The Middle of Nowhere

The Airport at New Stuyahok 

Monday, March 18

4 AM came far too early after only getting a few hours of sleep. The excitement of a plane ride, no matter the destination or length of journey is enough to keep my mind going for days before actually leaving. The plane left Fairbanks at 6, and I left my apartment with a backpack, a tightly packed sleeping bag, a neon green carry on suitcase, and a box of produce(ten pounds of carrots, two pounds of mandarin oranges, and a bag of apples). The overall plane ticket, which cost around 1000 dollars was covered by the university, as well as 100 dollars to spend on food to either take with or purchase in New Stuyahok.

Just North of Dillingham

A few things about the flights:

-You can't read much on a 1 hour flight when it's a digital format.

-Small planes are loud.

-Anchorage is gorgeous from above.

-Alaska is very big.

-You are very small.


I spent a total of about an hour in Dillingham, and from the help of a woman named Kris, Colin and I found out where to go to catch our last flight in the bush plane. Kris would come to be one of the most helpful, if not overly optimistic people in this trip. As a teacher mentor, she travels constantly around the villages to help first and second year teachers adapt and adjust to the rural setting. The pilots and staff in Dillingham referred to New Stuyahok as "New Stu" more often than not and I was beginning to assume that that was what it was called. I soon learned very differently. Everyone in town, particularly students and parents say "Stooyuck"

The Airport happened to be about two miles outside of town, which was alright, if you had a ride to and from. Turned out no one really noticed the two confused passengers of the plane helping unload freight and mail and Pepsi were the two student interns the guys in the truck were probably there to pick up.

After the truck and the plane were both gone, we were left with Jackie. The everything man. The man with the four wheeler and a trailer full of mail and Pepsi. And there we were, standing in the middle of South West Alaska as the plane buzzed off into the distance.

"Were you s'posed to be on that?" He asked through his scarf, his runny nose making a bit of a mess of it.

Colin and I looked at eachother. "Uh, no. We're supposed to be here."

"Oh. I guess that truck was for you, then, huh?"

We saw the truck off in the distance, heading towards town.

"I can give you a ride back, I guess." Jackie said, getting on his four wheeler.

It was the beginning of an interesting week.


Things about New Stuyahok:

-No one seemed to know we were coming, at least the people who get freight from the plane did. (The airport is about 2 miles out of town and the truck left without us.)

-2 mile drives on a 4 wheeler can get pretty chilly.

-Everyone in the school was wearing new shoes, Nike was particularly popular among the high schoolers.

-I am a Kass'aq.

-Basketball is HUGE. The boys' basketball team was in state finals so the talk of the school has been the game stats in Anchorage.


On the topic of the school and it's staff, Monday was pretty awkward because it felt as though no one knew what to do with us. I felt that I was either a burden, or someone that did not really belong there. The feeling came and went over the course of the day, but ultimately returned at the end of the school day when everyone was getting ready to leave.
Colin told me how he noticed I was practically throwing myself at the feet of the teachers and staff, asking what to do with the evening after school. The most prevalent response was "Go on a walk downtown" and "there's a store, and a post office." I was kind of disappointed that nothing else was really said and no one seemed to express interest in having visitors. While I know it is not anyone's obligation to host us or tell use what to do with our free time, this is a pretty big school when it's empty, and we are without any contacts to spend time with. The access to internet was an unexpected, and kind of disappointing luxury. I didn't think to bring my laptop, instead opting to bring a tablet, but after an afternoon without a keyboard or music I quickly regretted that decision.
I did not expect the people of the village to be particularly friendly or welcoming, but so far they had the nicest of the people I have met. Though they hadn't offered to show us anything, I feel like they were either indifferent, or pleased to see visitors. The younger students are particularly curious and had been really inviting to me. I feel like I'm gravitated more towards them than the older ones.
The younger ones were certainly more talkative.
Colin and I made an observation that kids are kids no matter where they are, and it is very true here. The middle schoolers were just as difficult as they are at any school, and I'm sure that they are a handful there as well. The older students seemed to be a little less motivated, though I had the pleasure to meet a wonderful girl named Tammy, who is a senior this year. She loves to draw, and was really happy to talk to me about anything and everything. She showed me around and gave me a lot of insight to some of her classes and the people she knows. I was sad to learn she would be leaving Tuesday for a senior trip to Anchorage. I feel like she would have been a very interesting source of information and insight on the town and people here.