Why I am Glad to Be Back in Alaska- Part 2

I wish I could say that I just got back from Morocco. That would be an acceptable excuse for my four month absence from the blogosphere (has it really been four months? Yikes!!!). Unfortunately, I've been back in Alaska since the middle of December... I have no excuse other than the fact that I was drowning in a massive amount of holiday preparations, grading, mopping, graduate classes, and quality time with Steve-O.

I thought I would celebrate my return to VFN with a little list of why I am glad to be back in Alaska:

Internet- That was hands down the hardest part of being in Morocco. You would have thought it would have been the squatting toilets, lack of toilet paper, or prevalence of sheep droppings, but it wasn't. I am an Internet addict. It killed me not to be able to check my e-mail every day. It was agony waiting to blog about my latest adventures, and if I had known how to swear in Moroccan Arabic, I would have when discovering yet ANOTHER Internet cafe that didn't have wi-fi for my laptop.

Cheese- This one is going to shock the heck out of my mother-in-law because I'm really not a big cheese eater. Even still, Steve and I usually keep at least bleu, feta, fresh parmesan, mozzarella, and cheddar in the fridge. There was virtually no cheese in Morocco except for the creamy little triangles at breakfast time. And, those are more like cream cheese, so they're another matter entirely. There's just something about the ooey gooey cheesey goodness that's supremely satisfying, and my American stomach felt hungry without it.

Talking to Other Teachers- I'm pretty isolated in my portable in Shishmaref (to be honest, I prefer it that way). And, granted, my staff room interactions really aren't all that profound. They generally consisty of complaining about the copy machine, physically kicking the fifth grade teacher every time she walks by, or making fun of the maintenance men (not behind their backs, to their faces, they love me). Despite the banality of these interactions, they are one hundred times more fulfilling than smiling akwardly and nodding a lot All of the Moroccan staff members were extremely friendly and accomadating. However, only four of them spoke English. I spent most of my staff room time trying to look engrossed in my English textbook while keeping a pleasant look on my face. Longest ten minute tea breaks EVER...


Morocco was amazing. Home is amazing. I have lots of stories to share, so stay tuned.