"Taking a Steam"

Friday, January 17, 2014

Man, it is so windy today, it was a struggle to walk from the house to the school. Apparently, there have been days when school is called off because of wind.  We hear that the wind whistles through the windows so loudly that you cannot be heard. I jokingly asked if they ever have a snow day, and the answer is “yes,” but you make it up on Saturday.  

Another interesting skill we’ve picked up is how to run a distiller. We have one in our home and there are several at school, as well. The water is full of iron up here and while it is safe to drink, it is full of little brown flecks. The inner surfaces of the washing machine & toilets are all bright orange, too.  So we run a gallon of water through the distiller where it boils, is dribbled through charcoal filters and then drips into a container. The whole process takes a couple hours per gallon

The distiller

Every time I turn around up here, I am learning new & interesting things about this part of the world. Tonight we were invited over by a local native couple to "take a steam." The traditional method of washing yourself here has nothing to do with showers or bathtubs. Most, if not all, of the native people in the village prefer to "take a steam"  and many do not have tubs or showers in their homes. They do have special rooms in their houses (or many are outside in separate small buildings) which include what we might consider a steam bath or a sauna. In these steam rooms are also kept big bowls of water and scoops. While you are "in your steam," you use the scoops to pour water over yourself, then wash with soap or shampoo your hair. You then rinse off with more scoops of water. Apparently, it is also common to have group steams of either all men or all women-kind of the native "guys or gals night out" idea. Though it is fascinating to meet and talk to the villagers, we did not participate in a group activity! The "steam"  pictured on this page was in the couple's basement and consisted of a small room with built in wooden benches & an oil based heater encased in a barrel which was covered in stones. It was hot in there! You needed to continually spray the rocks from a water hose to keep the steam coming. Just outside the door of the steam was a "cool down" room where you could do just that.  I was a little leery going in, but found it really quite relaxing.

And the couple was lovely. They'd prepared snacks that consisted of moose jerky, dried salmon and a wonderful salmon spread. Did I mention that he is a salmon fisherman by trade and none of this came from a store?

And folks, I have been deceived! Coming up here, we were warned that there is no TV. Bring books...Be prepared to watch DVDs or listen to music... IF the internet signal is strong enough, you MIGHT be able to stream a Netflix movie... Wrong, Wrong, Wrong! We walked into our new friends' home to see the biggest flat screen tv in the universe! "Why, of course, we have tv, Judy. It's just the teachers that don't." Seriously? Had I been a tad more observant, I might have noticed the satellite disk on almost every home.

... Doug has been invited over for Sunday's football game.

We had a fabulous night tonight.  

Saturday, January 18, 2014

It was a beautiful crisp day today. Doug & I took the 4 wheeler and explored some of the town. Out on the edge of town on a bluff are about 20 large indentations in the hillside. At first appearance, they seem to be just an irregular landscape,

Doug walking through a group of barabaras

Judy in the remains of a barabara

but about a year ago, a village elder took Matt out on the hillside and identified them as the remains of 2000 year old barabaras (ber-AB-ber-uhs), native shelters built into the side of a bluff.  Originally, they were dug into the hillside, mud walls were constructed and then roofs were added made of branches and furs. 

Last fall Matt had his class construct their own barabara behind the school.  

Matt with the students' barabara

They can even build a fire inside

We also strolled through the Russian Orthodox churchyard, the only religious facility in town. Apparently, services are held there, though, not often, only

when a Russian Orthodox priest comes to town which, I guess, is about once every 2 years.