Catching Up....

We've been less than reliable at regular blogging these days, so here's a catch up blog for the past week or so...

This could be one of those "cute kid" stories that are funny at the time and boring once related, but I also thought it was an interesting cultural observation so I'll risk potential reader boredom in re-telling it to you. The other day I had the opportunity to hang out in the pediatrics waiting room at the hospital for a couple of hours, waiting for a child in our program to be seen by the doctor. In the waiting section is a big mural of a rainbow leading to a pot of gold and a couple of little leprachauns wearing eskimo fur coats. I was thinking it is kind of an odd image for kids in the Delta to relate to, given how entirely unfamiliar they probably are with Irish story tales... but I didn't give it too much thought. Then a 4-year old boy walked in with his father and younger brother. He looked at the mural for a long time with a slightly confused look on his face. Then he lit up and proudly exclaimed, "Dog Food! They're cooking dog food!". His father looked back at him and verified his finding and the little boy just kept repeating, "Dog Food! They're cooking Dog Food". He was so excited that he figured it out. I was laughing, as a child in the lower 48 probably wouldn't see that image and think of dog food, let alone ever think that one would even cook dog food. But up here, people cook dog food every day in big black cauldrons. After a while, the family left and a new family arrived. The new youngster looked up at the mural with another confused look on his face and said, "Daddy...what's that??". His dad took one look at the mural and said, "Look, they're cooking fry bread." The boy's face lit up with understanding and he said, "Oh, Fry Bread! They're cooking fry bread!". Once again pleased at his revelation, the child spent the next 30 minutes repeating, "Fry bread...they're cooking fry bread." Unfortunately, I had to leave, but I do think it would be an interesting cultural experiment to hang out under the rainbow for a day and observe the various reactions!

I spent the next 3 days at a conference in a village called St. Mary's. It is up on the Yukon River and often a site for conferences as it is the only village with any significant lodging or dining possibilities. It has a big old Catholic mission and as an interesting side note, it was the location where fellow Missoulian Mary Kay Kriley spent time as a Jesuit Volunteer about 30 years ago. Anyway, the conference was on infant mental health and wasn't anything too exciting, but here's some pictures of the area. This one is a long range view of the village from a little hill by the mission.



Here's a view of the Andreafsky River below the mission.













My co-worker Minnie brought her 5 month old baby to the conference and he was a big hit!



























Here's the mission building and the dorm lodging...men on the left and ladies on the right....
















In other exciting news, Regan is here from Anchorage for a week. He's helping out at the DA office and getting a nice tour of Bethel. Our first official visitor to Bethel!!! (that's a congratulations to Regan and a guilt trip for all you others!!). Just kidding, Bethel is a tough place to get to, so it will be pretty cool that the state will pay for Regan to come out here every now and then. I think he's enjoying his visit and getting a good taste of life in the Delta! Yesterday we went out on Tom's boat and visited a couple of villages. It was also Saturday market day and a new one for even Dawson and I...the Bethel Fair. Not exactly what you might imagine, but here's a few pictures of the event....



Tom walking past the "Live animals raised in Bethel" exhibit.










One of Bethel's infamous chickens!









Prize winning strawberries and tomatoes (they make up in beauty what they make lack in quantity)









And Hoppy's prize winning cauliflower! (She gave us one that is even bigger than this one, but just not as perfectly round!).






And lest you should think this post will never end.....My favorite exhibit at the Bethel Fair (and one of my favorite things about Bethel in general....funny signs!)





























And....

A HUGE thank you to Rani for sending Regan up with a boat load of babies supplies! I also purchased a crib from another attorney in town, so we went from having zero baby stuff, to a crib with bedding, clothes to fit him from birth until he's a year old, a halloween costume and one of those fancy wipe warmers so that his little bottom won't have to deal with a frigid winter wipe... Thanks Rani and Family!!!