Monday in Kwethluk

New friends in Kwethluk

On our second day we woke up in the library around 7:45 am and noticed it was still dark outside.  Every school day the entire school eats breakfast and lunch together in the gym.  We enjoyed yummy grits and pilot bread with peanut butter for breakfast.

We joined our Sister School class next. They are in sixth grade here because they do an extra year just for Yupik but they are our same age.  We played get to know you games like Do you Love Your Neighbor and Four on the Couch.  We learned a lot about each other like what they do for fun (basketball, wrestling) and many of them have lots of cousins in the school.  We also learned we all have a lot in common with one another.

Impromptu Yupik dancing in the 5th grade classroom.

Announcing the Yupik word for bacon.

 After playing math games we visited a 5th grade classroom to talk about Juneau.  At first they were really shy, but after we showed them postcards of Juneau and answered questions about our lives, they opened up to us.  By the end of the visit they were dancing and singing in Yupik and showed us how to count up to 40.  They also looked up the Yupik word for bacon so we could teach Mr. Mercer when we get home.

In the afternoon we went with the 6th grade class for their one hour of gym this entire week.  They taught us a game called Yupik baseball where you have to sneakily grab bowling pins.  Its kind of like capture the flag.

After gym we joined the high school students for their amazing Yupik dance class. The boys sit on mats in the front and the girls stand behind them.  Three village men played the drums and everyone was singing and dancing.  The Yupik dances represent different aspects of Yupik culture like seal hunting, teasing/flirting and walking through deep snow.

Then we chilled in the library and played games with the Kwethluk kids. Good news! Kyong's missing luggage was found in Fairbanks.  So far it has travelled further around Alaska than we have. It should be in today or the next.

After a yummy dinner of tacos we stared making our wonderful kuspuks. A few teachers are helping us with the big project. We learned about the history of the kuspuks.  They used to be worn over fur jackets to provide more warmth.  There are two techniques to make a kuspuk.  One is by following a pattern but that is more modern.  The second is the ripping method which has been passed on for many generations.

The kuspuks used to represent which family people were from, kind of like the Chilkat blankets.  Franklin's kuspuk is a football pattern. Zeke has a green tree/shrub pattern. Mine is pink butterflies. Kyong and Kristen have purple animal print. Me and Ms. G made videos and picked awesome pictures to show you.
More later,
Jillian