Afrika to Alaska: Clearance & SBA's

Standardized Tests- I have a feeling that these are going to be the death of me. My students rolled in this morning, and I wanted to roll out. Try and imagine taking the reading portion of a test that lasts for about two hours if you are on grade level ( most of mine are 3 years behind)- it's not fun. Already I have had to have one kid escorted out and one pretend to shoot a gun at me. I see many students with red eyes- telling me that they were up too late again last night, and others just falling asleep at their desks.

Apparently no amount of cake or popcorn that will be readily available to them -when they finish, helps encourage them to stay on task. I am really concerned about how the rest of this day will go- and it is my hope that the movie Goonies and some treats will help lighten their moods after such a tedious test taking task.

But something that made me quite happy was yesterday's jaunt to Bethel. I went on a little adventure- capturing the sights of the frozen tundra along the way.

The reason for little adventure was Bogart needed his boosters. Normally one would just swing into the nearby city at any time to get this taken care of, but out here, the vet only comes out to Bethel from Anchorage for four days at the beginning of every month. So a lot of the teachers/villagers will make a run for (snow go) into Bethel if their pets need it. Mine definitely did- as his was due for his shots and he seemed to be showing signs in the color of green that needed attention.

So- after finding a willing driver- thank you Jacquie! to make the 20 mile drive into Bethel we were set- or so we thought. Placing Bogart's crate in the was quite the task. It had to be tied done well enough that it would not get air when we did.

So once that was done- we were ready to take off- until we noticed the time. We were to leave at 4 pm, we left at 5- the vet closes at 6 pm and it takes 1 hour and 30 minutes to get there. I called the vet and she said that she would recommend coming another day- but thanks to the SBA's- that was not going to be an option. So- we booked it and arrived in Bethel at 6:15- and low and behold- they were kind enough to wait and see if we were actually bold enough to make the trip- not knowing if we would make it on time.

Bogart did surprisingly well- he didn't look too happy once we arrived- but when we got him out and up the stairs of the clinic- the scents that came alive from the other dogs helped lighten his mood.

Once we wrapped up our time in the clinic- we headed to the grocery store and Jacquie grabbed some fresh fruit while I made sure that Bogart was ready for another trip home.