mixing with the locals


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May 16th 2007
Published: May 16th 2007
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Kaiser the InquisitorKaiser the InquisitorKaiser the Inquisitor

don't mess with the porcupine
The next couple of days in downtown Anchorage are pretty cruizie for me. Maree will write about school things later.
I got the girls up on Wednesday morning after our late evening and we made the grade six breakfast. I made a date with Nurse Debbie who started to work pulling out the prickles/thornes I had colleted the previous day. I hadn't actually got stuck by the porcupine or by the quills in Kaiser but I had been in shorts and thongs when pushing bushes aside especially when coming back up the embankment.

We had been going for a while when this lady/teacher came into talk to us both and suddenly she goes all woozy and collapses with our help into a chair. She is near to unconsciousness, can't feel her hands and has great difficulty answering simple questions.
Call 911!
Fire engine arrives! They are apparently paramedics too. Then the ambulance (which looks similar to the fire truck only smaller) with more paramedics and our lady is wisked away.

When the commontion settles down its back to prickly pulling.

We had dinner that night at a Chinese restaurant (I am starting a collection of their names.
KaiserKaiserKaiser

oh the shame of it all

This one is Yen King and one we come across later is Fu King). Food was delicious.
But the girls are a bit sleepy after their late night (I had a chance to catch up during the day).

Thursday morning I catch up with the blog followed by an afternoon at the Zoo. A bit disappointing really. Everything (okay I exaggerate) was assleep either in a hole, a cave or a box. We went past the pola bear 4 times before we got much more than a glimpse of his bum. The Musk Ox, Moose, Lyncs and Yak were all lying down. The Siberian tigers were so old I don't think they COULD stand and part of the Zoo was closed off because the snow lepord was about to give birth and the controviersial elephant keeps needing fire and rescue to help him stand up. We did see back bear (parading dementedly back and forth), falcons, several types of owls. lamas, wolf cubs and a few sheeps and goats. We demanded 67% of our money back. That evening we had a really nice dinner at one of Lisa's friends houses with all their family and some guests from Poland. We sampled all sorts of Salmon and Halibut.
On Friday morning we joined a class of kids on an excursion to the Native Cultural Heritage Centre. It was pretty interesting they had singing and dancing and crafts, old and new. The display of original housing was excellent. Mostly built of loggs (timber is still plentiful in these parts) with the gaps packed with earth, small entrances with skin covered doorways and internal fire pits keeping the inhabitabants warm. Sometimes they were partly buried or dug into the ground.
Back at school I was roped into reading a story to a preschool class. Maree had agreed to do it but was asked to attend a meeting with Lisa at the appointed time. The teacher had been reading 'Possum Magic' and thought it would be great to have it read with an Australian accent. I survived and then came the questions. The three things that Alaska doesn't have that can kill you are spiders, snakes and tornados. And the kids wanted to know if we have them in Australia. Yes. Yes and Yes.
Very scary stuff.
Next question: "Whats Pavlova?..."
Time to leave.
Then we went with Lisa to watch youngest
Des, Lisa and MareeDes, Lisa and MareeDes, Lisa and Maree

another sunny day/night at another lookout
son, Khaner, strutt his stuff at a Tae Kwon Do demonstration. After doing their moves there was plenty of timber snapping and tile breaking. As an 8 year old he was doing stuff compariable to kids much older. What's remarkable is that he had a broken little finger on this right hand from some other misadventure so he used his left hand to break the timber. But I am pretty sure he was concentrating so hard he forgot his pain and used his right hand to break the tiles.
Staff party at the school's social worker's very flash house finished the day.
Saturday it was up early to explore Prince William Sound and the towns of Whittier and Valdez.


Additional photos below
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Lisa and boysLisa and boys
Lisa and boys

Khaner on left, Mason on right the boys had been having spitting competions into the wind
KhanerKhaner
Khaner

front and centre
ZooZoo
Zoo

some might call it that actually it's staff party time


26th May 2007

Ouch!
From Dane: I don't think that Kaiser should mess with porcupines. From Lisa: I don't think Des should be breaking up porcupine fights! I can see it now... First it was Crocodile Dundee... now there is "Porcupine Des." I had a great time with you guys at our house and showing you around Alaska. I miss you very, very much! Love to you! Lisa

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