Dear Book-of-Words:

Aama here.  Sorry for not writing; been very busy with school, taking care of my chores and my little brothers and sisters.  Not much free time for me.

School is not much better since I last wrote.  Dog Children kids still teasing me, caling me stupid Eskimo, which makes me cry.  I am not an Eskimo:  I am an Inuk, one of the Beautiful People!!  I hate the word Eskimo:  it's ugly and mean!!

And my brother Ululik has not been well:  he still continues to have problems with his lungs.  The shamen feels it is a disease that won't go away anytime soon; twitchy lungs he calls it.  I look it up in book; medical name is Asthma.  Sometimes he has so much trouble breathing we have to take him to hospital in Fairbanks, where he gets medicine and oxygen; it helps him, but only for a while.  Until the next time, that is.  It's always scary when he gets sick!  He's only three; he doesn't deserve to be suffering like this!!

Even the shamen's magic doesn't help my brother.  It's really frightening!!

What if Ululik gets worse and dies??  I don't think I could ever forgive myself; I love him too much, even though he and Sammik, his twin brother, do drive me crazy a lot of the time!!

The red aurora came on Monday night; sure enough, on the fifth of November, a bad shooting incident took place in Texas.  Something like 13 people died and over 30 were hurt, some badly, when a doctor who worked at an army base there opened fire and started shooting for no reason.  It was very bad; when I heard the news I started crying.  I felt so bad for the people there in Texas!!

I am beginning to hate the aurora, especially when it turns red like blood.  When that happens, bad things always follow; it happened when the earthquake hit Italy earlier this year, and it happened when the terrorist guys hit America on September 11, 2001, and also when the shootings at the college in Virginia.  It happened again, and I am most worried.  I hate red auroras; they tell of bad things that will happen!!

I sometimes think they are angry with me because I don't do well in school; I think my grandmother, grandfather, and other relatives must be disappointed in me.  I try; I really do; it's just that I have this darn dyslexic brain, which makes me feel stupider than yellow snow!!

I bet yellow snow is way smarter than I am!!  :(

The weather here is turning colder and the days are getting shorter.  It won't be long before we're in total darkness; then we won't see the sun for three months, until March or April.  Then the days get longer, and then we see the sun for almost 24 hours straight during the long summer months.  It takes some getting used to if you're aren't from the Arctic region, but I like it.  It's my life, and it's my world.  I'm used to it.  Lived with this all my fourteen winters.   :)

Well, I have to go to bed.  Mother and Father are both looking at me; they say it's too late for me to be up because I have church tomorrow.  Going to church with some friends; they invited me.  I will write in here again soon; until then, this is Aama saying so long!  May the Great Spirit bless and watch over you!

~Love, your Inuk friend in Alaska, Aama.  :)