Visitors

I have been very lucky to have my family come visit me in Whale Cove. My mom and dad came up for labour day weekend, it was there first time seeing the community not covered in snow and ice. I was able to take them out on the land and they got to see all the beautiful colours and wildlife the Nuna has to offer in the Autumn. My parents were lucky enough to see some Sandhill Cranes, Arctic Swans, an Arctic Fox and the whale hunt! Something else exciting but dangerous happened that weekend. A Polar Bear had been hanging around the community the previous week and on the Sunday of the long weekend it strolled right through town. The bear came pretty close to two young girls standing on the porch of the Co-op, the bear kept sniffing at the steps; however, it was luckily chased away. The bear then walked right by our house. We were non the wiser and Qimmik and Niya did not start barking until people started flooding past our place to chase the bear out of town.

My sister visited Whale Cove this past weekend for the first time. I was so happy she arrived without any delay. The morning she was scheduled to come in the fog was so thick that I could not see 500 feet in front of the house. Luckily it cleared in time for her plane to land. The weather is so unpredictable in Nunavut, more often than not planes are delayed or cancelled. People say if you hope to much for a plane to come in, it won't come in so it's best not to think about it. So I tried not to stress to much about it and she arrived right on schedule! It's always nice showing visitors around Whale Cove. My sister was wonderstruck with how welcoming everyone was in the community. I took Devon out on the land Saturday, it wasn't the nicest day out but we spotted some Arctic Swans with their ugly ducklings, one very curious Arctic Fox and an Arctic Hare.

 

I am so grateful to have had my family come to experience Whale Cove. Flights in the North are extremely expensive and dare I say over priced. A 15 minute flight from Rankin Inlet to Whale Cove can sometimes cost up to $400 one way. Therefore, one can imagine how much it must cost to take a family to Winnipeg and back from Whale Cove. I can go to Cuba and stay at a 5 star all inclusive resort for the amount it would cost me to fly one way to Toronto.

I'm Back!

I have been back in Whale Cove for a little over a month now and can now say that I am settled back in. I apologize for neglecting my blog since returning. When I arrived back the school was short 4 staff members due to a shortage of houses in the community. So the beginning of the school year was a stressful time! The staff worked together and all the kids were able to start school on the original start date, but we were all exhausted at the end of week one.

Housing is well known issue in the north. The smaller communities suffer the most because they are low on the priority list. The school had 4 new hires this year. Three were put into the hotel after week one and were then moved into a three bedroom house. Our fourth hire is currently living in a 3 bedroom house with 14 people and is eagerly waiting for a new unit to open up.

Two of our graduates applied and were accepted to Arctic College this fall; however, they were unable to attend due to a shortage of houses in Iqaluit and Rankin. Our students are pushed to pursue post secondary education only to be let down and forced to look for work in their small community where work is hard to come by.

Unfortunately these stories about the lack of housing in northern communities are not rare.

Sik sik 

On a lighter note – Whale Cove is gorgeous in the fall. I have been able to get out on the land quite a bit and I recently have seen my first few caribou! Beautiful creatures; although, not the smartest. I was able to get pretty close to the tuk tu (caribou in Inuktitut)  to snap a picture and they didn’t seem the care.

Spring!

Spring came early in Whale Cove this year! It has been beautiful here for the past couple of weeks. Temperatures hovering around 6-10 degrees Celsius. Everyone has acquired a mad sun glass tan. It is very easy to tan here!

It has been another busy month here. Alex and I took 18 students to Nunavut's capital for an under 13 soccer tournament. We were in Iqaluit for about a week for only a 2 and half day tournament. We were there for so long because of flight schedules. We stayed in a hotel 4 or 5 kids to a room, the hotel gave us a discount thankfully. I asked the lady at the desk how much it would be to stay regularly and she said $250.00 a night PER PERSON!

The kids had a blast in Iqaluit and were pretty successful at the tournament. The boys placed third and the girls placed second. They were pretty pleased with themselves

When we returned to Whale Cove, the snow had almost disappeared. Spring came fast and fierce and the dogs loved it. I think Qimmik had seasonal depression because he is so much happier now that it's warm out and the sun is shining.

Graduation happened Tuesday night in Whale Cove. We had 7 graduates for the 2014 school year. It was a pretty emotional ceremony. Some of the students that graduated were my first students here in Whale Cove, I will miss seeing them in the hallways!

Alex and I make the first lag of our trip home today. Wish us luck with our flights!

The past month..

I can't believe it has been over a month since I last posted. Time flies!

We had our last blizzard of the season at the beginning of the March. Alex left for Rankin on the Wednesday for a conference and was suppose to return on the Friday but was weathered out until Monday. The blizzard started Thursday night and ended Sunday so I had a long weekend and it was a pretty quiet one. I couldn't go out because the weather was crazy, thank God I had the dogs for company!

The weather is beautiful now, Whale Cove is so fun in the spring. It stays light out until about 9:30, everyone is out and about. A lot of people have their hondas out and are going out on the land on the weekends. As you can tell from the picture above it took us a while to dig out our honda and were still waiting for some of the ice and snow under the machine to thaw. We hope to have it running this weekend!

Last week Andrew (one of the high school teachers) and I took 15 students down to Bracebridge, ON for the second part of the exchange trip. The kids had a blast! They went to a pancake breakfast at a good ol' Ontario sugar bush, camped and had a campfire at an outdoor centre and went tree top trekking, visited the CN tower, saw the new aquarium and were able to go shopping at the Eaton's Centre. The kids stayed with with their exchange partner and all the students became really close. It was such a great experience for the kids. The Whale Cove students and the Bracebridge students created presentations about northern culture and presented them to different classes in different schools around the Bracebridge area. One of the questions they got from one of the kindergarten students was "How do you guys breathe up there if there's no trees?"

The school is now getting ready to end the school year. One last land trip, report cards and graduation. Looks like I am going to be busy right till the end!

Excitement in Whale Cove

It has been a very eventful couple of weeks in Whale Cove. Alex and I went to Rankin the last weekend of February for the Avataq tournament (mens hockey tournament). This tournament brings in hockey teams from communities all over the Kivalliq region. Nunavut is hockey crazy, lots of fans came from Whale Cove to cheer on the team. Whale Cove was beat out in the first round of play offs but they played 4 games and it was great to watch and have some time away!

The exchange trip students from Bracebridge arrived the following Wednesday. The exchange students were able watch and practice seal skin preparation, listen to stories about living on the land from elders, watch and take part in building a traditional igloo and they got to go out on the land by snow machine and qamutik. The day that we chose to go out on the land was a pretty cold day (-46 with the wind chill which feels alot colder out on the land). I bundled up with multiple layers and I was stillll pretty cold. The cold and isolation out on the land really makes you appreciate how the inuit were able to survive on the land. A lot of people travel by snow machine in -50, -55 to get to different communities or to go hunting. The weather can change very quickly here from clear skies to blowing snow to 0 visibility blizzards. - this is why passed down survival skills are so important to the inuit because in weather that can freeze your skin within seconds there are no second chances.

Breakfast TV and Sports Net arrived in Whale Cove last Wednesday. We were hosting a farewell feast for the exchange students so BT and SN got a very warm welcome as well. Breakfast TV and Sports Net were in Whale Cove filming and interviewing the hockey team that will be travelling to Geraldton, Ontario and Toronto. Very exciting stuff for the kids!

Inuit games at the farewell feast. This one is called head pull.

Alex trying his luck at head pull.

#northernlight project

Check out more about me and my northern experiences with the #northernlight project.

"The #northernlight project brings together pairs of northern and southern Canadians for a unique look at the similarities and contrasts of life in both regions."

mynorthernlight.ca

Northern Convoy

This week is professional development week for teachers in the Kivalliq region. Most teachers are attending a conference in Rankin Inlet. Because we didn't want to leave the dogs behind, Alex and I chose to stay in Whale Cove and work on own individual PD. It has been a gorgeous week so far, the sun has been shining and the temperatures have been hovering around -35.

On Monday night 100 or so Rangers came in to Whale Cove on snowmobiles, it was like a snowmobile convoy, pretty cool to see. The Canadian Rangers are the militaries eyes and ears in the north according to the armed forces. One of the Rangers poked his head into my office to chat. Alex and I asked him where they came from and why they were here. The Ranger told us that they were doing some training on how to survive in the north and the cold conditions. He told us that they were even learning something as simple as how to manage a gas can in the cold because the cold can make the can very brittle and hard to work with. The Ranger ensured us that we will be seeing more of a military presence in the north as the years go on because Arctic Sovereignty is becoming more and more of a pressing issue for Canada. This we found quite interesting. He pointed out that this northern land wouldn't be part of Canada if the Inuit weren't living here.

 The Ranger then asked Alex and I how we liked it in the north, how we handle the cold, how we deal with the isolation. He then praised us for our hard work up in the north. I get this a lot - "you are doing such a good thing by being up there" - I know these people are just meaning to compliment me - but on what? Would these people say this to me if I was teaching down South? It is as if they think that I am saving the north by teaching the "poor inuit". Almost as if they think that the inuit could not do this without the white mans help. Some people say I read to much into things like this, but maybe we need to...

Out of The Darkness

The sun in Whale Cove is gracing us with her presence longer each day now. I can walk to school at 8:30 am without depending on the street lights to guide me. When the sun starts to rise higher in the sky the vibe in the community shifts. People are happier, more positive and more energetic.

I can definitely say that my energy level has increased lately. I place the blame on the sun and T25. Doing the T25 workouts after a hectic day at work can put me in a much better mood and I am starting to see the results! Alex is thinking about getting his soccer team to do some of the workouts that T25 offers to get them in shape for an upcoming tournament.

We haven't really been able to get out the land in the past while. We've been busy with fundraising, course work and trying to give our best at the school and the weather has not been the greatest. So when we did get to out on a hike with the dogs it felt like such a relief. The dog's loved it and we enjoyed escaping from our busy lifestyles. I was able to capture some of the snow drifts that our past few blizzards created. Enjoy!

Extreme Weather - Whale Cove Style

The weather here in Whale Cove can be quite treacherous but also very exciting! Last weekend there was a wind chill of about -56 degrees Celsius. This may not sound that exciting but not many people can say that they have experienced this type of cold. At this temperature exposed skin can freeze within minutes. I experienced this a number of times last year from not dressing appropriately, I thought a homemade scarf would protect my whole face. I finally gave in to the less stylish apparel when I got frostbite for the fifth time.  This year I wear a balaclava, a fleece neck-warmer and goggles if I am braving the cold for longer than three minutes. When you are outside in -56 degree weather you might also experience such side effects as frosted/frozen eyelashes, loss of breath and frozen nostrils. One must dress appropriately! 

Southerners might feel that wearing fur is distasteful and cruel but these are people that have not experienced -56. Having fur on my hood is something that has also saved me from frostbite this year. I don’t know what it does but it works. I have also found that the sealskin mitts are warmer than any mitts I have bought from a store. The Inuit have been surviving in the harsh environment of the north for centuries; I don't think they use fur because they think it looks nice, they have been using it for centuries because it serves a purpose.

It's Friday today and I am not at work because a badass blizzard has hit the Kivalliq region. I thought I knew what a blizzard was but I had no idea. I cannot see past my front porch. If someone were to walk outside they would surely become lost and be in danger of freezing to death. We are running low on water  because the water truck has not been able to get to anyone’s house to fill up their tanks and thus we must use some old water conservation tricks (if it’s yellow let it mellow…), washing the dishes is a no no (lucky for Alex haha) and showering is out of the question. The blizzard is supposed to end tonight, however, there is a possibility that it will last all weekend. So buckle down my fellow Kivalliq northerners we may be in for a long weekend!

Health Kick

Staying healthy in the north can be challenging at times. It is hard to find fresh fruits and veggies and any natural product like almond milk, hemp seeds etc. It is too cold to go outside and exercise for the most part and Whale Cove does not have a fitness gym.  One has to be motivated and creative in order to stay fit. 

 Last year I would play sports after school once or twice a week and participate in my Phys Ed class in order to keep in shape. If I was feeling motivated I would ride our stationary bike. I thought I was keeping in shape to the best of my ability. 

This semester Alex and I want to really focus on becoming more healthy, getting/keeping in shape and getting stronger. We are planning on participating in a mountaineering course in Alberta this summer and I want to be able to fully participate in the course without feeling like I want to die! (Kilimanjaro was a eye opened for my lack of length strength and endurance). So we have started to start our mornings off with smoothies, almonds for snack, light lunch and a healthy dinner. Alex is pretty good at working out independently however, I need a little bit more motivation. I started the Focus T25 workout program last Wednesday, I have done each 25 minute workout everyday since Wednesday and my body feels pretty sore but it feels great! It's only 25 minutes so its hard to talk myself out of it which I love haha because I am pretty good at doing that when it comes to working out. The workout also does not require alot of room. Sean T is the who leads the work outs and he is super motivating and I often find myself talking back to him during the work out. Anyways I have lost 5 pounds since this new health kick so if anyone is looking to shed some of the holiday pounds give this program a try - Focus T25. 

Niya is doing her stretches, getting ready to focus with Sean T! 

Big things are happening!

Big things are happening for Inuglak School this semester. One other teacher and myself will be taking students on an exchange trip to Bracebridge Ontario. Fifteen students from Bracebridge and Muskoka Lake Secondary School will be coming up to Whale Cove in March and we will be bringing fifteen students from Whale Cove to Bracebridge in April. Alex is planning on taking the girls soccer team to Yellowknife for Super Soccer (Soccer tournament for Arctic communities). The great 8/9 teacher is planning on taking students to northern Ontario to compete in a hockey tournament. Little Whale Cove is being put on the map!

This is the second time that Inuglak School has been chosen for an exchange trip (funded by the YMCA of Greater Toronto). One of the high school teachers took the kids down to Bracebridge a couple of years ago and he said it changed many of the students outlook on life. I am super excited to be part of this exchange trip not only because it will just be awesome to see the students (that I have become close with) experience Southern Canada, but I also get to show southern students how amazing Canada’s north is, something that many will never get to experience (unfortunately).

Inuglak School has seen so much turn over the years and therefore hasn’t had an opportunity to have so many exciting sports events, trips and activities all happen in one year. School attendance seems high and the energy at the school is extremely positive!

Back in the cove!

I arrived back in Whale Cove on Sunday. We were lucky to make it. Ottawa airport was so backed up with having to de ice all their planes so we ended up being delayed an hour or so. We made it to Winnipeg 5 minutes before our flight closed their gates! When we got on to the first air flight heading to Rankin it was like stepping into another world. Everyone knew eachother, the flight attendants were extremely friendly and there just seemed to be a very positive energy on the plane. Alex did mention that by stepping onto the plane we lost our anonymity. On our air Canada flight we were anonomous to the crew and to the people around us; this was not the case on the first air flight. We were part of the northern community.

We arrived home around 3ish and we were greeted by our two very excited pups! Niya has doubled her size and her and qimmik are even more inseparable as they were before. 

The first day back to school was great, the students shook my hand to wish me a happy new year. The skeptical students were the happiest to see us. It is not uncommon for teachers to not return after Christmas therefore many students are more skeptical than others when t comes to teacher commitment.

Second day of the new school year - blizzard!!! Today I am relaxing and making chilli. It is a blustery -55 with the wind chill so I wanted to make something to warm us up. 

I hope everyone's first few days back to work were not to stressful! 

Christmas time

I apologize for neglecting my blog so much these past months. Whale Cove offers a simple life, however it can get quite busy. The November long weekend my parents came up for a visit. It was very cold the weekend they came up and the Ice was starting to freeze, therefore many polar bears had been sighted. This made it difficult to take my parents out exploring on the land; however, we did make it up to the whales tale. My parents came up with 4 rubber maid totes filled with goodies :) My mom and I got some cooking and baking done and my Dad got some down time! It was a very relaxing and enjoyable visit.

I had a chance to travel to Iqaluit in November. I took 10 students to the territorial wide Badminton tournament held in Iqaluit. On the way there I had to sleep in Rankin because flights did not match up and on the way back I had to stay over in Rankin two nights. By the end of the week I was very happy to return home. It was an awesome trip, the kids were great! We won some medals and we all get to experience beautiful Iqaluit a little bit. The only down side to this trip was sleeping on a classroom floor for four nights!

I been working really hard on a new project that Inuglak School has took on. We have been offered an exchange trip to Bracebridge, Ontario. In March students from Bracebridge and Muskoka Lakes Secondary School will be coming to Whale Cove. We will organize feasts and activities and land trips for them and then in April we will be travelling to Bracebridge Ontario. We are all very excited about this!

Christmas time is here and I will be flying back to Toronto on Tuesday, December 17th. I am very excited to spend the holidays with family and friends!!!

October pictures

Travelling in the North

It has been a very busy couple of weeks with report cards, thanksgiving, sport practices/ tournaments and halloween preparations.

Thanksgiving weekend I was supposed to fly out to Toronto to attend my cousins wedding in the Muskoka's; however, things did not go as planned. I followed the weather all week, and all week it called for a beautiful sunny day (perfect flying weather) - the night before my departure date, the weather turned to cloud coverage and fog, by 2pm the next day I could not see across the road because the fog was so thick. So by 3:30pm my flight was cancelled, the joys of travelling in the north. Flights in the north can be cancelled due to high winds, fog, snow, blizzards, ice on the runways and even if it is a clear day your flight may be cancelled because of mechanical issues. The planes that fly up here are quite old. So I missed a beautiful wedding and celebrating with my family and I also missed my sister's birthday. So after learning that my flight was cancelled I went to the co-op and bought what I needed for a thanksgiving dinner, this included a $50.00 turkey!! I was extremely disappointed that I could not be there for the wedding but I made the best of it and my family sent me lots of pictures and videos of the wedding :)

Last weekend Alex and I flew to Rankin for a soccer tournament. Alex coaches the Whale Cove girls soccer team and has put in a great deal of effort with developing their skills. We came third over all - however, the tournament was not very well set up and our team should have came in second if they counted wins and loses. Indoor soccer is very popular in Nunavut and the tournaments are really intense. Each game was a nail biter! The girls did really well and the whole community was very proud of them, our little community of 500 won 4 out of 5 games and won against communities that are much bigger than ours.

It was nice to visit Rankin for a weekend -unlike Whale Cove, Rankin has restaurants and TIM HORTONS!! So we were able to enjoy some good meals and some coffee and donuts! Rankin also has two stores, therefore the prices are lower than in Whale Cove because of competition, so we picked up some yogurt and fruit and veggies and puppy food to bring home with us. We brought our new puppy with us to Rankin. She got lots of attention my the flight attendants on the plane. She was too little to put in cargo and we didn't have a kennel small enough to put her under the seat soooo we put her in a small bag under our seat - the benefits of flying in the north!

The weather looks pretty nasty for the next couple of days, I foresee a blizzard in the near future!

Puppy season!