Alright, buckle up dear reader, because this one is gonna be a life changing blog entry! I say this because our first weekend in Barrow was a fantastic one. We were lucky enough to arrive just in time for the spring festival here in Barrow, Piuraagiaqta. There were many great events this weekend and we were able to already start forming some meaningful relationships here in Barrow. Despite all of these great experiences our search to see a polar bear lingers on, however, one of the van drivers for the college has his heart set on helping us find one out in nature. On Monday we were able to spend our first full day in Fred Ipalook Elementary School and even though Sam and Kayla's teachers were not there today we all had a very productive day and are looking forward to getting more involved with the school. After school we were able to go the heritage center and see some articles of Barrow's history as well as visit with some local artists and watch them work. These artist work is absolutely fantastic and it was really great to see them in their workshop. In related news one of the artists was able to show us their plans for making a chess board out of ivory from mammoth tusks(yes, woolly mammoth tusks, how sweet is that? Those bad boys are extinct, but apparently they find some remains every now and then up here), some walrus ivory, and many different parts of whales and maybe some polar bear pieces. Anyways, as you would expect its gonna be a little pricey, when we asked how much it was going to be the artists simply started laughing... So, if you are feeling generous, you can send checks to the Mark Nissen wants a sweet chess board fund, please only donations of 2 grand or more. Anyways, I feel like I am rambling now, so I'm just gonna stop and attach some of the pictures that I have taken over the past couple days. Tune in tomorrow for another exciting adventure of Gusties in Barrow!

 Full scale whale in the heritage center that we saw!

 Polar bear scull on a whale vertebrae, I think it cost like $1000.

 This is part of a huge carving on a whale jaw bone, believe me, it is incredible.

 Bethany vs. Woolly Mammoth

 sweet snow carving, not quite done, but awesome nonetheless.

 Just kicking it on the beach under some palm trees.

 In case you were wondering, this is what whale meat looks like, and yes... its chewy...

 Childrens snow machine race all the excitement of a normal race in twice the cuteness and half the size(here they are snow machines, not snowmobiles). 

Oh my gosh! I almost forgot to mention that we got to go dog sledding!!! How sweet is that!!! It was like living in the movie Balto, except minus the plot, medicine, and about an hour and a half. Even in the short 3 minute ride we all had an incredible experience and hope to do it again.