jetaway

It's true the Alaskan Railroad caters to tourists and wouldn't be a viable commute option for Alaskans, but for this tourist, a full day ride along the rails was a perfect Alaskan day. The train called at Fairbanks where we boarded as GoldStar passengers. After more than a week of backpacking and camping, boarding the train as a first class passenger was a serious luxury. From our seats in a domed car, we had panoramic views of the Alaskan countryside. The train winds its way south from Fairbanks through the outskirts of Denali National Park, past small towns, over a three-hundred foot high bridge, and twelve hours later pulls into Anchorage. It rarely goes more than forty miles per hour and sometimes slows to no more than ten miles, which is perfect for picture-taking, napping, reading, and stepping out onto the open air porch of the GoldStar car. A walk through the coach cars assured me that riding the rails for less would still be a luxury.

Until I visited the Large Animal Research Station (LARS) in Fairbanks, I never knew about qiviut, the warmer-than-wool under fur of the muskox that is more expensive than cashmere. Our guide, Jessee, a graduate student in Enivornmental Policy at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks (and a poetry major as an undergrad) led us on an incredibly information, funny, and endearing tour of LARS. He lured the muskox to the front fo the pen with laurel leaves. Several cows and their calves came up to the fence. Full grown muskox can range between 600 and 1400 pounds, and at first gland they are a kind of hideous looking creature. It didn't take long for us to find the muskox to be incredibly cute. They are gentle and peaceful. Because they can't move quickly at all but kind of lumber on by, they protect themselves from predators by lining up together and creating a line of defense. The predator cannot penetrate their wall of horns. Unfortunately, standing still and staring down your pre

Even though the blanket toss may be considered the main event of the day (according the Lyn Kidder of Barrow From A to Z), the Nalukatag is so much more than jumping on the sealskin trampoline. Nalukataq is a festival in which the whole community gathers to celebrate a successful end to the whaling season. Beginning at noon and lasting until all of the food has been distributed, the Nalukataq can be a whole day affair extending into the hours of the midnight sun. Depending on the success of the season, there can be several different Nalukataqs in the Spring and in the Fall. This year Barrow celebrated four separate spring Nalukataqs . At the beginning of each distribution, the master of ceremonies calls the whaling crew to the center of the dirt field where the crew holds hands in a giant circle and thanks the whales for coming to them this season. It is an Iñupiat belief that a successful hunt is possible only because the whale gives itself to the whaling crew captain’s wife, not

An often cited statistic states that 50% of teachers will quit within five years. In 2006’s classroom mockumentary Chalk , they claim 50% of teachers will quit within only three years. There’s no doubt that the pressures of standardized tests, classroom management mishaps, and the paper load teachers carry into their weekends and breaks leave many a teacher demoralized. But the Marcus Foster Fund For Teachers offers a revolutionary opportunity for teachers just at a time when they need it the most. What makes the Fund for Teachers revolutionary is that it does not assume authority about what a teacher needs in order to develop professionally or deepen his/her commitment to teaching as so many schools, districts, and states are doing these days. Many imposed decisions are trickling down from the very top of No Child Left Behind, disempowering teachers left and right. Fund for Teachers grants work in direct opposition to the trend of educational standardization. According to their webs

When I come home and think back on a recent journey away, I can measure the value of that adventure in the contact I make with the people who live where I venture. That value is multiplied if I can travel in a way that supports the community I'm visiting and is sustainable to their way of life. While visiting the city of Oaxaca was politically rich and vibrant giving me a glimpse into one family's way of life (primarily taking in foreign students) and beach combing in Mazunte and Puerto Angel was relaxing, the highlight of my trip to Mexico this summer was contained in the last three days of travel in the mountains of the Sierra Norte. An ecologically rich area of the state of Oaxaca, the people of the Sierra Norte recognized the potential for outsiders to be captivated and educated by their way of life on the land. A grassroots effort to bring people to their villages in a sustainable way is the foundation of the mancomunados. Along the Sierran ridge there are villages, some w

Every summer the teachers from the state of Oaxaca gather in the capital city of the same name. Their intention is to ask for more money and to raise awareness of some of the dire conditions they face in order to educate Oaxacan youth, especially in the more rural locations. They meet in the Zocalo, or the city square, because until last year all of the government offices were held there. The governor of the state could not miss their petitions, though he could and usually did dismiss those petitions. In the summer of 2006 the annual teacher's march and protest was backed by the Section 22 union, otherwise known SNTE (Sindicato Nacional de Trabajadores de la Educacion). In 2006 the teachers set up an encampment, blocking the usually busy tourist-commerce center of the city and decided to stay until their petitions were met. Throughout the state there was an overwhelming sense of dissatisfaction with the governor Ulises Ruiz, contemptuously referred to by his first name only, who is