Yargh

Ever had one of those days where you just CAN'T deal with everything? Work just totally overwhelmed me today. To add to my normal duties, I had to finish making the plans for our cross country team's trip to Bethel this Friday for our first (and second-to-last) meet. Planning a sports trip here is somewhat of a big deal: charter a plane, get permission for each kid, figure out what grade each kid is in (our school doesn't use traditional grades, but we still have to use them for labeling purposes... which is a royal pain in my white ass. Add to that the fact that my "regular duties" are not entirely clear... there are only two new ELD (English Language Development) teachers in the district, including myself. I think the more experienced staff forget that things that they know from last year are not necessarily obvious to a yahoo from Minnesconsin.

I'm in a very introspective mood this evening. Our teacher-mentor visited our school today, and we invited her over for dinner. She's working through some partnership with UAF... or is it UAA (U of AK Fairbanks or U of AK Anchorage)... but anyway, a partnership with one of those universities and the state of Alaska to increase first-year teacher retention rates. She was pretty much just here to get to know us, but she asked my why I came to Alaska. I told her the whole "Well, I was at this job fair..." story and she listened and then said, "Sure, but why did you come to Alaska?"

That is a damn good question.

Don't get me wrong. I don't regret my decision in the least. There are a few things I wish would have gone a little more smoothly, and there are definitely people I wish I could transplant to Quinhagak to hang out with me. But all in all, I think I made a good decision. It bugs me, though, that I can't put a finger on the why of it all. Or does it really not matter? I'm here, I'm happy. Things feel normal already.