shower curtain, so that was a little odd. I decided it would be best to just stay home and get some things done in the morning while I wait on the Sasktel people to show up, rather than going to the school and having to rush back. I had a lot of cleaning I still wanted to get done and I wasn’t even close to being unpacked or settled. I went outside to scrub a garbage can and the neighbours waved - everyone seems very friendly so far! Clifford and Peter the electricians came by and did something to my breaker - causing my kitchen lights and outlets in the bathroom to work - SWEET deal. They were very kind and asked me about being a new teacher, moving here, etc. I felt like some sort of celebrity or something...very strange feeling. In the midst of my cleaning, at around 10:40 in the morning, I spotted the SASK-TEL truck outside my window 

highlight of my week

- SO EXCITING. I went outside and noticed he was parked on the other side of the road. I decided it wouldn’t hurt to approach him...so I asked if he was looking for house number 311 (my house isn’t properly marked, so I put a piece of paper on my window with my number written on it). He said, “are you Miss Henderson?” Apparenly he’d been to the school and dropped off my self-install kit there. I verified to make sure that was all I needed and he assured me that he’d hooked up the cables (or whatever’s required to get me connected!) - so I went in and got ready for school. I was tempted to just head into school, pick up the Sask-Tel kit and head home to set it up - but I figured I might as well make it a productive day in the classroom.

The students who visit me had made a comment about my hair the night before...they asked why I always wore a bandana and they asked if I’d ever wear it down. So, in their honour - I actually took the time to straighten my hair...so easily influenced eh? (Not really - but they did remind me that I hadn’t been taking very good care of myself upon moving here.) I expect that I will have to put some degree of effort into my appearance, being a professional teacher and all...so I like to throw my hair back in a bandana when I can! The girls are so funny. I packed my first lunch and headed to the school.

You might have a hard time believing this - especially my family - but, it was a PRODUCTIVE MORNING! I felt good having cleaning done, electricity figured out and Sask-Tel almost hooked up!

I stopped in at the Northern store for my first time on the way to school and met one of my neighbours. I hadn’t seen him before but he informed me that we live near one another. His comment was... “you’re a long way from home...are you from Toronto?” A nice lady working in the store came over and greeted me, she was very helpful and I purchased a few extra lightbulbs for the house.

Teacher Desk: this was SURREAL.

As soon as I got into the school, the secretary gave me my self-install kit for Sask-Tel and Al asked how I was doing. I told him that I was having the BEST day (it felt very different from my first full day) - he handed me my contract and I actually read the whole thing - eeks! He asked if “mommy had made it back safely”. 

Setting up my first classroom was SCARY but awesome. So overwhelming because there were a lot of resources and supplies already in the cupboards and drawers. It was like opening gifts - I kept finding things that I don’t have of my own yet and I was feeling very blessed...and overwhelmed. What to do with all this STUFF?! I turned on the music and started with one thing at a time. I knew that I wanted my teacher desk to be in the back corner and close to a window, preferably - so that was easy! The rest seemed to fall into place after that. I was hoping I’d have a carpet for circle time and reading....sure enough - I see a brightly coloured carpet....separated into squares so each student can sit on their own square...and inside of the squares, there are geometric shapes!
* I’d just like to insert an APOLOGY - if you’re finding these blog entries LONG - it’s because they are! I have some family/friends who want to read EVERYTHING - and for the rest of you faithful readers, I’m sorry for the mundane details...feel free to skip over as much as you’d like to!*

I received not only my contract, but my class list on this day and I was talking to the secretary and checking to see exactly how many kids I have....because I was told 15, but there are 14 desks....sure enough, I have 14 precious little children in my class this year. I took a picture of the list so I can start to write their names out and start to get familiar with the spelling. I want to faithfully pray for them this year - can you help me with that? The secretary learned that it is my first year of teaching and her comment was, “oh, you’ll have fun here...especially in the wintertime!” :) I can’t tell if she was being sarcastic or serious??

There are currently 2 other first-timers in Patuanak. One is a brand new teacher like myself, and the other has had some teaching experience on a reserve in Quebec. They are both very nice and it helps to have co-workers who are experiencing many things for the first time, too. I was able to talk with a couple of them about the Saskatchewan certification process. A shout-out to my University roomie Hillary - thanks for getting me going on all of that stuff! I got the call today (Tuesday) that it’s all finished up and they’re sending the paperwork. While chatting with the secretary (who has a sweet and contagious laugh), I noticed the Lord’s prayer by her desk - turns out - they read it EVERYDAY over the Intercom! WOW, I was unbelievably shocked and excited to learn this! Another sidenote: I learned that this IS in fact a dry reserve - I didn’t know that before coming here! Oh - I just remembered, there were SO many exciting things that happened in the office this day - the sweet lady who was one of the interviewers came bouncing into the office and gave me a hug when she met me for the first official time. She’s wonderful and I know that I’m really going to appreciate having her around this year.

I zipped home after a somewhat productive afternoon and I self-installed my phone/internet! I managed to figure out plugging the phone into the jack...and from there, I was able to call Sask-Tel and have them walk me through the internet part. :) Ah, it was so nice to pickup my blue receiver and hear a voice on the other end!

Throughout the day, people kept referring to the “family conference” / cultural activities at the beach. The secretary suggested I head over for supper at 5pm, we just had to bring our plates. This seemed like a great deal! I was feeling a bit sleepy and tempted to just hibernate at home again - but I was also anxious to meet people and get some exposure to the beautiful new culture that is here. I asked Chester if he’d like to go and he seemed interested, so I packed our plates and picked him up - we were off to the beach! As soon as I got there, a small girl looked at me and said “hello! I’m wearing Justin Bieber perfume!” I quickly learned that she is another one of my students. I turned around as she walked away with her friend and I heard one say “she’s our teacher” and the other clapped - it was such a cute thing to witness. I hope they’re as happy about that fact when I actually start teaching them...

that there is MOOSE!

We walked by the beautiful beach and toward all the people - playing games and cooking food. We met a few elders and saw some hunks of moose meat being cooked over an open fire. “Go ahead” someone instructed, “grab your meet, throw it on the grill and there’s your supper!” I believed her and considered doing it for half a second, but I think she was really just messing with us. They were cooking ribs, rice and bannock for us to have for supper. The moose being cooked was the catch of the day. At one point, I wondered if someone had tricked us since we didn’t see anyone else walking around with plates - wow, we must have been quite a sight...the two new non-native teachers, walking around awestruck, taking pictures and carrying their beggar plates! The VP and secretary worked hard at introducing us to several community members, including the Chief, and an elder lady who is ONE HUNDRED years old! I didn’t even have to ask - the secretary assumed that I’d want a picture, so I have included the image under this paragraph. What a sweet and beautiful lady...they call her “Grandma BB”!

Grandma BB!

On the way into my house, I noticed that my neighbours were out on their porch and I hadn’t formally introduced myself yet, so I walked over and met them - such a sweet couple...they attend the church here and I discovered this when they asked for my name - the man of the house asked where it was from, and I explained that it’s the name of a prince in the Bible. He said... “I’ve read it three times and never come across that name before!” It was fun to chat with them...they teased me about marrying a native and having some treaty babies up here. 

I got home and was able to check my phone messages (SO EXCITING) - and my first voicemails were from my Daddy...thanks for that Dad! I’m sorry I wasn’t able to answer the phone in the first place, but it was SO good to hear his voice on there. My neighbourhood visitor came over again and tried to convince me that school would start on Monday...we debated for a short time but I eventually gave up.

Wow. This was a long entry. But this was a GOOD day! I knew that 7 was my favourite number for a reason. 

This is posted in the office :)

a cute & common critter to see on the roads of Patuanak