Happy Slaviq!

Bbbbrrrrrrrrrrrrr I'm back in Kong and it's getting cold! As I write it is -13 degrees, with a windchill of -38 and there are windgusts of 47 MPH. About 30 minutes ago I FINALLY bought an electric blanket online- unfortunately it won't arrive until the end of January :(

I had a GREAT time at home and although I still miss everyone, it surprisingly wasn't tooooo hard to come back to Kong. I met Michele (we took classes together at Marian) in Anchorage and she came with us to Kong as a maternity leave substitute for three months. We spent a 12 hour layover attempting to sleep in the Anchorage airport with Moose. Michele slept on a tile floor and I slept on a bench with a bar between two of the seats. What an experience- I suggest a hotel next time. When we went to our gate last Sunday I was surprised to see so many teachers I knew from the district. It was a nice little reunion :)

Since we have been in Kong, it has been fun helping a 'newbie' adjust and learn about life in the village! We only had 2 days of school last week due to Slaviq on Thursday and Friday. Slaviq is the Russian Orthodox celebration of the Nativity of Christ. This is celebrated for 3 nights and 4 days. Wednesday night a student saw us in the store and asked if we would go to Slaviq. I asked him how long it would last- he said a half hour. Thursday morning Rachel, Michele and I woke up early on a day off (9:30) to experience the Russian Orthodox Church. We walked in and we were 3 of the 12 people there. They did A LOT of singing. It was mixed in Yup'ik and English. I understood their petitions which were in English and the Our Father Prayer. Besides that... not a lot except for some song verses. At some points they would kneel- so we did too.... UNTIL one of the members wrote us a note that since we weren't Russian Orthodox we didn't have to follow what they did- we could even sit down if we wanted. I was glad- because kneeling on the wood floor hurt my knees ;) Anyway, 2 hours later (NOT a half hour)... the service was ending. There were A LOT of people who decided to show up at the very end of the service. After church, they continue to sing songs and there is a little star that they spin and walk with to the first house. For 4 days they celebrate Slaviq by going from one house to another where people host 'celebrations'. (I'm really not sure how many people opened up their house for this, but I only went to one, Sheila's) Sheila called us on Friday to invite us over to Slaviq in the evening. We headed over at about 7 and a majority of the village showed up at 9. They had church at 7, went to someone else's house and then headed to Sheila's. I obviouslt didn't know quite what to expect but this is how it was:
First the pastor and the Russian Orthodox members filed into the house with the star and stood in the kitchen. Then nearly 200 people filed in behind them!!!!!!!!!!!! Not kidding! I WISH it would have been appropriate for me to take a picture but it wasn't. I don't think you can even imagine how tight of a fit this was- some people really COULD NOT fit in the house and were lined up outside and on the stairs. Once everyone taht could fit was in, they started spinning the star and singing. Everyone (except some of the elders) was standing. I was standing so that my right leg was bent and left was straight and i could NOT move either foot... at all. Not exaggerating. When the singing ended- maybe 15 minutes later, everyone was supposed to sit with their bags. A few designated helpers passed out candy, and other little gifts...I received an ornament (Sheila gave Rachel, Garnet, Michele and I a bag before everyone showed up. Rachel asked how she knew we needed one- she said the blonde hair gave it away... thanks Sheila ;)
Soooooo we sat there another 40 minutes probably- although I enjoyed the experience in the end, it honestly seemed like forever. We were so squished and could only sit in certain positions. I was stuck in a half crunch for about 5 minutes- ouch. Not only that but then kids kept sitting on our laps or at least trying to. Once all of the candy was passed out, Sheila had made a meal which was served. She made a breakfast casserole, cinnamon rolls, and cheesecake. I was talking to a few ladies who were sitting by me and apparently it is not common to have breakfast for dinner. It was GREAT though! Anyone who didn't want to eat the meal could leave... a few did which made room for the people outside to come in. After the meal everyone pretty much headed on their way. We went with the crowd and it was about 11:30 by the time we were home.
Slaviq in the village was a great experience. Although I was extremely uncomfortable (not going to lie), I wouldn't trade the experience for anything. I love how the community really does gather for events like this. From what I heard only about 4 families are Russian Orthodox (this may not be totally accurate) but a majority of the villagers support and celebrate this Russian Orthodox holiday.
Celebrating Slaviq once was enough for me this weekend. Margaret called to invite us to her house for Slaviq Saturday. When we called to ask what time, she said she was in Kwig but it would be around 7 and we could still go even though she wouldn't be there. Are you confused, because I am ;). Gotta love Margaret though!
Last night Michele and I went to the gym to work out. We played basketball (i'm now ready for the next tournament), did lunges (big mistake- hard to get out of bed this morning), crunches, and even played ping-pong with Rachel and Mr. Daugaard. It was a lot of fun- we need to do this more!
Well it is way past my bedtime now! I am hoping for a wind delay in the morning-- not really counting on it though. If you want to see a little more about Slaviq, I found this site. For the most part it is pretty accurate to what I experienced: http://www.ankn.uaf.edu/NPE/CulturalAtlases/VirtualMuseum/Writings/Religion/64915248-E73A-41EC-8171-F607A5399B36.html

I also think it's cool for you to see other blogs besides mine for maybe a different angle of things or more stories that I haven't shared. I would encourage you to check out Michele's blog:http://michelesizemore.blogspot.com/ or Garnet's: www.mayoadventures.blogspot.com if you are bored :)