Day Court

Amy:
As I sit here staring out of Eros's dorm room window, five seagulls are fighting over a hamburger bun that one of them scavenged from the dumpsters across the parking lot. They're making quite a racket. Eros is snuggled under his blankies reading peacefully. Just wanted to give you all a visual.

So today I went on a little field trip with my class to the Fairbanks court (they're the Justice League, after all). We watched some arraignments, which included getting to see the perps on closed-circuit TV from the jail, and I must say that they all looked like your typical characters from Fox's all-time classic "COPS" (scraggly hair, stained t-shirts, going overboard with the "Yes, sir's"). All of those being arraigned really sincerely promised not to drink and drive or beat their girlfriends ever again. And they all missed their last court date because they were working. Right. Most interesting was my students' chatter before the court was in session. For being aged 13-17 they sure do have a lot of experience being wrestled by police, knowing people that are in jail, and shooting guns.

Other than that, I totally made friends with one of the cafeteria ladies, concocted a delicious sandwich for lunch from what bland provisions the cafeteria offers, and forced the students to watch "Whale Rider" tonight and was impressed with how they were transfixed by much of it and clapped at the end.

Another student and my co-clan leader. The student has been wrestled by the police before. 

This is the jury break-out room, where our Language Arts teacher is putting the smack-down on my co-RM. 

A budding attorney or is she on trial? Time will tell... 

Moose on the Loose

Check it out - moose can have the best senses of humor. The video is pretty cool.

Also, if you're interested in the Alaskan forest fires, read this one.

Amy Writes, Eros Naps

Shhh....Eros is sleeping again. I guess he deserves a nap this time since he drove the entire way from Fairbanks to Anchorage and back again in one day yesterday (about 700 miles). I couldn't drive since, while licensed, I am currently uninsured and our rental place didn't sell insurance. Oh, well.

So I've basically put our day in pictures below, rather than write an essay up here. Anchorage was a cool town, though I wish we would have had more time to hang out and do the neat-o nature stuff that's in the area. Although all of that is incredibly expensive since it's not so geared toward shoestring-budget travelers such as we are, so we couldn't have done that much anyway. You can follow our little day-off road trip below. Enjoy.

That said, I would like to ease some of your concerns about Eros's health - he has been eating a steady diet of salad, cookies, ice cream topped with breakfast cereal when they are out of sprinkles, along with whatever other surpises they offer us in our daily cafeteria-food diet. So, while he does skip breakfast, he is well-nourished and isn't wasting away like he might appear in that sleepy picture. Also, I would like to congratulate my brother on getting a job and moving out west! Yay Jake!

On the drive from Fairbanks to Anchorage - Eros looks so tiny compared with the majesty of Nature, no? This is Hurricane Gulch, which was very impressive. The haze is from the fires, but if you look closely you can see some snowy mountains in the back and a little ribbon of river waaay down below.  

Eww. This is the car after arriving in Anchorage, littered with bug corpses. Yep - that's blood. 

Ok, so this is a little scene from downtown Anchorage. They have tried, like many others, so copy Chicago's "Cows on Parade," but they have salmon on parade in the streets instead. This one pays homage not only to a ubiquitous gambling trend but also to a tasty basket of fried fish (which we later ate). 

Oh, you think this is a boring picture? Well how many of you have touched ice from a glacier? Hmm? 

Here Amy is in the flowers again. This is along a bike path right behind an icky industrial area and next to the creek, and the wild daisies were quite nice. We were taking a break from looking for salmon. 

Salmon, up Ship Creek without a paddle. No, really, it's called Ship Creek, and Eros and I couldn't get over how big the salmon were. You can walk across a dam bridge and watch them try to flop up the spillway. They were apparently tired by the time they got there because none of them made it :( 

Fat man in skin-tight waders trying to catch a salmon while talking on his cell phone. Moment of zen, people. 

For you Chicagoans - we thought of you all while sitting in the "Air Crossroads of the World". Oh - that's what Anchorage calls itself. Wow. I just noticed Chicago is farther away than Honolulu. 

Yes! Moose! 9 hours and 550 miles later we finally got to chill and spend quality time with Bullwinkle-ette at 1:00 a.m. She was very cooperative at posing as we wrestled with camera settings to actually get a photo to turn out in the lack of light and forest fire smoke-haze. Eros would honk the horn and Amy would yell, "Hey - moose!" and she'd look right at us. 

Sleep is for suckers

Short post by Eros...

It's 2:45am AK time on wednesday, I woke up at 5:45am tuesday. Amy and I have been up for 21 hours. Today was our day off so we decided to rent a car and drive to Anchorage. It took 6.5 hours to get there, we spent 5 hours there, and it took us 5.5 hours to get back. No sleep, but we saw some MOOSE!!! Pictures to follow once I sleep.

Smoke and Drama

Sorry if there are a lot of typos in this one, but Eros turned off the lights to go to sleep and I'm typing in the dark. Well, it doesn't really get dark here but the shades are down so close enough.

Anyway, Our Sunday was event-packed and fun. Eros and I took about 10 kids to see the finish line of the Yukon 800. What? You haven't heard of it? You weren't following the stats and placing your bets online? Geez.

Ok, so it's like the Indy 500, but you make your own racing boat with a stock outboard motor, aluminum sheeting, and plywood, and then you and three other dudes race it at speeds topping 75 mph 400 miles up the Yukon River and then back down to Fairbanks (or maybe it's down the river and back up to Fairbanks - whatever). So we had a little picnic on the river with out 15 kids and watched the big finisher, who has actually spoken to our group so we're totally tight with the guy, and then after that the students managed to get two Baci balls, a football, and a frisbee tossed into the river while waiting for second place. McGyver-style methods were used to procure the submerged items.

After that we went to Chena Lake and buried our students in the sand. See pix below. Then one of them lost his glasses and ruined everything.

Just kidding. He was blind, but pretty cool about it. He has a better excuse to do poorly in his classes now.

Today was a brilliant, clear morning, so Eros decided to go on a field trip to the Upper Chena River with the Wildlife Biology class, where they put on their hip waders and fished around for little river creatures. He learned a lot about what a good-lookin' river looks like, which I'm sure he'll share at a later date.

Right after he left and I went to sit outside in the fair Alaskan sun and bake like a cut sockeye salmon, a haze drifted in. Panic has ensued among the students, for fire season is upon us. Fairbanks is in a valley of sorts, and there are apparently some decent-sized fires going on up north. Last year the fires were so bad that the students had to wear masks all the time and were generally miserable for a few weeks, so now they've started getting freaked out and it doesn't even smell like fire yet.

In student drama news, the two kids that were caught in the room together on Saturday that caused all kinds of mayhem are being sent home tomorrow. Sad face :(

Theft report: some punk stole a bunch of stuff from another kid's room, so now they're all on lock-down until the guilty party gives up the contraband. That spells b-o-r-i-n-g for us and them. Eros and I both gave stern speeches to our floors, and we both enjoyed it immensely.

Tomorrow's our day off , so we're going to try to rent a car and drive to Anchorage. We don't know what's there, but for me it's mainly to find some big-ass vegetables and maybe see a moose along the way. I swear I'm not leaving the state until I get pictures of both.

The first place winner of the Yukon 800 race - they make the boats themselves and ride them 800 miles on a big river, going about 70 mph. Would you trust your homemade boat? 

The 2nd place winner coming into the finish, and one of his fans giving a congratulatory fist-shake. Yeah! 

Later in the day we went to Chena Lake, and we interred some students in the sand. Here they are, pre-burial. 

Now here they are, post-burial. 

A couple of girls fish for invertebrates in their hip-waders. Aren't they cute? 

Eros's students stole his camera a took a picture of the tired old man on the bus ride home.  

Today (Monday) Eros went on a field trip with his Wildlife Biology class. They went to a river to learn what a healthy one looks like. We in the lower 48 have no concept of this, and as he learned Alaska is a model for healthy rivers.  

Those gyrating, lying, puking youngsters.

Eros's long day (friday)...

My day started at 5:45am to a banging on my door. One of my students, let's call him Jonas, felt nauseous. They had mid-terms on friday and I know he hadn't studied much so I just figured he was faking it to get out of the test. So I gave him some pepto and we let him sleep in the nurse's office. At around 6:45, he started throwing up, hard. He had asked to go to the hospital before, but I didn't want to go there if he was faking. But at this point, he wasn't faking. So we went over to the clinic where he puked another 6 times, twice on the way, and 4 times in the office. They figured he just had a virus and that he should take some stuff to keep him from puking and drink fluids. At this point, Jonas said that this happens to him when the weather changes and that they should just put him on an IV. But the physician's assistant (PA), who was seeing him didn't want to do that right away. So he injected him with the anti-nausea stuff, and then gave me a prescription for some suppositories because he couldn't keep anything down. Jonas didn't know what a suppository was and when I explained it to him, he wasn't too thrilled with the idea (surprise, surprise). But we were both hoping that the first dose that was injected would do the trick and that he wouldn't have to do the deed (and for a while I thought I might have to).

We got back to the dorm (he puked along the way) and he rested in his room. He tried drinking some gatorade, but everytime he did, he puked. So after he started puking blood, I decided that maybe it was time for the IV drip. So back in the shuttle bus (that's all we have, so I had to drag one person around town in this thing) to the clinic. This time we went to a different clinic that was specifically for Alaskan Natives. It's actually a pretty cool place that is named after the chief that was able to secure land from the government and take care of the Native populace. If you're interested in a little Alaskan Native history, his name is Chief Andrew Isaac. He was a pretty cool guy. One of the things I'm finding as we're up here is that I know jack squat about this group of people. Hell, I don't even know anything about the indians that were in the midwest. They were really screwed by the government. Alright, enough about that...we went to the clinic where he puked up some more blood (about 4-5 times) and they put him on an IV. They also gave us the anti-nausea drug, both rectal and oral, for him to take at night. He was a bit worried about it. We got back and he slept for about an hour and then woke up hungry and feeling pretty good. He puked twice, but after that, he started eating like a mad man and kept it down. So in the end, he didn't have to do any inserting in that area. It was still pretty scary for a while there. I don't know if any of you have seen puked up blood, it isn't pretty. It kind of looks like coffee grounds...very gross.

After that, there was a dance that we put on for the students because they just finished mid-terms. So we had to chaperone. So basically we were making sure nobody was getting too freaky with each other. Nobody got freaky with each other, but they definitely got a little freaky! I mean these girls were gyrating and pulsing...I felt old because I just kept thinking that no daughter of mine is ever leaving the house without her bodyguard. I guess for now I can just be glad that I don't have any daugters.

After the dance, there was some more fun...after we called lights out we discovered that one of the boys was missing. We all saw him come in the building so we knew he had to be here. He's dating one of the girls so I immedietly went to her room, went inside and asked where he was. She said that she didn't know. Then I check the room and didn't see him. So all 12 RM's searched everyone's room, all the bathrooms, hallways, kitchens, everything. In the end, he was in his girlfriend's room. He wasn't found until the 3rd time it was checked. He was in a corner under some blankets. So that was bad news because after he got a talking to by our boss, he came out crying. We don't know what's happening yet, but it won't be good. It's all fun up here folks, let me tell you. I'm especially pissed off because I trusted his girlfriend. She's in my clan and I didn't think she'd lie to me like that. I guess I gave the teenagers too much credit and they're all just lying, cheating, brats. Is that right all the parents out there? I mean there are good times where we talk and they're funny and I think we're on the same level, but in the end, I'm just a old guy who can be decieved. I always thought I was smarter than that...I'm sure I'll learn some day.

So now my day ends, at 1:19am...I'm going to sleep.

Amy now:
Eros about covered it. But now I have to go to bed without brushing my teeth because one of my students comes up to me and says, "Amy, did some girl commit suicide in our bathroom? Every time I use the paper towels, I see her behind me in the reflection, and sometimes I see her when I come out of the stalls. Karen sees her too." She was very nonchalant about it, and now I don't want to go into the bathroom alone at night :(

Oh, and the skanks that were gyrating (for the most part) weren't even students. They were staff members for the other camp, and it wasn't pretty.

Update on the happy couple that was found lying: they're not getting kicked out of the program, which is good because I like them, even though they're dirty liars.

Sun, Fun, Tests and Yoga

Amy's highlight of the day:
Watching 12 students try their hand at a yoga class. Especially since three boys showed up, who schooled all the girls, who were rolling around giggling in the back. Once they composed themselves, they were great. Honorable mention highlight: Seeing students outside practicing their salsa steps.

Aside from that, your tax dollars paid for me to get a good amount of sun today, so my tan is coming along nicely. No, really. We have downtime during the day for a few hours while everyone is in class, but our afternoons and nights are hardcore until 11 or 12. So don't go and write your senators or start an online petition or anything to cut the program. Oh, wait. Our President already did that.

Midterms are upon us, and half of the kids are cool with that, a quarter are scrambling to cram as much as possible, and a quarter either gave up or don't care. Tomorrow they will be rewarded with a dance along with two other similar programs that are on campus. They are not allowed to dress like skanks, grind, or make out. Me, Eros and the other staff are there to enforce these rules and laugh at them. Sweet.

The Rubber Ducky

Since we failed to explain the relevance of the giant rubber ducky, let me explain...

Here in Fairbanks there is a rubber ducky race down the Chena River (runs right through town). They let hundreds of little rubber duckys with numbers on them float down the river and people bet on them (yes, just like horses). The winner gets $10,000. They taking bets at the festival so that is why there were two giant ducks.

It's all about the darkness from here on out.

What? You didn't know that yesterday was the summer solstice? There wasn't a festival down there in the lower 48? Ha. You people are missing out. Lucky for me and Eros, our day off happened to be on this most blessed of days. After a very long and slightly traumatizing week (for me, anyway), it was fabulous to have a day to ourselves again. We stole some bikes from the program and rode around town, rummaged through an antique store, saw Mr. & Mrs. Smith (Eros liked it, I thought it a bit lame), showered, and started the midnight sun festivities. Fairbanks has a big festival that goes until midnight, right in the downtown area on the Chena River.

Following is what we ate:
Halibut Thai eggrolls
Locally-made ice cream
Reindeer crepes
Cotton candy
Sugar corn
Lemonade
Bolivian empanadas

I find it neat that some enterprising immigrants have Alaska-ized their native foods. Some locals didn't take to this well, however. We overheard some people looking at the Bolivian's empanada trailer say, "What's that? If I can't pronounce it, I ain't gonna eat it." Clap it out: em-pan-a-da. Geez. It's not like it's Yupik or something. (If you can tell me what that is you get a prize).

So we gorged on food, walked around stuffing our faces like big fat slobs, and people-watched. The bellydancers (pictured below) were fabulous and a definite favorite. All in all, it was very pleasant. Crowds here are apparently well-mannered. I didn't have the urge to trip, smack, or make faces at anyone behind their back. Rare.

So after that we walked to the Midnight Sun baseball game between the Fairbanks Goldpanners and the Omaha Strike Zone (yeah, yeah - that's their team name. We heard enough heckling at the park by a big Comicbook Store Guy in front of us). The game started at 10:30 and the park was packed. We found a teensy spot of grass behind some old people and staked our claim (pun totally intended - get it? They're the Goldpanners?). It was quite fun, aside from the old guy getting nailed by a foul ball and bleeding everywhere (also pictured below). Since I like lists, I will now list the top 5 reasons why a Fairbanks Goldpanners game is MUCH cooler than a Chicago Cubs game:
1) The people there actually know that they're at a baseball game rather than a frat-party
2) The bathrooms are porto-Johns and are still more sanitary than the Wrigley flushables
3) I didn't see one person on a cellphone
4) No trixies
5) The beers are $2 - $2!!!

So that was the solstice. It would be nice if it were that cool everywhere.

This evening we had clan night, and my group got a salsa lesson and made a generic version of fried ice cream, and Eros's group saw the fine film "The Longest Yard", which he is glad that he did not have to pay money for. Thank you for your tax donation to pay for this outing - Adam Sandler, Chris Rock, and Burt Reynolds appreciate it.

The crowd at the solstice fest. While it was just as packed as the Taste of Chicago, I have to admit that people were a lot more polite. Granted, there was no beer. 

Eros enjoying some hard-earned cotton candy. Seriously, he whined about it for like an hour but the wait was so worth it. Just look at that face. 

Fairbanks is the belly-dancing capital of the Arctic Circle. It's where many a retired bellydancer goes to live out their golden years. We had to admit that they were quite...captivating. 

Pretty self-explanatory. Amy forced Eros to stand next to the gigantic rubber duckie. 

Oh, the midnight sun. How we worship thee during America's favorite pasttime. 

Some old dude took a foul ball straight to the nose. Eros's first instict is to photograph this, rather than to help the old man. He was later taken away by medics, but he was given the ball that nailed him as a souvenier.