Taking On Challenges

I wasn't sure whether to title this blog "Taking On Challenges" or "Facing Your Fears"... but, both seem fitting.

As I sit here in my little Chevak apartment, jamming out to music... I am just being in the moment. It dawned on me that I have faced a few challenges this year, that involved facing some fears. It is SUCH a good feeling to look back and see that I have not settled for stagnation, which is what it felt like at times.

In February I presented for my fourth time at an early childhood conference. For the past two years, I spoke on the same topic using the same slides. This year, I felt challenged to step out of my comfort zone and switch it up a little. It was scary. It caused some anxiety. But, it was AWESOME! I had such a wonderful group and received some great feedback... I walked away being so thankful that I chose to take the risk!

This year I was also approached by an acquaintance to host an artist here in our school for a couple of weeks. I was delighted and thrilled to think that our kiddos could have a visitor and an extra-curricular activity different from what they are familiar with. However, this required grant writing... a new territory for me. As I went through the steps, I was nervous and there were a few hurdles...  at times I wanted to let it go and say, "Maybe next year." But, I didn't. We had a wonderful artist who was patient and so helpful... and, in the end, our kids got to experience some new and fun art in the classroom. I still have some post-paperwork to complete, but am so glad that I didn't give up.

And, most recently... I have completed my grad school project. I am so silly when I think about it. You see, I always deem myself as very tech-illiterate (I know, funny seeing as I am a blogger). For my grad project, rather than writing a thesis, I chose to create a video project. This was ALL about technology! Lol. In my proposal, I wrote about the possible technical difficulties I might encounter with my project and I was dreading this aspect... I could have changed my mind and gone with a paper (and, I almost did!), but I pushed through. I knew what my passion and vision were, and I tried to take it one step at a time. I still have a few steps left before I can say that I am finish with grad school, but I can CLEARLY see the finish line from here!

As it turns out, I took a leap in my love life, as well. I have a really great guy in my life who I get to love and who loves me a whole lot in return. I remember reading a quote that talked about how if you don't let go and put your whole heart into it, you just might miss out on something amazing. Well, I have decided that this love thing is well worth the risks. It might cause some hurts, you might only be with someone for a season, or you might find your life partner. In any case,  as the old adage goes, "It is better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all." I love loving and I love being loved. Super thankful that I have taken this risk...

I have such a sense of relief. And, I am taking this moment to just be in the moment. I am thankful.

Cheers to taking risks!
Misty Dawn

Happy Belated Birthday, Dr. Seuss!

"We are all a little weird and life’s a little weird, and when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall in mutual weirdness and call it love.” ~ Dr. Seuss

Travel Blog

http://tripandtravelblog.com/the-cheapest-travel-destinations-in-the-world/

Thailand. Cambodia. Philippines. Costa Rica. Belize.

I have been to two of the five listed above, and, hopefully, this summer I will be able to change that to three! I SO treasure my travels... Happy traveling, folks!

A Mother's Love

I received THE SWEETEST Valentine card in the mail today, from my mom:

"The very moment you came into my life, everything changed.

You gave me more beauty, happiness, and love than I could've ever imagined.

But what I couldn't have known is just how much you would change the world around you.

I'm so proud of you and everything you do and the lovely, intelligent woman you've become-- I love you very much. Happy Valentine's Day!"

Thank you, Mama! <3

Phi Kappa Phi Grad Gear!

I just ordered my medallion, stole, and honor cord from Phi Kappa Phi for my upcoming graduation... now, it's all becoming so much more real and so much more exciting!!! 

How Do You Say Hello?

Hello! Bonjour! Zdravstvuj! G'day! Guten tag! Hej! Zdravo! Jambo!

Bear with me, but I wanted to send a shout out to my current top viewing countries:
US, France, Russia, Australia, Germany, Sweden, Slovenia, Denmark, and Kenya!

Nearly each of these countries are on my list of places to visit... my heart gets so full just thinking about it! This summer might consist of a tropical destination, but a dream of mine is to do some volunteer work in an orphanage in Africa sometime in the next few years.

Also, Europe originally inspired my bug to travel. I took French for four years and had such an intelligent and passionate teacher... every time she spoke of her travels, it made me more certain that traveling abroad was in my future. I cannot wait to someday view the architecture and visit the museums of Europe!

Thank you for following my blog. Cross-cultural studies is my passion, and with so many countries represented in my viewers, that passion is ignited!

Find your passion and pursue it. Surround yourself with people, places, and things that make you thirsty for more and that feed your passions.

Thank You, AAEYC 2012 Participants!

Quyana, Donlin Gold!

Our morning group with their brand new dictionaries!

Excerpt taken from the Donlin Gold letter sent with the dictionaries:

"Donlin Gold is participating in The Dictionary Project (www.dictionaryproject.org), a national project to reach and provide every third grader in the United States with a dictionary. Donlin has sponsored the distribution of dictionaries to 744 third graders in the Yukon-Kuskokwim area. In the spirit of encouraging our youth to be life-long learners, Donlin Gold would like to present the 3rd grade level students at Chevak School with their own dictionary to keep. Using these dictionaries will enhance their reading and comprehension and, we hope, challenge students to seek answers from them. Donlin Gold would like this to be an annual event for years to come."

A beautiful picture of living in two worlds... she can have both! On the left is her poster of a Cup'ik Value: "Learn to do things on your own." On the right, her new dictionary! A beautiful blend!

The kids were all smiles!

Donlin Gold,

We are absolutely thankful for these treasured gifts! The students' excitement would have been worth recording! :) For now, the students are using the dictionaries during class and will be able to take them home by the end of the school year. They are having a fabulous time perusing through the "big book." They are finding our vocab words, new words, the longest word in the English dictionary, the alphabet in sign language, a year-long calendar, and so much more! Quyana cakneq for giving them another reason to love learning and love literacy. What a wonderful gift!

Warmest regards,
Miss Nelson

A Glimpse...

For my project, I have been taking photos and video footage of some of our life experiences, as teachers, here in Chevak, AK. These are a few of the shots (just from one evening):

Sometimes, you have to shovel your way out of your housing unit... 

... or shovel your way in.

During the winter, we must bring our trash to the dump by snow go (aka snowmobile aka snow machine) and sled. On this particular day, we had to sit on the trash so that it would not blow away on our drive to its final destination.

With freezing temperatures, the plumbing is not always cooperative. Here, we are mopping up the living room... we later found that there was probably a shop vac available for us to use...

In the meantime, we spread out towels, sopped up water, wrung the towels out into a bucket (aka trash can), and then threw the water out into the cold, gusting wind (hence the goggles)... and repeated. Again. And, again.
Side note/author disclaimer: There AREN'T any tanning beds here :P (lol)! 

PROJECT TIME

Well, it is crunch time... just about! I am officially enrolled in my grad school Project. This should be my last semester of grad school, as long as I work hard to meet deadlines and present my best documentation. My GAC offered the thought of blogging my project experience, and I have debated just how I would like to do so. If all else, I figured I would share with you what it is that I will be focusing on in the next couple of months.

For those of you who have been wondering, my program is Cross-Cultural Studies (with an emphasis on Alaska Native Education). For my grad project, I decided that I wanted to create an orientation video for future district applicants. The reason this came to be is because I have had a strong desire to prepare teachers as best as possible for their teaching experience here in Chevak, Alaska. Though I can provide a huge amount of information and personal experience, no one can fully understand what it means to live and teach out here until they do so (particularly if they have never taught in rural Alaska).

The goal of this project is that by having more information about our community, applicants will be somewhat more prepared as to what it would be like to live and work for our district. At the completion of this project, the administration can choose to use the video if they wish.

So  far, I am really enjoying my one-on-one time interviewing my colleagues. It is difficult to find time throughout our days, so that has been a bit of a challenge. However, I am really enjoying going through my footage and photos from over the years. It is hard to believe that next year will be my fifth year teaching in Chevak. I am hoping to capture my experiences in a productive and meaningful way, though it is important to me to be as real as possible-- not to paint a picture through rose-colored glasses. Each school year has most definitely brought challenges, along with moments that will always create a feeling of nostalgia.

The temperatures have been rather cold here lately, but we are up to two degrees fahrenheit today! While it is a little warmer, I will be conducting a bit of filming outside... brrr! :)

Please send your good juju my way as I take on this project and put it altogether for its finale. My hopes are to have it completed by March and to be able to graduate in May (prayers are appreciated)! Thank you for your support and interest. It's go big time!