Week off in the Big City!

Hello!

Although I am sure I have gone this long between blog posts, it seems forever since I put my last one up! Mr. Hubs and I have enjoyed our week (six days) long stay in Bethel! 

And just like any vaca, we stuffed ourselves, enjoyed the downtime by watching tv :), and just relaxed! ( I don't even want to talk about all the papers I needed to grade, but decided to give myself this break!) 

I have actually had District meetings all week from 8-4, so it wasn't like I was completely neglecting my professional duties! After my meetings, Joshua and I would go out to eat with the other teachers, go to the stores, take walks, or just enjoy/relax at the hotel. We actually were surprised at how often we chilled in our room with the tv off... Guess we are used to not having it!

There are so many restaurants in Bethel. When I say so many, I am comparing it to Newtok.  There are actually quite a few, and every single one of them offers Chinese, Italian, American, etc.  One restaurant with everything you could ever ask for!

And surprise! They actually have a subway! The five dollar foot long is actually $8 here...

Joshua and I never ate here. We like to explore the restaurants that are unique to the area...

This is our last night in Bethel.  I have a day full of meetings tomorrow.  Joshua will actually leave Bethel around noon-ish tomorrow, where me (and some of the other teachers) won't be leaving until 4. Many teachers have already headed back to Newtok. We had to stay back for some extra training.

I wasn't sure if I was going to post this week, what with my needed break and all (This is my only week long break during the entire school year.. not including Christmas break!), but Joshua and I decided to take a walk tonight to show you some of Bethel.  Here it goes:

Before our walk, Joshua and I decided to order pizza.  We haven't had pizza in soooo long, but I am sure you all can tell from the pictures below!

 My husband's excited faces crack. me. up.!

 It looks delicious.. and was delicious.

Haha! This picture is blurry, but I am pretty sure I have never looked so creepy before.  Therefore, I had to share it with you all! You are welcome.

The family clinic in Bethel.  Josh actually got a TB test here this week. 

ROADS and SPEED LIMIT SIGNS! A sight for sore eyes...

Fun fact: Bethel has 93 cab drivers.  This makes it have the most cab drivers per capita than any other city in the country! You see these suckers everywhere. It's always $5, unless you go to the airport, then it is $7.

In Bethel, there are two main stores that everyone goes to: Swanson's and the AC.  They have similar prices, but the AC is definitely bigger.  

Swanson's:

They pretty much had everything here that we needed.. in a bigger bulk! They even have a produce section which is a little strange to see. We ended up buying some celery ($5.. is that good/bad?) so we can have it with peanut butter. YUM!

The AC:

 The AC is definitely bigger. It's like the Sam's Club for Bethel.

We may or may not have gotten a few pieces from this sweet aisle... I am married to Joshua Hall for pete's sake! 

We are fortunate enough to be a part of a great school district.  They paid for our stay at the Longhouse, a hotel in Bethel.  If Joshua had not come with me, I would have stayed at the Yuut dorms in town.

 

The Longhouse is definitely a nice place to stay.  They recently added a cafe to their business.  We talked to the owners tonight and they definitely have some good ideas on how to involve and better the Bethel community - live music, drug/alcohol awareness, tutoring programs, etc.  It will be cool to see where they are when we come visit next!

Have I mentioned that the Hall's are avid coffee drinkers now.  Apparently, Alaska will do that to ya.

In Bethel, there are many types of churches - from Lutheran to Pentecostal to Baptist.

And for the last picture, one reason only why I am thankful we do not have a car:

So there is a little of Bethel, Alaska that you may not have seen before.  Now, we know we have some items/packages waiting for us when we get home so we are a little anxious to get back. Prayers would be appreciated as we travel tomorrow - still not used to those little planes yet!