NYO

Wow.  I had an amazing week last week.  Our Elementary (and Middle School) NYO Team finally got to travel to Alakanuk on Wednesday until Saturday to compete in the Native Youth Olympics.  They did AWESOME!  We came in 1st place for best banner, 3rd place for Knowledge Bowl, and 3rd place for Live Performance.  We had 22 1st place finishes, 15 2nd place finishes, and 11 3rd place finishes. The team took 1st place in Best Banner (and we got a trophy!), 3rd place in Knowledge Bowl (with trophy), and 3rd Place in Live Performance (and a trophy again!).

They still owe us 7 ribbons and a medal:)

We spent 3 nights, and 4 days with the kids in a strange village.  Some of the students had never traveled without their parents before, so they were very homesick.  A few tears were shed, but we made it through it.

On our way home on Saturday, we were supposed to be on the first flight home (which was dumb because total time in the air is less than 5 minutes...it's 8 miles away from our village).  However, we got our kids up, got them packed, FINALLY found all their stuff, and the office informed us that we were on weather hold from St. Mary's.  So we decided to change to the airline that's out of Emmonak.  However, by the time we got everything sorted out with that airline, they went on weather hold, too.  Urgh!  So, for the next 45 minutes Laura (the other coach) and I (and Joel, the boys' chaperone) were calling every parent of the 20 kids we had and making arrangements to get the 22 of us home by snow machine.

Joel, our other chaperone.

The river is basically like the highway up here.  In the summer, they go by boat to get from village to village.  In the winter, it's frozen, and we ride on snow machines (snow mobiles).  So, we were able to go the 20 minute ride by snow machines.  We had to wait for each parent or volunteer to come at different times, so I was the last to get home, at about 4:00pm.  I was supposed to be home at 10:20am.  :)  I love the Bush!

One of my kids drove

In my sled

The best part is that we didn't have to take snow machines for everyone-they have sleds that they put on the back of the snow machines.  Okay, I thought the little plastic ones were the ones they had pulled behind the snow machines.  Not so much.  The Eskimos build them (they are the same kind as the dog sled kind), and they're usually built out of wood.  They are big enough to hold at least 5 people and they are attached to the snow machine.  Yes, this is what I rode home in for 25 minutes, back to Emmonak.  Davis and I talked and had fun going over what happened all week long. 

A homemade sled we rode home in.