Blog #1: The Beginning

          

Welcome one and all to the first ever Arctic to Manhattan semester. For the coming five months I, Grace C. Zaboski, will be your faithful scribe taking you along from the long winter nights to the rolling waters of the Hudson River.

            Our first moments of the semester were filled with nervous energy as we gathered together in the farmhouse to go over our gear and prepare for the oncoming journey. Some items would join us for the winter, and others we stored away until we would greet them again in spring. When everything was consolidated we shuffled our heavy winter boots to the Big Yurt. In the coming month this place would act as our new community’s home, but at the time it would be the confluence of our families as we settled in for a hearty potluck.

            It made my heart swell with joy to see all of my fellow students and their families gathered together, their hearts fluttering with the same anticipation for what was to come. I watched as nervous toes worried at the carpet as we joined hands in gratitude for the meal. While we ate I could feel the central question forming in the collective minds of semester students, “Who in this room am I going to be living with, intentionally and intensely, for these next five months?” Bellies filled and plates grew empty, and then our parents made their way to chairs while we sat silently on the floor, waiting for what would come next. The semester coordinator, Miron, walked up to the front of the room, clasped his hands together and exclaimed.

“I’d like to welcome everybody to our 2019 Arctic to Manhattan semester!”

The room was set to explode from the nervous excitement radiating off the 12 individuals in the front row. Miron then invited semester alumni to join him in the front, bringing axes and words of wisdom. We were knighted with these new tools and soon after we found ourselves saying goodbye to the loved ones who had joined us for our send off. We were ushered out the door by a familiar song and found ourselves for the first time surrounded by our new family- most at the time near strangers. It was exhilarating! We took a short hike into the woods with the semester teacher Oliver and the student advisor Katharine. On our mini adventure, we found a pleasant, flat spot and sat our rumps on Thermarest pads while Oliver set a small fire before us. This is where we learned each other’s names, and I figure if we learned them then you can too! Here are small student profiles. Beside their pictures you will find their name, their official Big Job title, and what they’re most excited for in the winter portion of our expedition.

-Callie-

Big Job: Logistics

Excited for: Learning how to telemark ski!

-Emma-

Big Job: Gear Manager

Excited for: Eating lots of butter!

-Ethan A (AKA Andrus, or Eli)-

Big Job: Caregiver (Health and Hygiene)

Excited for: Tele skiing!

-Bobby-

Big Job: Ski and Boat Manager

Excited for: Being away in the forest for such a long time.

-Ethan W (AKA Wahanik, or Wawa)-

Big Job: Farm and Firewood

Excited for: Good food, views, and epic pee spots.

 -Fynn-

Big Job: Kitchen and Water

Excited for: Diving in pow.

 -Grace J (Aka Grace)-

Big Job: Food Manager (Base Camp and Day Food)

Excited for: Eating chocolate.

 

-Grace Z (Aka Zaboski)-

Big Job: Scribe and Vehicle Manager

Excited for: Embracing the wild and my new community!

-River-

Big Job: Navigator

Excited for: Going on the mini White Mountain expedition.

-Rosa-

Big Job: Fire and Energy

Excited for: Seeing how each struggle and adventure brings us together.

-Simone-

Big Job: Sewing and Repairs

Excited for: Seeing the beautiful snow (as a New Yorker).

-Sophia-

Big Job: Food Manager (Trail Food)

Excited for: Snot Rockets.

        Now you know a little more about us, and now that we’ve learned a little more about each other on the semester, we’ve started settling in. We’ve been adjusting to a lot of new practices here at base camp, some familiar and some are ones we’ve never known, but they are building us into a tight-knit community. At the beginning of every week, we are assigned a chore to start our morning. This is crucial because here at Kroka there is no janitorial staff; in order to keep the campus functioning so beautifully, the semester students and staff must work together to keep all the aspects of life here running smoothly. When we finish chores we all join up at the big yurt and eat a breakfast that is lovingly crafted by that week’s cook crew. While breakfast is getting cleaned up most of us sit in our circle for journaling (another daily routine here on semester) where we work on recalling the previous day’s events. During this time, depending on the weather, we might also find ourselves outside doing a sit spot; this practice helps us become aware of our surroundings and connects us with shifts in the environment as the seasons change.

            One of the main practices that I mentioned earlier will be crucial to the success of our semester on our expedition: Big Jobs. In alignment with chores, these tasks will allow our group to function as a highly efficient and organized whole. Our Big Job is a set of responsibilities we will master so that while we are on trail when our skills are needed, we can not only accomplish the task but also mentor others. We will carry these jobs with us for the entirety of the semester, from braving the winters of Uapishka, canoeing down the Hudson, and walking the bustling streets of Manhattan.

Making trail bars for our long days on expedition

River and Nathan, her Big Job advisor, tracing out our route on topographical maps

          This past week we have had the honor to work on forging knives for one another with Michael Kohout. It was a really powerful experience working in pairs to pound the metal, watching as sparks cascaded off each other’s clothing as we shaped the blades, and hearing the scrape of steel against stone as we caressed the bevel into being. Kroka has a ‘gift curriculum,’ so ingrained in the educational structure is a gifting culture. We decided that our finished knives for each other should be a surprise, so the craft has also become an exciting and secretive task in some aspects of the work.

Heating the metal so we can shape our blades

Sharpening knives by the wood stove

            During the same time as knife making many of us were working on creating stuff sacks with Oliver in preparation for the expedition. We made both a small hand-sewn stuff sack for our toothbrushes and other various sundries, and larger machine-sewn stuff sacks for clothing and organization when we’re on trail.  We definitely got crafty during this block and gained some sick fashion sense while we were at it.

Did we make stuff sacks? Did we make hats?

            We also received the sad news that the vastly important and wonderful poet Mary Oliver passed away. For some, she was an entry point for verbal eloquence in relation to the animate earth. When we found out we took the morning to read over some of her most influential poems. In her honor I thought it would be nice to end this first blog post with one of her poems.

The Summer Day
Who made the world?
Who made the swan, and the black bear?
Who made the grasshopper?
the one who has flung herself out of the grass,
This grasshopper, I mean-
who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down-
the one who is eating sugar out of my hand,
Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face.
who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes.
I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down
Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away.
I don't know exactly what a prayer is.
how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,
into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass,

which is what I have been doing all day.
Tell me, what else should I have done?
with your one wild and precious life?
Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
--Mary Oliver

            Thank you for reading, and until I write again,

                                                                                                            Grace C. Zaboski

Zaboski handwriting this blog post in the workshop

Bobby prepping our skis for the expedition

Enjoying the groomed Nordic ski trails 

Fixing bindings on a new pair of skis

There were lots of smiles as we went down the slopes

Sewing stuff sacks

Emma practicing her sewing skills

The blades are coming along!

Practicing our telemark turns on the ski mountain

Our last telemark run

Snowy days