CAMPING IN in Shishmaref

There is a shortage of teacher housing in Shishmaref, so when a substitute comes to town, one is expected to "camp in." Most itinerants "camp" in the main school building. They grab an available classroom, find a mattress and fluff their sleeping bags. I, on the other hand, being a 7-week substitute with a husband, have been given the royal treatment. We have a portable classroom all to ourselves--that is, between the hours of 10 p.m. until 7 a.m. During the other hours we share our space. It is a classroom during the day, so we must vacate the room. (Mike wanders aimlessly about the village--more about that in another post.) From 4 p.m. until around 10 p.m., other staff members come to the portable to use the washers and dryers and to take showers. Much of the teacher housing, as well as most of the village, have honeybuckets.

We do have a washer and dryer that others come in to use.
That gives us a chance to visit with other teachers.

There are two bathrooms, each with a shower.
We share these with the other teachers, as well.

Our bed.
We must roll them up and put them away during the day
as this is a classroom.

Michael uses our computer to read the papers.
We have no television.

We have no closet, so these "action packers"
serve as closet and dresser while we are here.
During the day we stow all our gear and lock them
and stack them out of the way.