Hooper Bay Stay

Well, my stay in Hooper Bay is over now, but I figure I should fill you all in.  Really, it wasn't that much different than Chevak except that we had a lot more kids and ran a lot more program so it was more work filled than fun filled (except that my work usually is fun), which means less pictures and stories that I can actually share, but here is what I've got for you:

Hooper Bay is an interesting village in that approximately 70% of the population is under the age of 25.  That's right- nearly everyone is my age or younger. We had heard some things too about this village being a little 'rougher' than others... made us a little nervous at first, but these kids really appreciated us being there.  I mean, I was greated on the streets by hugs from kids I hadn't ever met.  Just walking to the post office on my first day I got at least five hugs from little ones.  They love that we are there for them and are so excited to meet someone new that they just hug you.  So cute.  Not to mention that EVERYONE you see waves, says hi, or, at the least gives you a head nod as they drive by on their Honda (4 wheeler).

One of the common things said about the villages in the YK Delta is that they are 'trashy'.  Well, yes, they kind of are-- its incredibly expensive to ship goods in and they are already fairly poor so there is no way they are going to ship garbage out of these places, so unfortunately, it all hangs around.  But no one out here seems to really mind.  It's just how it is.  Anyways,  during my time off, I did try to explore a bit (not that there are many places to go, but I try to see what there is to see).

 Early in the week I went on a run to check out the other side of the village- this one is pretty spread out.  This is what I found- the village dump. Yuck.  And the smoke?  They burn all their trash which made me want to hold my breath for the rest of the week.  Definitely not my most exciting find, but interesting nonetheless.

 One of the better things I found exploring- the beach!  It was at least a couple miles from the school, but totally worth the time and energy it took to get there.  Because it was early (1030am--everyone stays up late and sleeps in in the villages it seems) I was the only one out there.  A big ol' beach on the Bering Sea all to myself...it was fabulous.

 I was told by the village truck driver that this is the first year in five years that they have had a decent supply of drift wood come in- and yes they did!  Most people take the big nice logs to their homes and stack it in a tepee shape to dry for burning in the winter.

At the beach

 A native dance fan- pretty awesome.  An elder in the village brought some dance fans and baskets to sell, and as much as I like supporting artists, I had to pass...simply a little too pricey for my current pay. However, it was awesome to see them and talk with them about it a little bit.

Tundra.

And that's about all there was to see in Hooper Bay.... 

So with my other free time, I taught myself the Peyote stitch for beading.  Teens in the villages love to bead and really appreciate it I guess it's because it's been a part of their culture for so long.  Usually I make little earrings and bracelets with the girls and they will teach me new little tricks- for example, floss is the best beading thread and instead of tying knots you melt it with a lighter....  Anyways, here was my project for the week--  turned out alright too!

Flew out of Hooper Bay to Bethel and then Anchorage for a few days off...

Sat right behind the pilot this flight- I like to watch them fly the planes

In a previous post I mentioned how I was bummed that I couldn't capture the turquoise color of the glacier water- I finally did capture the color in this lake from the airplane!