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