Arctic Dispatches

Resolute Tragedy

2011-09-14T13:30:00.008-04:00

Even though I signed off on this blog when I left Nunavut, a recent event in Resolute has brought me back there in heart and mind. On August 20 a First Air flight carrying passengers and freight crashed in the community. On board were people returning to work in Resolute, First Air Crew, a university student coming to work on a project and 2 little girls from my former school. The two were sisters. Gabrielle miraculously survived the crash but her sister Cheyanne, who was 6 years old and going into grade two this year did not. This is so hard to write about. I am certain that anyone who has flown in the Arctic could place themselves on that plane. I was devastated to hear about the girls. They were so tight, such a unit, it's impossible to imagine one without the other. Every morning when I arrived at school, the first thing I did was open the back door for the students. The first two through the door were Cheyanne and Gabrielle. They would come running in, breathless, laughing, red-cheeked. Impatient to get the day going. They adored school.They would wiggle out of snowsuits on the floor, stuff their clothes in their cubbies and run to get the games and toys for our breakfast time. Cheyanne was a fashionista and as soon as the snow suit came off she would stand silently, hands on hips, head cocked to one side, eyes sparkling and challenging. I should say wordless, but hardly silent. My job then was to exclaim over the outfit, hairstyle, and shoes of the day. Then she would bestow the dazzling smile and twirl away.

During the day I would make any excuse to drop into Eileen's classroom to visit. There were just 6 kids in that classroom and they could charm the cold and darkness out of any high arctic day. I loved their reading time when they would sit on the miniature red couch and chairs and read to one another, their rhythm band practice for the Christmas concert, and snack time when they laughed and joked and ate apples and oranges. Cheyanne was always the center of everything. She was such an itsy bitsy girl, her hugs landed somewhere around my knees. My heart is broken for that little town, Cheyanne's family and for the school. My thoughts are with them and with my friend Eileen who was Cheyanne's teacher for the past 2 years. Cheyanne and her sister were like her Nunavut grandchildren.

I have many pictures of Cheyanne, so here are a few. She was a strong, smart, beautiful little girl who lived a great big life in a tiny amount of time and will always have a place in my heart. I'm sure there's a bright new star in the arctic sky.

I took portraits of all the kids in the school for a Mother's Day project. This is Cheyanne's.

Cheyanne and Gabrielle making muffins (mostly making a huge mess) with Julien, a university student from Ontario. Some batter did manage to make it into the muffin tins.

Cheynanne's kindergarten graduation picture with her mom, Brenda.

Gabrielle and Cheyanne posing in our after-school program.

A couple of Cheyanne's fashion statements.

Cheyanne reading to her best buddy, Kyle.

Cheyanne was a big fan of red lipstick. Halloween was a great excuse to slather it on.

The sisters at Halloween. Happy days.

Final Dispatch

2011-07-15T16:56:00.002-04:00

I am writing this post from Paris where I have rented a tiny apartment for a month. I should probably begin by explaining why I have been away from this blog for so long. Sorry for the cliche, but where does the time go? It has been a very crazy year and although a good one, I wasn't sorry to see the end of June. This is the second year in a row that I have moved communities and jobs mid-year and that makes for a very busy life.

I made the decision a few weeks before the end of the school year not to return to Nunavut next year. Like many people, I originally went for 1 school year and stayed for 3. It was an experience that I will always cherish. It brought out the best in me and changed me in ways that I don't think I will fully understand for some time. Nunavut is a land of contrasts and the most interesting lesson that it taught me is that many realities and truths can exist in the same place at the same time. The people of Nunavut have a difficult path ahead of them and I will follow their stories with interest in the years to come. Canada needs to do a much better job of looking after the children of Nunavut. They are amazing kids - strong, resilient, generous and fun in spite of the hardships they face daily. I will think of them often. I had a really happy dream last night that I went back to Clyde River - maybe someday. The trip down from Iqaluit to Ottawa was fun - I traveled with friends from school and at the airport I was lucky to catch planes coming from both Clyde and Resolute, so was able to see friends from both communities. A few days before leaving, I ran into a young family who had been my next door neighbours in Resolute and were relocating to Iqaluit because they felt there would be more opportunities there for the kids. I was able to pass on my household goods to them, which gave them a good start and made my life easier as they came to pick everything up.

What's next? I plan to spend the next year between my island home in the Bay of Fundy and an apartment I am looking after for a friend in Halifax. It will be a year of transition, selling the island properties and looking for employment somewhere overseas for the 2012/2013 school year. I'm not sure where - it's a great big world. What I am sure of though, is that I will be packing all the wonderful gifts from Nunavut - self reliance, confidence and the enhanced ability to enjoy what is around me. Thanks, Nunavut!

Here is a my writing club at Aqsarniit Middle School in Iqaluit.

Finally, I created this Wordle from Arctic Dispatches. Wordle takes all the words in the blog and displays them according the frequency with with they are used. It is a really visual reminder of what was on my mind over the past 3 years. Isn't this an amazing thing? Best wishes to all my readers - it has been wonderful sharing this amazing journey with you.

Deborah

Big City Life

2011-02-13T15:28:00.011-05:00

I have been in Iqaluit for just over a month now and am finally starting to feel settled in my new home and school. Iqaluit is the capital of the territory. The population is around 8,000 people and it is the fastest growing capital city in Canada. There were so many things I loved about living in the remote communities but I must say that there are other things I am really enjoying here. For instance, it's nice to have such a variety of food available at 2 good stores. Being able to buy a national newspaper on the same day it's published. Arriving at Iqaluit knowing that there wasn't another 5 or 6 hours of travel left to go. Daylight!! The school was a shock to me at first. So many kids! There are over 300 students in our school (there were less than 60 in Resolute). There are a number of schools in the community and ours is Aqsarniit, the middle school (grades 6, 7, 8). So far, my job promises to be interesting and engaging, the staff at the school have been friendly and welcoming and the administration is supportive. Last week I attended a 5 day course to become certified as a facilitator to deliver a program called "Aboriginal Shield" which is meant to help prevent risky behavours in youth. Plugging away at my Master's degree and just generally busy. It has been unusually cold here in Iqaluit. We closed school one day when the temperature reached minus 54. Later that night it went down to minus 60. That is the coldest I have experenced in 2.5 years in the arctic. Just before I got here there had been rain and there was no ice on Frobisher Bay for the first time in living memory. Everybody here is talking about how odd the weather is becoming.
My new home is a one bedroom apartment right downtown. I have big corner windows through which I can see all the activity downtown and the planes coming and going from the aiport. They fly shockingly close to my window. The cats love the windows. There is a small roof that juts out from the window and the ravens land there and tease the cats and the dog. Lots of noise and excitement. The ravens in the arctic are enormous and I'm certain they're looking for a way to get in and steal a cat for dinner.
It's been too cold for getting out to take pictures - I worry about my camera when it's this cold. Here is one of the amazing views from the huge windows at the school. The school is very high up on a hill and has views all around.
The week after next is Professional Improvement week. Teachers can create their own projects and are provided with a week of time and some funding. This year I am going to begin learning about editing digital audio through some wonderful mentoring at the CBC radio station and by working on my own with Adobe Soundbooth. This will help with a course I've been taking through the Poynter Institute called Telling Stories with Sound.
Right now I'm going to pop out to the store and buy some Valentines to give to kids tomorrow. Imagine! "Up North" I would have had to ask someone down south to mail them up to me.

Where the Wild Things Are

2010-12-18T14:53:00.001-05:00

I have finished my term position in Resolute and am moving further south. OK, further south, much further south than Resolute. After Christmas vacation I am starting a term Student Support position at the middle school in Iqaluit. A school where everybody is in grade 6, 7 & 8. Hmmm. It will seem strange to be in the "big city" after my time in the remote communities. My time is Resolute can only be described as intense. The job was incredibly busy given the size of the school. The implementation of the new Nunavut Eductaion Act is keeping educators in the territory busy. I learned loads and loved going to work every day. It is a tough land and it's hard not to admire the people who were relocated here and managed to forge a community out of such physical and emotional adversity. The threat of polar bears around town is real and certainly kept me alert as I went about my business in the dark and cold. The school was a lovely warm, friendly oasis. I will miss the kids and staff and had a tearful goodbye. Here are some random photos I've been meaning to post for a while now.

The high school girls made and decorated 3 cakes for my goodbye party. Whenever we have a celebration we make enough cake for the whole school

The chair of our District Education Authority made this "Mother Hubbard" parka for my farewell gift. A perfect fit - and she totally guessed the size.
After months looking over my shoulder for the bears that I was sure were stalking me to school every morning, it was fun to pose by the stuffed polar bear at the airport in Resolute as I waited for my flight out at 6:30 am.

A Halloween portrait of one of our high school students - front page of the territorial newspaper!

The very last of the sun before the beginning of the polar night.

A few weeks before the arrival of 24 hour darkness. At noon one day this was in front of me and...

this was behind me.

I will miss those crazy High-Arctic skies.

Teaching Positions Available

2010-11-04T17:53:00.002-04:00

I see from my live traffic feed that many people come to my blog because they are interested in teaching in Nunavut - or, at least, finding out more about the possibilities and the experience. Our school has 3 positions available which will be staffed over the next few weeks. The jobs will start in January. The advertisement can be found at the Education Canada website. Look under Qikiqtani School Operations and then Qarmartalik School Resolute Bay. This is a tiny, multi-age school, so the teachers teach a wide variety of subjects to a wide range of grades. If you have any questions, I will be happy to answer them, but your applications can't come to the principal, they have to be sent to the regional office as described in the job ad. If you want me to answer questions, just leave a comment with your contact info. I won't publish the comments. This is a great opportunity for someone to get a start teaching in Nunavut as it is unlikely there will be priority northern applicants because of the timing of the vacancies. The school and community face the same challenges as all northern communities, but the kids are friendly and sweet and the school is beautiful and incredibly well-equipped. Qarmartalik School is the second most-northerly school in Canada, located on the Northwest Passage on Cornwallis Island.

The Kindness of Strangers

2010-08-30T17:00:00.000-04:00

Although I have shared my life with numerous pets for many years, I had never travelled any distance with them before I started spending school years in the arctic. Prior to that, coaching or capturing an unwilling pet into a carrier and taking it to the vet was the sum total of my travelling with pets experience. I find the whole process of putting my 2 cats and my dog on airplanes to be unbearably stressful. I am hyper alert to news stories (and urban legends) about dogs escaping from their carriers and disappearing forever, last seen running in panic around a runway. Or cat carriers that came out the luggage chute with no cat inside and the broken-hearted owner who flew back to her original destination and spent 2 weeks trying to find him. My worst fear is that my pets will get left behind in an airport, or worse, on a runway while I am flying off to my next destination. Maybe I see the carriers sitting on the runway as I take off, or maybe they get loaded on to the wrong plane. I am relentless in double and triple checking the whereabouts of those beloved critters. I watch out the window of the airport and am often able to see the two maroon carriers being loaded on with the luggage. When I get on the plane, I ask the flight attendant to to check again. So far, four trips from Nova Scotia to the high arctic have been accomplished without incident.You can probably guess what's coming. On this trip up, everything went fine from Halifax to Ottawa, with an overnite stay there. When I got to Iqaluit, the pets came off the plane and stayed with me for the 2 hour wait. All good. I was talking to some of the teachers at the airport, feeling very relaxed (probably too relaxed) and was a bit later than usual checking them through security. Everybody assured me they were through in plenty of time. When I was getting on the plane, I asked the people on the runway to have a look inside and confirm for me, which they did. I even stood up and asked the other passengers (very tiny plane) if they had pets on board. Nobody did, so, by process of elimination, they had to be mine. In spite of all that, I had a very strong feeling on the flight to Resolute that they weren't on the plane. When I stepped off the plane in Resolute, the local First Air rep was there to meet me. "Has anyone spoken to you yet?" he asked. By this time I had already been making plans in my head to find someone in Iqaluit to go to the airport to find the pets. My worst nightmare come true. However, a happy ending to the story. Two women (pet owners) who work at the First Air ticket counter took my pets home as soon as it was realized that the plane had left without them. They talked to me on the phone later that night and were incredibly kind to the animals who apparently enjoyed the sleepover and were shipped up to me on a charter flight the next day. I wonder if this will make me more relaxed on future flights because the worst thing happened and it turned out ok? First Air was very quick to be in touch, offer their apologies and provde financial compensation.

Northern Migration

2010-08-12T17:09:00.004-04:00

Once again I'm at the airport in Halifax waiting to board the first flight of my journey back to Resolute. An amazing summer that honestly could not have been better. I'm certain that most people (especially teachers) look forward to summer break. Northern teachers are crazy to get home in June. We plan like mad, trying to fit in an impossible amount of southern living in 7 or 8 weeks. From the minute we get off the plane at the end of the school year, we live in a whirlwind of seeing people, experiencing everything we felt deprived of during the long polar winter and fitting in the dentist and other medical appointments. Our two new teachers Joe and Lindsay even managed to fit in a wedding! From the time we get home we're already packing for the trip back. We've got the long list of things we want to bring back up north, which for most of us, includes treats for the kids we work with. The enormous expectations we carry off the plane in June can weigh down the summer. Going into my third year in the Arctic I am learning to let go of much of that and just enjoy everything that comes along. My unexpected trip to New York was wildly enjoyable, as was time spent hanging out with an old buddy on his whale watch vessel. I know I've written this before, and I'm sure I will again, but one of the great side effects of the arctic living experience is the magnified enjoyment of what I once considered ordinary - trees and grass rank highly these days. So, after a perfect vacation, I'm very excited about getting back to Resolute. I can't wait for that first breath of arctic air. I love schools, have since I entered my first one at the age of five. The start of the school year feels like New Year's and I can't wait to see the kids and get the year started. Here are a few shots from my whale watching trips of the Bay of Fundy this summer.

Unexpected Change in Latitude

2010-07-14T11:20:00.006-04:00

Right now, I should be in Rankin Inlet in western Nunavut. I should be finishing off the last couple of days of the Nunavut Educational Leadership Program (ELP). Instead, I am sitting in a cafe on 7th Ave in New York City watching the crowds out the window and blogging. All school administrators in Nunavut must take the ELP as a condition of employment. With travel time it is an investment of about 2 weeks of summer vacation time. So, as you can imagine, enthusiasm for the course varies greatly from person to person. As well, teachers who are interested in becoming administrators can also apply to attend the course. I was looking forward not only to the course, but was also excited about the chance to see and photograph some tundra plants. I have been an amateur botanist since childhood and have been tantalized by the end of summer remnants of arctic poppies and cotton grass when I arrive in the arctic in mid-August. On July 4 around 26 of us flew to Winnipeg from various places and were scheduled to fly up to Rankin the next morning. There were two other groups meeting in Iqaluit and somewhere in NWT. For two days flights were cancelled because of bad weather in Rankin. Four times we were checked in for flights that never left. Four times we repeated the tedious process of recollecting our luggage off the carosel and waiting for instructions from the person in Rankin who was organizing us. We were all packed with winter clothes and camping gear, so there were tons of luggage. At the end of the 2nd day, with no weather change in sight, the program leaders made the decision to cancel the program. On a positive note, our group spent 3 nights together in 3 different airport hotels and had fun dinners together every night. When time allowed, we explored a bit of Winnipeg (between cancelled flights). It was a great way to get to know a bunch of people who share so much in common. So, I found myself with nearly 2 weeks of unexpected free time. Everything at home was taken care of and I had excellent pet/house sitters. It seemed a shame to waste all that, so at the airport in Winnipeg on my way back to Halifax I booked a last minute week in New York. I flew to Halifax, repacked in my car, leaving behind winter clothes and camping gear and picking up some summer clothes I had left in the back seat. As I had 10 days between arriving home and setting out again for ELP, the unexpected vacation felt like such a gift. I am just finishing off an amazing week and feel rested, energized and inspired and ready for the next month of enjoying Nova Scotia and getting ready to head back up north on August 14.

Here we are in the airport in Winnipeg at the end of day 2 waiting for a decision about cancellation of the program. I am hoping that the leaders of the course find a creative way to deliver the course by distance over the up-coming school year.

Journey South

2010-06-20T13:00:00.000-04:00

It seems that lately, the only opportunity I have for blogging is while travelling. I am sitting in the airport in Ottawa, waiting for the flight that will complete an arduous journey that began at 6:30 yesterday morning when I left Resolute. I flew from Resolute to Nanasivik (Arcitc Bay), then to Iglooik, Iqaluit, Ottawa. Overnight in Ottawa and on to Halifax tonight and then a 4 hour drive to my other island home. I must say that as trying as arctic travel is, its one redeeming quality is other arctic travellers. There is a strong sense of camaraderie and sympathy. We are all in the same boat (or plane, in this case). At the mercy of First Air and its antiquated aircraft, unpredictable weather and the opportunity for ANYTHING to go wrong, I find that arctic travellers have a sense of humour and jump quickly to help those in need. For instance, the story of how a planeload of us teachers spent 8 hours alone in an unheated airport in Igloolik in February has spread around. One total stranger told me that he had "heard about that". That story deserves its own posting. Maybe this summer when I have time (I have pictures). The other thing that arctic travellers have in common is the unbelievable amount of "stuff" that we lug around with us and for many of us, the pets we take up and down. A very common piece of arctic luggage is a beat-up plastic tote badly wrapped in duct tape. I now own a number of them.
I am usually a little confused and overcome when I first get back down south. Everything in Ottawa seems too hot and busy. I miss the arctic air and can't wait to get back down to the Bay of Fundy.
The school year ended on the 15th for our students, the teachers finished on the 16th, and I had two more days to wrap things up. It has been another amazing year for me. Changing communities and jobs mid-year was a huge challenge, but I feel so satisfied with everything. I enjoy the school in Resolute and the Principal's position feels absolutely right for me. I started a 2nd Masters degree this winter (Educational Leadership) and am looking forward to continuing with that in the fall. I also look forward to seeing Resolute when I return in August (without ice and snow). There is a river very near town and there will be lots of belugas, narwhals and polar bears around at that time. School is also looking like fun for next year. Some good new teachers and a huge kindergarten class (8 kids). The locals call it "Resolute's baby boom." When I left it was around 1 degree C and the kids were riding their bikes around town in shorts and t-shirts. I was still wearing the parka. They were all asking "when will school start again, Deborah?" "Before you know it" I told them.
Some pictures from around town and school.

Not My Liquor, Not My Foot.

2010-05-03T17:24:00.009-04:00

I am in Iqaluit for a medical appointment, so finally have a moment for blogging. Also, I just had to tell this strange story. To tell the story, I have to go back to Christmas, 2008 and then come back to today. I stayed in Clyde River for Christmas that year. The day after Christmas break I got a call at school from the local RCMP detachment. I knew the guy somewhat socially, so I was really taken aback when he spoke to me in a very official voice, asking me if I had placed an order for alcohol over Christmas break. I thought he was joking and made some joke back. However, he was serious. Clyde River is an alcohol restricted community. That means that in order to purchase liquor and have it flown into the community you need to get a permit from the local liquor committee. Any other way of bringing alcohol into the community is illegal. The RCMP officer went on to inform me, in his official voice, that a liquor order in my name had arrived at the airport over Christmas. Apparently a bottle of rum had broken open and I was reported to the alcohol committee and the RCMP for illegal importation of alcohol. He also said that the alcohol committee wanted me arrested - as a message to other southerners who bring in alcohol. I was absolutely stymied - and very upset. The only thing that was absolutely clear to me was that I had not placed the order. This is a criminal code offence. Bye, bye teaching career. I went immediately to the principal and vice-principal, who knew right away that I was telling the truth. The only explanation we could think of was that somebody was using my credit card number. But how did they even make the order without a permit? I called the store in Montreal that had shipped the order (also the store who ships up my food mail) and after speaking to 3 different people, the mystery was solved. The order had been placed by a woman in Iqaluit who has the same first and last name as me. Somehow, my account number and shipping address got put with her order and I got shipped her entire Christmas liquor order. She did have a permit. I got a letter of apology from the store and an explanation was sent to the RCMP.
Fast forward to today. I am in Iqaluit for an appointment with a specialist about a problem I am having with my right foot. While I was sitting in the doctor's office I could see that the file on the desk said Debbie L. instead of Deborah A. I also thought it odd that when the doctor came to get me in the waiting room he call out "Debbie." I said to him "are you sure that's me" and pointed to the file. He looked at me like I was nuts. People will often assume Debbie so I let it go. I didn't make any connection with the liquor incident. Then he asked if I had an x-ray of my foot and I said no. Then he looked in a large envelope on his desk and sure enough, there was an x-ray - of a right foot. I am thinking that I should be seeing someone for Alzheimer's at this point. He went on to say that the x-rayed foot looked different than my foot, but that changes could have taken place since the x-ray was taken in 2005. "Where was the x-ray taken?" I asked. "Here at this hospital." I told him that I had never been in Nunavut until 2008. By now I'm sure that he thinks I am seriously nuts. I kept saying "that's not my foot." He kept saying things like "what do you mean that's not your foot?" Finally I took the file and found the birth date. Not mine. I wonder if there will be a Chapter Three in The Crossed Lives of Two Arctic Deborahs. I wonder if she knows as much about me as I do about her? I've seen the inside of her foot! I know what she drinks. I wonder how she's doing with that foot?

New Home on Cornwallis Island

2010-02-10T10:41:00.005-05:00

After a few delays (including an overnight in Iqaluit) I arrived in Resolute on Februay 3 (last Wednesday evening). Just in time for the sunrise on the 4th. Even more spectacular than Clyde. It's been a crazy couple of weeks with packing and moving. I am really relieved to finally be here but find myself homesick for Clyde. It was so hard to say goodbye to everybody; I spent the last week in tears half the time. I was so touched by how many times I was told that I would be missed. I am settling into my new home and school. The school is beautiful and the kids and community members have been very welcoming and friendly. I have really lucked out in the housing game. I am renting the house that belongs to the principal I am replacing. It is lovely; newly renovated, amazing kitchen and even a jacuzzi! My pets have settled in very well. I think they're getting used to moving around the arctic. There was a community feast on Saturday evening and I was able to meet lots of people there. This town is soooo tiny (around 200 people), it makes Clyde look like a big city. I was surprised at how little Inuktitut the kids speak. I have always heard that the language is strong in Clyde and I can certainly see the contrast. This history of this place is so different. I wrote a bit about the high arctic relocations in a post in December 2008. The people of Resolute and Grise Fiord were moved up here by the government in the 1950's. It is quite a story. They are still waiting for an official apology from the Federal Government. I have met some elders who were among the original relocation group. So, off to a positive start in Resolute and really excited to be here.

Surise over the Northwest Passage. This picture was taken from the front step of my new house.
Some of our students at the feast.

Cutting up cariboo meat.
One of our students and her grandmother throat singing.

Sunrise shot taken through the school window.

Return of the Sun

2010-01-21T13:39:00.023-05:00

Sunrise 10:17, Sunset 13:17
The happy old sun has finally returned to Clyde River. It is the most amazing sight to see this fiery, red ball pop above the horizon. There is nothing subtle about the suns's reappearance at the dawn of the long polar night. Suddenly, a hallway in the elementary school was bathed in red light. I saw local teachers hurrying toward the grade 4 class. I heard someone saying "the sun is in grade four." In the grade 4 classroom, the source of the light, it was stunning: the whole room was infrared. I knew that it would disappear as quickly as it came so I ran outside to wink at the sun for luck and take some pictures. At -53, it was quck shooting and get the mittens back on immediately. My hands hurt within seconds and I was worried about my camera. But the sight of that crazy, crazy sun more than made up for the discomfort. It is a positively visceral feeling and one that I am sure I will count among the most memorable of my life. One of my many gifts from the arctic. This year, I will get to enjoy the experience twice, as it will be a few more weeks until the sunrise in Resolute.

And just like that, it seemed to set even more quickly than it rose.

Then, of course, we celebrated Sun Day at school. With cool shades.....

And face painting........

and our brightest summer clothes. We had beach volleyball with balloons and lots of other games and crafts. With minus 50 temps, all activities had to be held indoors.

OK, Now It's Cold!

2010-01-10T13:06:00.009-05:00

For the past few days, the wind chill temperature has been hovering between minus 47 and minus 50. This is the first time since I moved to Nunavut that my coat and snow pants have not felt warm enough. We actually had indoor recess today and yesterday (a rare event). The good news is that the sun will be rising for the first time on January 19. Apparently the time between sunrise and sunset on that day is 48 minutes. We will celebrate Sun Day in school next Friday.
We are getting back into the swing of things here after Christmas break. I have been acting as Vice-Principal since we got back, so very busy and trying to take care of everything regarding my move. My flight to Resolute is booked for Saturday, January 30. I have to fly to Iqaluit first, wait there for three hours and then fly north. I'm pleased that the journey can be done in one day (if the weather cooperates). This would be in contrast to our trip back from Christmas break. That was a true tour of the arctic. On day one we flew from Ottawa to Montreal to Kuujuaq to Iqaluit. Then it was claim luggage and stay overnight at hotels in Iqaluit. The next morning we went from Iqaluit to Pangnirtung to Qikiqtarjuaq to Clyde River. The flight in and out of Pang was pretty scary. Coming in those wing tips looked very close to the mountains and coming out there is apparently a cross wind between the mountain peaks and given the amount of screaming on the plane I was sure we were done for. Needless to say, I was happy to be back home in Clyde. The scenery, though, was amazing. Difficult to photograph, but here are a few of my attempts.
I have just two more weekends to get packed for the move. The government of Nunavut is organizing my move, but I need to pack myself as there is no moving company here. Instead, they ship up boxes and other supplies by air from Iqaluit and when I'm ready to go a local person will get everything to the airport to be shipped to Resolute. I am very excited about going, but dread moving.

Resolute Bound

2009-12-21T11:03:00.004-05:00

My big news of the moment is that I will be starting a new job on February 1. I am moving up to Resolute Bay to take over the principals position until Christmas break next year. Resolute is the second most northerly community in Canada and, among it's various claims to fame, is reported to be one of the coldest inhabited places on Earth. It is located on the Northwest Passage, on Cornwallis island in the Arctic Archipelago. My fifth island home. Resolute is a tiny Inuit Hamlet with a population of around 250 permanent residents. It is also frequented by scientists and those seeking adventure. The school is called Qarmartalik and has around 60 students (K-12). The school website is www.qarmartalik.com. When this position finishes, I will return to Clyde River, where my position will be held for me. I am very excited at the prospect, and looking at some very busy weeks after Christmas vacation; getting ready to move.
We have just finished a crazy/busy week at school. Christmas concert was on Wednesday and again this year, I was in charge of getting the gym decorated. Lots of fun working with many of the school's kids on that. Below is a photograph of our stage background design. The decorations will stay up over the Christmas break as the large community church services will take place in the gym. On Friday, our last day of school, we cooked and served turkey dinner to the kids and their families during the day and then had our staff dinner with the District Education Committee members in the evening. I slept most of Saturday and am just putting the finishing touches on packing for Christmas vacation. I just hope the weather cooperates. Some of the teachers who left on Saturday were delayed and missed connections. We've been having a lot of snow lately, so fingers crossed!
Although we are in the darkest part of the dark season there is some light around 11-1 PM every day. This is what it looked like the other day at around 11. Today is the winter solstice, so from here on the light will start returning fairly rapidly. The sun will rise around the 20th of January here in Clyde and then later in Resolute. Maybe I'll get to see the sun come up twice this year. I will always remember seeing that fiery-red sun peek over the horizon last January. A feeling that I can't describe. You have to experience it.

Cat enjoying the beautiful view. So, happy holidays to everyone reading. If all goes well, I shall soon be looking at blue skies!

The Long Polar Night Is Upon Us

2009-11-27T21:57:00.002-05:00

I picked up a flyer at the Northern Store today. I wanted to photograph it to post here, but it was a faint photocopy and it just didn't work. So, next best thing, I am going to reproduce the text - line for line.

Moonlight Madness

Northwest Company

Friday

November 27, 2007 (apparently forgot to update - for 2 years)

7-10 PM

Door Prizes

Flash Sales

Wolf Howling Contest

Starts At 9PM

Lolly Pop Sucking

Starts at 8PM

Enough said.

The Ice Is Closing In

2009-11-06T12:32:00.005-05:00

Sunrise 9:01, Sunset 13:36

The harbour is now covered in ice. I took this picture at lunchtime the other day. At home (Bay of Fundy) we call this sea smoke (extremely cold air over open water). This last bit of open water has since closed over. Things get much busier around town when the ice gets thick enough to travel on. I can usually see people out on the ice on skidoos when I am going to and from school (in the dark). There is tons of snow around. Lots more than at this time last year. School was cancelled yesterday because of a very short blizzard. It was all over in no time and we were back in school after lunch.
There have been a number of polar bear sightings in town over the past couple of weeks. The vice-principal called me one day last week to tell me that there was a bear in front of the school and to keep a watch out as I walked to school. It crossed the road in front of two teachers who were on their way to school. Still haven't seen one. I'd like to - I think.
The big event of the week in town is the H1N1 flu shot clinic. The health center staff (and extra staff that has been brought in) have taken over the gym for three days and it looks as if lots if people are getting the shot. I got both the H1N1 and the regular flu shot. I am such a baby when it comes to needles! I decided to get the controversial shot because we are a very long way from a hospital and doctor here, so I didn't want to take any chances. There is a very well-equipped health center here, but in order to get to a hospital, patients need to be flown to Iqaluit or Ottawa. That's if the weather cooperates.

Going Out in a Burst of Glory

2009-11-03T09:13:00.009-05:00

Sunrise 8:21, Sunset 14:15
The days are shrinking rapidly. We are losing daylight at the rate of over 10 minutes a day and that will increase very quickly over the next few weeks. Apparently the last sunset will happen on November 18 and it will not rise again until around the 20th of January. Leading up to the final sunset are some amazing sunrises and sunsets. Yesterday, the sun dropped very quickly behind the mountains at 2:30 PM. This morning's sky was remarkable. I was able to photograph both the sunrise and the full moon.

We have just finished celebrating one of Clyde River's favourite events - Halloween. On Friday at school we held a whole-school contest for best costumes, by grades. I was asked to co-judge the event, along with one of the RCMP officers. It was great fun. The costumes were impressive. Many were homemade (my favourite kind). Here are a few of the elementary kids waiting to show off their costumes.Saturday night was Trick-Or-Treating. I love the way they do it here. There is a set time (5-7) and people of all ages race around town on snowmobiles and sleds. It was incredibly cold (wind chill of -32C) but that didn't seem to slow down the fun. I had around 300 visitors (including a few that came back for seconds). My dog Reba wore s skunk costume that a friend at home found in a second hand shop. It must have been quite convincing, because one group of little kids held their noses and ran away without getting their treats! Here is Reba watching out the window for the Trick-Or-Treaters. You can see that the cat is really worked up over the whole thing.

A Night To Remember

2009-10-21T10:16:00.023-04:00

Sunrise 8:21, Sunset 16:17, -7C

Last Thursday night, our school celebrated graduation. Schools in Nunavut hold graduation in the fall because they need to wait for results from the English exam students write in June. Graduation is always a huge event in Clyde River, but this year's was really special. This was the largest graduating class in the history of the school (12 grads). The impediments to graduation are huge for these kids, so making it all the way is cause for a big celebration. I coordinated the graduation again this year and really enjoyed the process. Here are some pictures of the highlights.

Students prepare to go out into the audience and deliver roses to those who helped them reach graduation. This is a really beautiful and emotional ceremony. I ordered 120 roses from a florist in Iqaluit and was very nervous until I received them safe and sound. It has been quite cold and I was worried that they would get frozen or that the plane wouldn't be able to land.

My student from last year, Kevin, received a special award for volunteerism. Beside him is the Northern Store manager who is telling the audience how the first person you see around town in the morning is Kevin, who voluntarily shovels the school, store and elders' steps. She gave him a gift certificate and, of course, a plastic shovel.

This is Pia, another of my students from last year. She is lighting her candle from a seal oil lamp that has been lit by an elder. This is symbolic of elders passing on knowledge to youth. You can see how the small kids gather around and pay such close attention to this.

This is (almost) the whole group. Pia wasn't available for this photo.

Valedictorians Allanah and Tracy deliver the message from the graduating class in Innuktitut and English.

Parents escort grads up to the stage while the theme song plays. This year's grads chose One Step At a Time by Jordan Saprks. There was very loud cheering and applause as each grad passed through the archway.

Jolene celebrates with her son (graduating class of 2020?)

Ruthie and Clara, ready for the prom. The prom is a dance for the whole community.

White Thanksgiving

2009-10-09T10:50:00.019-04:00

Sunrise 7:36, Sunset 17:05

It has been snowing off and on all day and quite a bit of soft, fluffy snow has accumulated. The forecast for tonight and tomorrow calls for more snow and high winds. I enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner yesterday in the company of some of the health center staff, RCMP, the couple who managers the Northern store, an electrician who is working on the store renovations and another teacher and her son. The cook was a nurse from Nova Scotia who treated us to a traditional dinner with contributions from the guests. Great food, conversation, stories and laughs.

Earlier today, two little girls threw snowballs at my window to get my attention so that they could show me their new outfits. Green shorts and denim jackets on sale at the Northern Store for $2.00 a piece. "Two, four, six, eight dollars" they yelled as I admired and took pictures. Quite a bargain! Needless to say, they scampered home to get warm after the pictures were taken.

Now here's a story for you. Friday morning, around 7 AM while I was still sleeping soundly, a large polar bear apparently wandered close to my house. An Inuk teacher who lives directly behind me was out on her step having a smoke. Coincidentally, the night before she had won a tag to hunt a bear and was planning to take the day off to go hunting. So, Rebecca (all 4 foot 11 of her) threw on outdoor clothes over her pyjamas, jumped on her brother's skidoo and shot the bear! Then she got dressed and went to school. I have been waiting to see a polar bear since I got here last year, but am not really interested in seeing one face-to-face on my way to school!

There are a number of bear skins out drying in the community at the moment. There continues to be disagreements between government conservation officials and the Inuit about the number of polar bears in the region.

Here is Rebecca with her grade 4 class on Friday. That's her head peeking up behind the kids. Kids in the school sent notes and cards congratulating her on the successful hunt.

Off and Running

2009-09-24T12:48:00.006-04:00

Photos from the Terry Fox walk.

Winter has begun in Clyde River. The temperature today is -3, there is some snow on the ground and more forecast for today. I also noticed some ice starting to form on the bay yesterday and the kids were skating on a shallow pond in town. The daylight is shrinking; today the sunrise and sunset will be exactly 12 hours apart to the minuite (6:26, 18:26). It feels different this year, because I know what to expect.

It has been such a busy school year so far. I feel like I hit the ground running in mid August and haven't stopped since. I have a great group of kids this year - some new ones and some from last year. My kids stay with me from year to year. They will graduate once they have accumulated enough credits. Three of my students from last year will be graduating next month. Our whole class is very excited about this. We ordered a suit for Kevin from the Sears website today. Everbody had lots of opinions about sizing, colours, etc. Another of my students from last year dropped by to have a look at prom dresses in the catalogue.

I am coordinating the graduation again this year. It was one of the high points of last year for me. Last year we had 3 grads, this year we have 12! So, I have been busy ordering grad rings and caps and gowns and fundraising with the kids. We have invited a number of special guests and will set the date according to their availability, probably mid-October.

A grade 9 student poses for a photo for her entry to the Dream Job contest.

Home In Clyde River

2009-08-19T11:02:00.012-04:00

Temp 7 C
Sunrise 4:20
Sunset 20:52

I arrived back in Clyde on August 14. I was supposed to arrive on the 13th, but my flight from Iqaluit to Clyde was cancelled because of fog. When traveling with 4 pets and loads of luggage, what is normally a minor inconvenience suddenly feels catastrophic. I was facing a night in Iqaluit with the possibility of no available hotel rooms. I was saved by a young man named Carlos who worked at the First Air Desk. Carlos, remarkably, is from Mexico and also works part time at the Nova Inn. He called and asked them to save me a room. I was helped into a taxi by people from Clyde River who were also waiting for that flight. The taxi driver was from North Africa. The arctic is a mix of people with the most fascinating stories. All turned out well. The pets and I enjoyed a night at the very nice Nova. Our second hotel night in a row (we stayed at the Southway Inn in Ottawa). The staff at the Nova was incredibly helpful, even found a makeshift litter box for me. I spent a lovely day and evening with my furry friends relaxing, reading, etc.

I hate it when they fight over the remote. Back in Clyde, it was right back in the swing of things, and what a warm welcome in the community! It felt so good to be back. I drove the school van to the airport over a couple of days to pick up returning and new teachers and their huge loads of luggage. It was wonderful to be reunited with returning teachers and to meet the (3) new teachers. The night before school started I cooked dinner for the new teachers and old friends. The new teachers come from Newfoundland, Nova Scotia and PEI and are a welcome addition to our social group of Atlantic Canadians. Adam from PEI is a musician and we are looking forward to some singing this year.

Crystal and Brooke on a weekend walk.

Even though we have just started back to school, we have a week off from September 7-11. When the school calendar was being set last spring, the community asked for a week for berry picking in September when the berries are ripe. There have been 3 ships in since I arrived back. The teacher's sealift orders arrived early this year. We are now waiting for the sealift order for the school. It will be welcomed as we have now run out of such things as paper towels and garbage bags. A ship came in today, but we are not sure yet if the school supplies are on it. I am also waiting for clasroom supplies and graduation decorations I ordered last year. When the order does come in the container will be delivered to the school and then we will take a day to unload it and put everything away.

Where Everybody Knows My Name

2009-08-12T15:00:00.007-04:00

I'm back after five weeks spent without internet access (occasional e-mail checks at friends). Quite nice, actually. An amazing summer has come to an end (for me, at least). I am writing this at the airport in Halifax, on my way back up to Clyde River. I'm excited to go back - can't wait to see everybody. What a great time I had this summer! London was fabulous, but even better to be among friends and family in Nova Scotia. I love island life. There is such a feeling of kinship with those you share the island with. One of the great pleasures was hanging out with some old friends on their whale watch boats in the Bay of Fundy. On one trip a humpback whale got very friendly, kept approaching us, even rocked the boat a little.

The view out across the cove from my house at sunset.
Green Head on Brier island (across the passage from my house)Balancing Rock, on the St. Mary's Bay shore on my island. My property has the Bay of Fundy on one side and St. Mary's Bay on the other.

So, the (very drugged) pets and the luggage have been checked in and my flight leaves in about an hour. We will spend the night in the Southway Inn in Ottawa. A great hotel that really caters to people passing through to the arctic. Very accomodating about pets, loads of luggage, coolers, etc.I will arrive in Clyde around 3 tomorrow afternoon. I can't wait for that first sight of Arctic poppies and cotton grass when the plane lands.

London Pride Parade

2009-07-05T12:24:00.017-04:00

While on the lookout for photographic opportunities in London I read about the London Pride Parade. I went to the Halifax Pride Parade last year and had a great time. It was such a joyful event. This parade was, obviously, considerably larger, but had exactly the same feeling. My photographic quest for the day was portraits. It was the perfect opportunity; a situation where close-up photographs of faces were not only ok, but encouraged. I found a spot on Regent Street about an hour before the start of the parade. There were a few serious-looking photographers hanging out there so it looked like a good spot. It turned out to be an amazing spot. I met a young man from Spain, a serious hobbyist and we had a great conversation while waiting for the parade to begin. I learned lots from him. And then it was just fun, fun, fun. Amazing floats, costumes, music and people stopping to pose for us. The parade was followed by a huge street party in Soho. I had a look, but ducked out pretty quickly. Friendly and fun, but so many people!

Heat Wave

2009-07-05T07:41:00.019-04:00

Last week there was a heat wave in the UK. Temperatures rose to the high 30's in London. I was not complaining. Nice to be in plus 30 instead of minus 30. I decided this was a good time to visit the seaside city of Brighton, just about an hour's train ride away. It was nice to smell the ocean and hear seagulls. I wandered around the back streets and Brighton Pier. A really lovely day. I haven't had time off during the summer for about 18 years. I worked for a non-profit agency for many years whose busy time was summer and then I ran a bed and breakfast in my house for the past 5 years. It was an amazing feeling to enjoy the pleasures of a summer day by the sea. I have been greatly enjoying the sights of the markets around London. I went to the Borough Market for the first time the other day. Quite a contrast to the Northern Store in Clyde River. My time in the arctic has made me re-appreciate so many things. The easy availability of such glorious food seems miraculous to me now. I also revisited Portobello Road Market in Notting Hill, five minutes from my flat. A great place for practising photography. I am discovering that I love photographing food (well, fruit and vegetables at least - so far).

... and flowers, another miraculous pleasure to be enjoyed so easily here.

Some more treasures on Portobello Road.

Sunday In The Parks

2009-06-28T17:18:00.010-04:00

I must be on vacation - 2 blog posts in the same day. I spent the day wandering through Kensington Palace Gardens and Hyde Park. No agenda. I have never been in London in the summer, so it was a new way to see the city - relaxing in the parks on Sunday. I was mildly curious when I saw the signs leading to the Princess of Wales Fountain. I had read and heard so many (mostly derogatory) comments about it that I was curious to take a look. What I saw really surprised me. It was the high point of my day. A much richer experience than watching the hoards waiting for the Bruce Springsteen concert in Hyde Park. It was alive with kids. They were so delighted to be in the water. I took just a couple of quick shots as there were many naked and half-naked children there and I didn't think it was wise to linger about with a camera. What a relaxed, fun, place. I think that a woman who loved children and whose children grew up around these gardens would have been happy to see what I saw today. The other high point of today, and the past couple of days has been the newspapers. I can honestly say that I didn't miss much when I was in the arctic, but I did miss newspapers. Here, I can walk out of my building and in 1 minute I can buy the world's newspapers. I read an article in the London Times today about the Twitter phenomenon in regards to the death of Michael Jackson. The writer was making the argument that Twitter is the only way to connect with the rest of humanity when shocking events occur. I do recognize the value of citizen reporting and the power of personal narrative and photography. I have even made a couple of attempts at Twitter, mostly because I want to understand something that is having such an impact. But it doesn't work for me. Maybe I'm not that interested in the outbursts of strangers. What I am interested in is news, and commentary and photos and the feel of a newspaper in my hands.

I am absolutely shocked at the world's reaction to the death of Michael Jackson. I had no idea that he maintained such popularity and such a huge fan base. Or is it just more of the phenomenon of mass grief that started with the death of Diana? It was a strange week for those of us who grew up in the 70's. The Jackson Family was such a sensation then - and so was Farrah Fawcett. Two icons from my youth, certainly. I was never a Michael Jackson fan; maybe a compassionate observer of his decline from shiny, bright, talented child to the weirdness that followed.
Tomorrow, I think I'll treat myself to a whole day at the Victoria and Albert Museum. After I finish reading the weekend newspapers. In bed. With toast and tea.

Photography Course

2009-06-28T04:49:00.020-04:00

I had a great flight to London. It was an overnight flight and I actually slept most of the way. My flat is great; unbelievable location. The streets around Notting Hill are teeming with life, just the contrast to the arctic I was looking for. I spent the first week here on a digital SLR photography course at the London School of Photography. The course was amazing. My instructor was Alex Mita who is also a photojournalist. I learned so much and can't wait to work on all my new skills. Here are a few of my pictures from the week.

The view out on to Oxford Street from our classroom window.

Using the fountain in Trafalgar Square to practice freezing and blurring motion.
A homework assignment in China Town.

Alex sent us out into the streets of Soho to take portraits of people. We had to ask people to pose for us.

Photographing elements of design at Covent Garden.

Creative use of flash (portrait of Alex).

Painting with light. This will be a great project to do with kids in school next year. Tons of possibilities and I can operate the camera on a tri-pod while the kids do the painting.

Self-portrait assignment in my flat.

Frame in a frame composition practice (one of my classmates).

The course finished on Friday. At the end of the day, Alex invited us to come along with him while he photographed an event. He had heard that a flash mob event was going to take place at the Liverpool Street train station. The event was a mass moonwalk to celebrate the music of Michael Jackson. A flash mob event is organized virally, the word spreads by e-mail, text, Twitter, Facebook, etc. The messaging was started by Jackson fan Milo Yiannopoulos at 10:00 am. He said that he wanted people to rember Jackson for his music in spite of all the other noise around his death. The crowd was huge, and so was the media attention. It was a perfect opportunity to practice photography. It was a challenge to get close enough to see anything and to get some photos of people dancing, rather than photos of media. Here are a few of mine.

They're Bad. There wasn't much space for moon walking, but the crowd sang and danced along with Billy Jean, Bad and Thriller. In spite of the heat and crowding, it was a fabulous event, full of goodwill and shared celebration. Even the police were smiling (if not dancing and singing) Event organizer talking to media. Don't ask me.

I bought my camera last August, before I moved to the arctic and greatly enjoyed it all year. However, I never got out of auto mode. I can't believe the difference now in terms of possible ways of doing things. No great photos yet, by any means, but I'm looking forward to experimenting and learning more.

Two more weeks in London. I am in the final weeks of my travel writing course at Ryerson. I have really enjoyed. My writing project for the course will be a travel piece about my photography course. Today is Sunday and I am going to spend the rest of the day in Kensington Palace Gardens (5 minutes from my flat) and Hyde Park taking pictures.The weather has been perfect since I got here. Crystal says Uraguay is freezing. Go figure.

Home At Last

2009-06-18T21:35:00.000-04:00

I can't believe that it has been a month since I last posted. I hope I still have some readers left. What an eventful month! I need to write about the finish of the school year before I move on to the summer. It was great. There was the usual stuff, awards day, meetings about next year. etc. The highlight was the fishing derby/picnic. We went out to a crack in the sea ice and everybody competed for the largest fish caught. There was picnic with hot dogs and hot chocolate, but the great treat was cariboo. Our principal made cariboo stew and there as also fried, dried and raw cariboo to choose from. I stuck to the hot dogs.
Once the fish started appearing on the ice, beautiful white gulls appeared by the dozens in the sky. I think they are glaucous gulls, I am hoping that Clare from The House and Other Arctic Musings will let me know if that's correct.

Some fishing shots.

Another exciting event - I covered the Governor General's visit to Clyde River for the Northern News Service (story and photos). She was warm, charming, and everybody loved her.

We left Clyde River (10 teachers and a nurse) on June 9. We were really lucky, no fog. We all got out with all our luggage, pets, etc. Crystal and I travelled back to Nova Scotia with 2 dogs and 3 cats. Crazy trip, but lots of laughs and nearly missed connections.

So, back in Nova Scotia and it's amazing to be home. I took care of some stuff at home and am on the road again. I am writing this at the airport in Halifax, on my way to London for three weeks. I am going to take a digital SLR photography course, work on my Travel Writing course and have a great vacation. I have rented a flat in Notting Hill and can't wait for the contrast of arctic hamlet to huge city. More about that later.

I just came from a wonderful visit with my brother and his family. They treated me to a lobster dinner and lots of luxurious R&R.

Mark, Rose and my nephew Keane.

Let It Snow, Let It Snow!!!!

2009-05-17T13:03:00.000-04:00

Let it snow! Because in 23 days I am going to be enjoying a beautiful Nova Scotia June day. I don't care if the sun is shining or its raining or foggy. As long as it's not SNOWING. For the past couple of weeks the weather here has been more like winter in Nova Scotia than in the arctic. Grey, lots of new snow...Yesterday was quite stormy with high winds and somewhere between 5-10 cm of snow. Because it is warmer (wind chill of minus 10 today), the snow is softer so it is messy and difficult to take our usual shortcuts because of snow drifts. During the winter the drifts freeze immediately, so you can walk over anything. There is more snow in the forecast through Tuesday. We now have 24 hour daylight. As of Wednesday, there were no more sunrise and sunset times displayed on the Environment Canada web page for Clyde River. I have learned to cope with this. Finally got my bedroom dark enough and bought a humidifier which provides white noise so that I am completely shut off from the world and sleep like a baby. I just have to make sure I pay attention to the time and remind myself when it is time to go to bed. It can become very late without my noticing it. There are kids out playing street hockey, riding their bikes, and other normal spring activities until all hours (in the snow). It's a very topsy-turvy world here on top of the world.
We had one amazing weather day last week and the whole school went out on the land for a community picnic. We went to a lake where there was a big hole dug in the ice for jigging char. One of the men dipped a cup in the water and asked me to taste it. It was the best, icy cold water I ever drank. We had hot chocolate and hot dogs - tasted like the best food I ever ate. The kids went sliding and played games. It was a great day. I'm really looking forward to our next picnic in June.
People arrived at the picnic on snowmobiles......
and komatiks (sleds)

It was a glorious spring day with lots of fresh snow for sliding.

What else is new...I started a distance course in Creative Travel Writing from Ryerson. So far, I'm really enjoying it. Teachers in Nunavut are generously supported financially to take courses (credit or non-credit). I think I will take the short fiction writing course at Ryerson next. I finished a Master's degree in 2006 and swore that when I finished that I would take courses just for interest's sake. Not that the Master's degree wasn't interesting, just really intense and stressful. I am really excited about my photography course in London this summer. Three weekends left .....time to think about packing and doing some organizing in my house in anticipation of next year's sea lift order.

I Wear My Sunglasses At Night

2009-04-16T17:58:00.009-04:00

Sunrise 3:00 AM
Sunset 10:00 PM

Remember how thrilled I was to see the sun rise on Sun Day? Now I am referring to the light as relentless. There is no real darkness now. I need darkness to sleep and I have done everything possible to darken my bedroom, but the light seems to find ways of creeping in. Reminds me of how dandilions can break through cement. I shouldn't complain, but the idea of good old regular day and night seems enticing. The school year is no longer just winding down, but rushing towards summer. Of course we are all thinking of and longing for home. I live on an island in the Bay of Fundy (Nova Scotia side) and I am dreaming (literally) about the sounds around the island. Birds and frogs and the tide coming and going and fog horns .....I was out walking my dog last Saturday at 6:00 AM (the relentless light thing) before the village came to life and it occurred to me that is not just quiet here, there is actually an absence of sound. The only sound that you can hear if there is no wind and no human sounds is the occasional sound the ravens make or a dog barking. And when they are quiet ......
So, summer plans. I am going home to Freeport on June 9. I hope it's foggy when I get there. I ran a B&B for 5 years and am now renting that house by the week. A few years ago I bought a second house next door and that has been under renovation this winter. So, lots of work sorting all that out when I get home. Then I am going to London for 3 weeks. I've rented a flat in Notting Hill and enrolled in a digital photography course at the London School of Photography. After that, I will enjoy Nova Scotia and friends and family. Looking for a beautiful waterfront vacation home in Nova Scotia? Have a look at http://www.summersolstice.ca/ and www.cottagesincanada.ca/summersolstice
What else is new? Our school's culture program continues to be enjoyed by the kids. Yesterday the kids brought back three seals from their hunting trip. Today they prepared the meat, cooked it and served lunch to elders. The skins are being prepared by some of the girls and will be made into mittens and boots. Community hunters and elders oversee all aspects of the program.
It has been snowing lightly for the past couple of days. There had been some bare spots showing up on the roads, but they're all covered up again. The temperatures have been rising to around minus ten or so. I can't believe how warm that feels! A great milestone this week -NO SNOWPANTS!!! I can't tell you how delighted I am to get rid of them for a few months.
And some pictures. I have an informal after-school drop-in my classroom most days. Here are some of the kids who come by to..........

Use my camera to take pictures

Surf the net, check Bebo, play games

Use the Smartboard, speedstack, hang around, listen to music, and generally have fun. It's a great positive way for me to end the day.

Worth Ten Thousand Words

2009-03-30T17:39:00.021-04:00

Sunrise: 4:31
Sunset: 20:38

The definition between night and day is once again fading, but in the opposite direction. There is very little darkness left. Even during the times that the sun is officially down, it is still quite bright. The sun is never far below the horizon and the eastern sky glows like an opal at night. Of all the beauty I have seen here, the skies will always stand out in my mind.
Today I have a lot of pictures that I've been wanting to post, so here goes.

Out on the sea ice are these formations that look like giant waves that were frozen when they crested. I don't know how they were really formed, but that is what they look like.
" Dreamscape" is the word that often comes into my mind when I leave the house in the morning and look out at the mountains.

Posing by a frozen wave

More sea ice formations

Waiting for the melt

A couple of weeks ago four of us teachers went on a snowmobile ride out on the land.

I have never experienced such quiet.

A local family out with a dog team.

Igloo built by kids in a contest.

Crystal took this one from inside the igloo.

Local kids against an impossibly blue sky.

Dog team on Nunavut's 10th birthday.

More "waves"

Easter weekend was great, we walked out on the ice to take pictures and we had a huge group for a HUGE meal on Easter Sunday. Now we're headed into the final 8 weeks of school. I'm looking forward to as much time as possible in the glorious outdoors (temps are rising every day). Graham (our VP has promised to take us out to Cape Christian before the end of the school year. Our everyday walks towards the airport are still a novelty with the ever-changing colours of snow and sky.

Other news ....I finished my news writing course and have signed up for a travel writing course at Ryerson. Also signed up for a photography course in London this summer - more about summer plans later - it's getting soooooo close!

If you're getting hooked on reading arctic blogs, I' m thrilled to let you know that Clyde River has a new Blogger (Crystal, our grade 7 teacher, also from Nova Scotia. Her blog is called Arctic Craic (an irish word for a good time). http://www.arcticcraic.blogspot.com/

Arctic Spring

2009-03-29T12:42:00.011-04:00

This is what I have been looking forward to since I got here, and I am not disappointed. It is so beautiful here now. It seems to be sunny all the time and the days are rapidly getting longer as we head towards 24 hour daylight. The weekend walks were glorious. We did the usual walk toward the airport and back and ventured out on the sea ice. We plan more sea ice walking next weekend. The temperatures are really starting to rise. The forecast this week features temperatures like minus 12! This weekend I had windows open for the first time and and I noticed some water dripping off the roof. The sun feels warm and in places the snow feels softer. Lots of spring activities coming up in the school and community.
Wednesday is Nunavut's 10th birthday. For readers from other countries who may not know, Nunavut was carved out of a larger Canadian territory on April 1, 1999. The school will be joining village celebrations at a nearby lake on Wednesday. We will all be picked up in sleds and driven out for activities and a picnic. Sounds fun. The weather forecast is really good for that day. Our "on the land program" also starts this week. During April and May the students are taken out on the land for hunting. This year, the girls are able to go for the first time. Yeah! For those girls who do not want to go out on the land, there is seal skin preparation, traditional cooking and other activities at school.

Beautiful Clyde River as seen from our walk to the airport.
Crystal enjoying the warm sunshine.

Some views out over the sea ice.

It's Spring Here Too

2009-03-20T14:09:00.007-04:00

The first day of Spring. At this time of year I am usually looking for the robins and flowers, or listening for the tiny peep frogs. Right now, I am trying to warm up from a trip outside for a fire alarm. The wind chill today is minus 35. There were kids out there without coats. I grabbed my coat but found it very cold without the snow pants. So, no fire, but we're all awake now, I can tell you that. Strangely enough, it does feel like spring here. We are now getting almost 12 hours of light every day. In fact, the light is waking me up too early in the morning. As cold as it is, there is some feeling of warmth from the sun when I'm walking, and the scenery is dazzling. Last weekend there was a very strange blizzard. The sky was a brilliant blue and the sun was shining. Closer to the ground, about the height of the houses, there were blizzard conditions because of the high winds and light snow on the ground.
This school year is flying by. We are making some plans for next year. The school calendar for next year has been finalized. A number of versions were drafted and then teachers and the community were given the opportunity to vote on their choice. Jukeepa, our principal, went on the local radio station and took calls from community members who registered their votes. It was fun to listen to the radio with my class. They all went to the phone to vote. They translated the discussion for me. So, we ended up with a week off in September with school ending a week later in June. The week in September is to accommodate local berry picking. This will happen when the berries are ripe.
A sure sign of spring here is the arrival, via e-mail of the sealift catalogues. Soon time to figure out what I need (or want) for next year. The same process takes place in school. I need to figure out what I need for my classroom and for graduation, which will take place in October.
Oh, by the way, when I was in the Northern Store today at lunch an elderly Inuk man asked me if I would like to buy a coffin. I repeated it, just to be sure I had heard him right. "You want to sell me a coffin?" The reply was a very serious "yes." My first thought, "not unless you know something I don't know" would probably lose something in translation.

Guardians Of The Arctic

2009-03-03T13:13:00.012-05:00

On Monday we had a really exciting special event at the school. Brigadier- General David Millar (Commander, Joint Task Force North) came to town to inspect the Clyde River Canadian Rangers and Junior Rangers. The Canadian Rangers are reserve members of the Canadian Forces. They were established in 1947 to protect Canadian sovereignty in remote areas by reporting unusual incidents, providing local expertise and knowledge as well as assisting with search and rescue efforts. There are around 4,200 Canadian Rangers in 165 communities across Canada. Many of our students are Junior Rangers and it was thrilling to see the pride on their faces when General Millar described the Clyde River Rangers as "the best in the north."

Some "old timers," as the younger men called them. General Millar posed so I could photograph him with some of our female student Junior Rangers. The local Rangers commander is recognized for his efforts.

Another group shot with the general.

Although it is still very cold, the quickly-lengthening daylight makes it feel like spring. It is so nice to walk to school in the sunlight. I plan to get out and take some pictures this weekend. A great mail day today! I received my Nunavut health card that I applied for in August and a birth certificate for one of my students. Now he can apply for a social insurance number. Yeah!!!

Cup Jammin in Clyde River - Part Two

2009-02-19T12:36:00.001-05:00

For some time I have been meaning to write an update about the Speed Stacking craze in Clyde River. I introduced the sport last fall and it caught on like wildfire. As kids got better and better at it they started to want their own equipment. So, Crystal and I have both placed huge orders with the US company that makes them. The arrival at the post office of the Speed Stack orders caused a great deal of excitement in town. The day I went to pick up my order, I was followed by around fifty kids who then followed me back to the class to get their stuff. Kids are constantly coming up and telling us their new record stacking time. They now have all kinds of cool gear.

Here is one of our parents helping me sort out the order.

Some kids sorting out the order.

We have all colours, and even mini-stacks.There area also stainless steel cups that are weighted for training purposes (very noisy).Hopefulyl, we can take some kids to a tournament down south next year. This has been the best possible way for me to get involved with kids of all ages in the community.

Happy Old Sun

2009-02-03T20:20:00.008-05:00

Sunrise 9:05 Sunset 14:32

If it seems as if I am obsessed with the sun lately, it's because I really am. It is bright out when I walk to school in the morning and not quite dark when I walk home. What an amazing gift, in the middle of January, to have the light come back. I bought a stencil called "Happy Old Sun" by a local artist. It is absolutely luminous - just as I see the sun now.

The winter, like the rest of the school year, is flying by. I am going south for the last week of February - very exciting. This will be my first trip out since August. This week I began working with some other people in the community on a project called "Story Sacks". I learned about this at a workshop that was recently put on here by the Nunavut Literacy Council. We are going to record and transcribe some stories told by elders and make dolls, sets, etc. which can be used to tell the story to kids. Everything required to tell the story goes in a cloth sack. We had our first session on Tuesday. An elder lady called Regilee came into my class and told a couple of stories to a rapt group of kids. Other news - I am taking a distance course called "News Writing". Really interesting - I'm excited at the prospect of writing news stories from Nunavut. There are so many interesting things going on here all the time. It remains very cold, the wind chill was minus 40 something yesterday, but the brightness takes the edge off that. Crystal and I walk further and further on the weekends. There are still reports of polar bears near town, though. The feeling locally is that the effects of climate change have made it difficult to predict where they will be. I have never actually seen one, so they continue to be an invisible menace in my mind.

Here Comes The Sun

2009-01-24T20:06:00.008-05:00

Sunrise 10:15 Sunset 13:19

The sun rose last week. That may sound like pretty ordinary news for my friends in the south, but it's HUGE news here. The National Research Council predicted that it would climb above the horizon for the first time since November at 11: AM on January 19. My students told me that I couldn't rely on a computer to tell me when the sun would appear. They said "it will happen when it happens". However, they humoured me when I dragged them all out to witness the great event. The sun was there, but there was too much cloud cover to see it properly. The next day I was attending a workshop in another building in the village. One Inuk woman came back from the washroom, said something in Inuktitut and the room emptied. I went after them and sure enough, they were all gathered around a window smiling at the sun. They taught me how to smile at the sun (with one eye closed) for luck. It was huge and fiery. I stared at it so hard that I could see red spots for about an hour afterwards. I honestly can't describe the feeling. I have been dreaming about sunny skies. It may still be minus 30 something, but everything feels very different now. Today, for the first time in months, the Environment Canada weather site showed a little sun icon on the Clyde River weather page.

On Friday, our school celebrated Sun Day. Lots of activities and fun. Only thing is, the school was closed at noon because of - yup, a blizzard. Oh well....

And last, but certainly not least, congratulations to all the winners of the Nunavut Blog Awards (particularly Cindy & Matt & their furry friends for winning in the category of Best New Blog)and thanks to Clare at The House & Other Arctic Musings for all the organizing. It was I fun event and I loved participating. The best part was being introduced to so many Nunavut Blogs.

Waiting for the sun to rise.......And still waiting.......Fun and games on Sun DaySun Day Speed Stack competition resultsMaking sun visorsAnd worth much more than a thousand words!!!

Nunavut Blog Award Nomination

2009-01-14T10:36:00.002-05:00

I'm very pleased to say that Arctic Dispatches has been nominated in the category of Best New Blog. Voting is taking place now at http://www.kiggivak.typepad.com The voting form for each category is in a separate post on that blog (The House and Other Arctic Musings).
Here in Clyde River it is a dark and stormy day. We are sort of expecting school to be cancelled this afternoon. Must be bad, we actually had indoor recess today - yeah!(I was supposed to be on recess duty). However, the good news is that according to the National Research Council, the sun should be rising on January 19 at 11:26 AM. The kids in my class don't believe that the NRC can predict this, so we are having a contest to see who can guess when the sun will come up. Next Friday, we will have a whole school celebration called Sun Day. I can't wait!!

Nunavut Blog Awards

2009-01-11T19:54:00.005-05:00

I first started reading blogs almost exactly a year ago when I began to think about moving to the arctic to teach. I was surprised about how little information I was able to find on the internet about every day living and teaching in the arctic. Then I discovered the blogs and I was amazed - what a great way to open a window on some one's life (with their permission!). I started following Way Way Up - a teacher from Ontario who is living and working in Arctic Bay and North of Nain - a young woman from PEI who at that time was working in Iqaluit. I learned so much from these two bloggers and the many others I discovered through them. The Nunavut blogs were very much a part of my decision to move here and I still enjoy them. It was also because of my enjoyment of these blogs that I decided to start one of my own. So, the annual Nunavut Blog Awards (Nunies) are accepting nominations until midnight Monday, January 12. Clare at The House and other Arctic Musings is organizing things and you will find a great list of Nunavut blogs on his blog or at Way Way Up. I encourage everyone who is not already doing so to have a look at these great blogs. You can nominate in the category of Best Blog or Best New Blog by sending nominations to nunavutblogs@yahoo.ca
In other news, the bears are back in town. There were three spotted around town last weekend. A bit nerve-racking. School started back this week after Christmas vacation - always a crazy week with kids and teachers trying to back into the swing of things.

From Paris To Clyde River

2009-01-01T03:50:00.031-05:00

In the past ten years or so I have celebrated New Year's Eve in many places, in many ways. So....there was scuba diving in Cozumel, a sunny beach in Nassau, London, Hogmany in Edinburgh (the biggest New Year's Eve celebration in Europe complete with fireworks over Edinburgh castle at midnight) and twice in Paris. The year I turned 40 we dined and danced the new year in at Moulin Rouge. Last year was Paris as well. I went by myself and met up with three amazing women from California. Patsy and Darlene were traveling together and Jessica, like me, was travelling on her own. We had a great time together. Sometimes we would go our our way during the day but always met at our favourite cafe in the Rue Cler at the end of the day. On New Year's Eve we had dinner at a lively, crowded cafe near the Eiffel Tower. Then we walked around Paris in the crowds - the atmosphere was electric. Later that night, from my hotel window, I could hear honking horns, partying and shouts of Bonne Annee into the early hours of New Year's day. Memorable, to say the least. Before making the decision to teach in the Arctic, I had planned to spend this Christmas and New year's in Rome. I made a reservation at my favourite hotel last winter, as hotels in Rome during Christmas are hard to come by. My friends from Paris last year had also considered coming - I'm sure we'll get together another year to celebrate New Year's in some wonderful place. Here are Jessica, Patsy and Darlene at our favourite meeting place.So, the end of 2008 found me on Baffin Island and I decided to join in the local celebrations. At 10:30 PM there was a church service which was held at the school because of the large number of community members that attend, There were so many people there! It looked like most of the community. I was really pleased to see that the Christmas concert stage background that I had worked on with kids was also used for this event. There was a band playing music (many hymns that I recognized from the English version), and between songs, various community members said prayers. The singing was lively - from the heart. Then there was the countdown to midnight and a joyful (and sometimes tearful) exchange of New Year's wishes. It was a warm, touching service and I was so glad to be there.
Afterwards, the fire truck led a parade of snowmobiles through the town. I climbed up on the school playground equipment to take pictures and was soon joined by a group of kids. We took pictures, talked, laughed and looked at the Northern lights and the stars. There was just enough snow in the air so that everything sparkled. What fun! Then, I walked up the hill to the community hall with the kids. There was going to be dancing all night long. Here is the skidoo parade as seen from the top of the playground equipment.

I was surprised during the Christmas concert rehearsals to find that square dancing is considered traditional here. This would have come here with Scottish whalers and/or missionaries. Growing up in Cape Breton, square dancing and Scottish Country dancing were a huge part of life. It was an amazing feeling to re-discover that long-lost part of myself in such an unlikely place. The dancing is somewhat different from what I am used to, and I haven't done it in many years, so I was awkward at first. Everyone was so good natured and clearly having such a good time that it didn't matter. I danced my feet off and laughed my face off. I honestly can't remember the last time I had such a good time. When I left (at 4am) the Clyde River square dancers weren't showing any signs of tiring. I walked home through the sparkling night, cooling off from the dancing, with my snow pants rolled up in a ball, my hood off for the first time in months and my heart as light as the new snow under my feet.

While we were waiting for the dancing to start, some of the little girls used my camera to take pictures.

Christmas vacation is winding down. It was a wonderful time that I will always remember.The luxury of two weeks of reading and writing and the chance to spend time with the people of Clyde River in events far-removed from school - what a treat!

As always, I will be glad for life to get back to normal after Christmas. Lots of exciting plans at school - the introduction of smartboard technology and an action research project (more about that later). I will be glad to see all my southern friends come back from the Christmas break - I've missed them. I am really looking forward to spring - it will be so beautiful when the light comes back. I can't wait for some opportunities to see more of the area once there is no more threat of polar bears hanging around town.

Comfort and Joy

2008-12-30T19:00:00.001-05:00

I just went to my door because I thought I heard a knock. There was no one at the door, but there was a truck with flashing lights in front of my house. When I peeked out I saw that someone was delivering furnace oil and the knocking sound was the driver beating the ice off the pipe to my oil tank. The oil comes in on the ships during the short ice-free season in late August and early September. If that runs out, then more is delivered by military aircraft. I have meant to write about this from the beginning, but somehow the minus 40 temperatures and Christmas has placed this particular aspect of my life in Clyde River in a higher priority. In a land of permafrost it is utterly amazing to me how things run in these arctic communities. As the owner of two houses on a rocky island in Nova Scotia I am only too well acquainted with issues like home heating, sewage disposal and the acquisition of water ( I have two wells). Here, everything is so easy for me. I know that when I see the flashing lights of the trucks, that someone is delivering water, emptying the sewage tank or delivering oil. The houses here don't have basements because of the permafrost. Many, including mine, have crawlspaces underneath that house water and sewage tanks. I never have to make any arrangements, this all happens automatically. We haven't had much snowfall lately, but I notice that the snow removal guys are still very busy (in the dark) moving mountains of snow from former plowing efforts and relocating them down to the bay shore. I have come to associate the different trucks and their flashing lights with a feeling of well-being and comfort. Electricity comes from the local power plant. Some of my students have had job placements there, so I was able to get a tour. Back in Nova Scotia, the woman staying in my house wrote last week to say that there had been no electricity for a few days and the house was so cold "it was warmer inside the fridge than in the house". Go figure. I have been toasty warm up here.
Clyde River has been celebrating the Christmas season in its traditional way with indoor and outdoor games every day and a feast and church services on Christmas Eve. It has been fun to participate in some of the activities. The weather has been really cold since just before Christmas - wind chill of around -43. Tomorrow, there is supposed to be some snow and the temperature rising to -12!!!! I hope that happens - it would be nice to get Reba out for a decent walk.
Christmas vacation is proceeding as planned. I am making my way through turkey leftovers and a stack of books. I just finished reading The Long Exile by Melanie McGrath. This is the unbelievable story of some Inuit people who were relocated to the high arctic by the Canadian Government in the 1950's. They were removed from their communities and their families and dropped in the unfamiliar arctic desert as a way for the government to deal with the problem of arctic sovereignty. The detail and description are so vivid that I found myself actually holding my breath through some parts. I stayed up most of the night last night finishing it. What a luxury to stay up all night reading with no commitments for the next day. I am sure that the book was immensely more real to me because I was reading it here. I was so transported by the story of how these people survived that ordeal that I was always in shock to look up from the book and hear the furnace coming on again and see the lights and the fridge full of food and my snoring pets and then step outside from time to time in the minus 40 temperatures and try to imagine none of those comforts and almost no tools for survival. I am sure that nothing up here will ever look quite the same to me.

Winter Solstice

2008-12-21T14:47:00.019-05:00

Today is winter solstice, the shortest day of the year - although you'd be hard-pressed to see the difference here. Here is the view over the bay at 10 AM the other day. There is a bit of light every day, but the sun does not come above the horizon. It is unbelievably beautiful during the bit of daily light.

From here on, it will start getting brighter every day until the sun finally peeks above the horizon around the 22nd of January. It is very cold here now, I can feel the difference yesterday and today (wind chill of minus 42). I am still getting out for walks every day. Reba will not go far now, though. When she starts lifting her paws off the ground and shaking them I know it's time to take her in. So, it's Christmas vacation. Yeah!! I'm ready for for a break. Most of the teachers left on Saturday (2 left on Friday). We had a very fun get together on Thursday night. The school's Christmas dinner was held last Monday. We cooked 25 turkeys and side dishes and served all the kids during the day. Then, during the evening we did the same thing for the District Education Authority members, staff and families. We served well over 300 dinners. It was a fun, if exhausting, day.

Then, on Wednesday, was the Christmas concert. I organized the decorating of the gym. It was sort of like graduation all over again. All the classes made decorations and I got together a group of students to hang everything and to make the backdrop for the stage. The fireplace and stockings were made by the grade 7 class.
These decorating efforts are made much easier because the school is so well-equipped. Everything you need or want is there and the kids are a pleasure to work with.

Here is the grade two class posing in their costumes before the dress rehearsal.......

.......and during their performance of Christmas in Hawaii.
You'd never know it was minus 30 outside in Clyde River because these kids really heated up the stage with their singing, drumming and dancing. Very fun. The last day of school was the usual - just the morning. My class made pizza and a cake and watched movies. We also invited grade 2 and grade 7 in to share our treats and movie. A few more photos .....

My classroom Inuktitut bulletin board with some of our stockings. We sewed them and I filled them!Two of the lovely handcrafted gifts I received. A soapstone pin from my student Pia and a beautiful beaded bracelet from Sarah, one of our student support assistants.
And last, but certainly not least, Barney checking out my (first fake) Christmas tree. Martha Stewart special from the Sears Catalogue. Now it's into the Polar Bear flannel jammies (also from the Sears Catalogue) and the stack of books on my coffee table - and to all a good night!

Graduation

2008-12-11T09:37:00.000-05:00

What a busy time lately! Our graduation was held on November 28. Although (or maybe because) we only had four graduates, this event was of huge importance in the school and in the community. Decorating the gym was a whole-school activity and the result was so beautiful. I was amazed at the amount of time and effort the kids were willing to put into this. My classroom was the center of activity for making decorations. This was really fun for me because I got to know so many of the other kids that I don't teach. All the classes contributed to the effort. On the night of the graduation, I did grad photos before the ceremony started. Here are our grads posing with superintendent of schools Hughie Butt. The stoles they are wearing over their gowns are made of tanned seal skin with a polar bear insert. They were made this year by the principal's mother.

After the grads arrived in the gym, the ceremony began with the lighting of the quilliq, a traditional lamp fueled by seal oil. The quilliq is lit by an elder and then each student lights their candle from it. This is symbolic of elders passing on wisdom to youth.

Then there were the usual speeches and acknowledgements and two grads shared a bilingual (Inuktitut and English) valedictory speech.

My Favourite part came towards the end of the ceremony. It is the tradition at graduation here that grads go into the audience and hand out roses to the people they want to thank for helping them through their years of schooling. It was a joyful and tearful time as family members, friends and teachers were recognized with roses.

After the ceremony, the graduates cut a cake that was baked at the local hotel and decorated by one of the teachers.

In other news, this is the last week of classes before Christmas break. Next week is another busy week. On Monday the school staff is cooking Christmas dinner for the students. We will all be cooking turkeys at home this weekend as part of the effort. The Christmas concert is on Wednesday evening with rehearsals during the day. Teachers who are leaving are getting very excited to go home or on vacation in the sun. I was expecting food mail yesterday but the plane had mechanical problems and had to turn back to Iqaluit. I expect that my vegetables will be as frozen as the turky by the time it gets here.

We've Got The Moon in The Morning and The Sun At Night

2008-11-20T15:47:00.000-05:00

Sunrise 10:34 Sunset 12:07

I've been trying to get some "last minute" pictures before we totally lose light. Yesterday the sun was a huge fiery red ball at 11:30 and in the minute it took me to get my camera and go outside it had disappeared.The wind chill temperature today is -33. We even had inside recess. Some recess pictures from this week:

It's amazing, but even with these extreme temperatures and lack of light, this place is becoming even more beautiful. There is enough light remaining in the morning to see the mountains across the (now frozen) bay. The snow is filled with colour and even when it is very dark walking home after school the air literally sparkles under the streetlights. It's interesting how the snow changes the landscape. When drifts form they are rock-hard and stationary. Then, as many snowmobiles drive over them they become a hill. It's a bit disconcerting when navigating around in the dark, as the scenery is constantly changing. Other news - The Northern store is stocking up for Christmas, the Sears catalogues I receive in the mail are popular all around the school and graduation is next Friday. I am chairing the graduation committee and it will be very exciting to see everything coming together. We have four students graduating. Two of them are still living in Clyde River and one is in school in Ottawa. I was able to get a great donation from First Air to get her a ticket home for the ceremony. The whole school is working on decorations. Pictures to follow next week. Christmas break is getting close. On the last day before break, teachers are cooking an enormous dinner for the community. There will be 25 turkeys and 5 whole caribou. Another one of those teacher appreciation celebrations. I am going to stay here for Christmas. Among the southerners staying for Christmas will be two other teachers, some health center staff and RCMP officers. Some of us plan to attend local events like a feast and Inuit games. On New Year's Eve there is a ski-doo parade around town and then something called a "crazy dance" which starts at midnight. Hmmmmm.... I wonder what crazy looks like in Clyde River?
Crystal and Nanoo on our afternoon walk last weekend

Some school staff members proudly posing in front of our new school sign. The sign was designed, carved and painted by staff members over a period of three years.

Jennie Who?

2008-11-13T11:19:00.000-05:00

Sunrise 9:22 Sunset 13:15
As I've mentioned in previous posts, I am teaching a program which is designed to get kids out in community job placements to build skills, resumes and portfolios in preparation for the workplace. It came to my attention early in the year that a number of my students didn't have social insurance numbers. Simple, I thought, I can help them get that. Just fill out the forms and send them in. That was o.k. for some of them. But, in order to get a SIN you need identification. Picture ID cards can be issued locally by a Government of Nunavut official, except that position was cut and there is no one in the community who can issue ID cards. To further complicate matters, some of my students don't have birth certificates. Again I thought, simple, I'll just fill out the forms and send them in. Keep in mind that my students have very limited spoken or written English so I had a hard time understanding why they don't have birth certificates. Apparently Jennie has been trying to get one for years. She is in her early twenties and is the mother of two children, but she doesn't possess a single piece of paper that says she exists. She can't work, file income tax, receive the child tax credit, GST refunds, or even travel any further than Iqaluit. Another teacher here tried to get her a birth certificate a few years ago and he filled me in on the issues. Jennie was born in Iqaluit and adopted by a local family. The problem is that the adoption wasn't registered. Apparently this is common among Inuit. Adoptions have been informal. So, I made contact with a number of government officials and we were able to trace the paperwork from the Court of Justice to the local adoption commissioner. An effort was made a few years back to register the adoption, but a glitch occurred somewhere along the line and the whole process just froze. Finally, I made phone contact with a very helpful woman in NWT Vital Statistics (don't forget that Nunavut was NWT when Jennie was born) who filled me in on some of the issues regarding Inuit identification. She has set the process in motion once again and although we are somewhat more optimistic, it is clear that this is going to be a lengthy process. All I can do now is keep calling on a regular basis to make sure that things keep moving.I learned so much from this experience about how the Inuit got their current names. Ancient names that had been passed on through the generations were changed by the missionaries who could not pronounce the names and (some would argue) feared their pagan power. Then, from the 1940's through the early 1970's Inuit were issued government Disk Names which they wore around their necks. These disks identified individuals by a combination of letters and numbers that were assigned in accordance with where they lived and when they were added to the census. In 1969 Project Surname was started when some Inuit people decided that they should no longer be called by numbers. A man named Abe Opik is said to have visited every Inuit home (quite an undertaking) and asked families to choose their surnames. So, imagine all these issues and add in the creation of Nunavut as a territory (with all its fledgling bureaucracies) and you have a picture of personal paperwork in the arctic.

Halloween

2008-11-02T14:19:00.000-05:00

Sunrise 8:22 Sunset 14:14

It is just after 4PM and it is totally dark outside. It started to get dark around 2:30. I took this picture at the outside school door at 2:30 this afternoon.

I am writing in my classroom and putting off the inevitable piling on of clothes and waddling out the door. This part of arctic living I don't like. There is a windchill of -26 today and blowing snow, so I really need to have everything covered well. It seems to take forever to get dressed and out the door. I will have to develop some patience about this as it will be a large part of my life until April or so. We had another blizzard/school cancellation day on Thursday. This is what it looked when I opened the door in the morning on Thursday.
A cat's view of the blizzard

Friday was Halloween, and what a great celebration it is here! The trick or treating is held between 5 and 7 and then there is a celebration at the community hall. So, at exactly 5 the community sprang to life - there were skidoos everywhere. The kids were piled on long sleighs that were pulled behind the snowmobiles. A rather unsettling juxtaposition of Christmas and Halloween. People of all ages go trick or treating.The costumes were great, very innovative and lots of homemade masks and face paint. Everyone was clearly having a blast. I had over 300 people come to my door. It was so busy that I just got dressed for the outside and stood on the porch. Then at 7, the sound of skidoos faded away and the community was silent. It was the most fun I had at Halloween for years.

Cup Jammin' In Clyde River

2008-10-27T14:45:00.000-04:00

Sunrise 8:51 Sunset 15:45

I have been having the most fun imaginable in the past month or so since I introduced Sport Stacking to Clyde River. As a recent arrival at the school cup stacking has been a great tool for connecting with the kids. This is a sport for kids (and adults) of every age. It doesn't require athletic prowess, or language (most kids here speak a limited amount of English) and it certainly breaks down cultural barriers. Our wheelchair-bound student can stack with one hand. Sport stacking started in the 1980's in (where else?) California. A very simple premise (stacking and unstacking plastic cups) with lots of complicated twists - the number of cups used, the sequence they are stacked in, competitive timing - and lots of fun. There are tournaments all over the world. So, also a great way for remote kids to connect with other kids in the world. Crystal (grade 7) has really take an interest in this and she has been working with her kids on a really neat rhythm circle using the cups. The sport has all kinds of benefits (hand-eye coordination, using both right and left brain, engaging at-risk kids in a fun activity they can share with adults). This is a K-12 school and all grades have gone absolutely CRAZY over it. All over the community I hear them calling out "Deborah, can we play speed stacks?" We are going to have to order lots more equipment. One of our local RCMP officers dropped by a couple of times and had a great time stacking with the kids. On Friday we launched a positive participation program which began with an assembly and school-wide Sport Stacking competition. Kids got to choose which staff member they wanted to challenge. It was such a great event. Everybody left smiling and laughing, and of course the kids got the best timing score. I have never seen that many kids of so many different ages so engaged. We are planning tournaments in the school and it would be great if other Nunavut schools would let us know if they are already Sport Stacking or if we could help them get started. As I write this there are high school students practicing in my class (which has become Sport Stack Central). By the way, it is a noisy sport.

Grade 3 challengeGrade 4 building a pyramid which they will attempt to systematically down-stack.Grade 7 (Andy from this class was the fastest stacker at our school-wide challenge)

On another note, I received two calls about polar bears in the community over the weekend. On Saturday morning it was a warning call from the vice-principal telling me that a bear had been spotted close to my house. On Sunday afternoon the principal called to tell me that there was a bear near the oil tanks and that there were hunters in the area so it was safe to go look. So, five teachers armed with cameras arrived, only to find that the hunters had chased the bear way with skidoos. It is dark in the morning when I go to school so I am sticking close to the houses as I walk.
No polar bear to photograph on Sunday, but used the telephoto lens for this instead. Late afternoon sunset behind the mountains.

Culinary Clyde

2008-10-21T10:48:00.000-04:00

Sunrise 8:22 Sunset 16:15

I am sure there are many things that I will no longer take for granted when I return to the south. My south, by the way, is no longer the Caribbean - it's Nova Scotia. Can you believe it? So, when I return to the south I will have an enhanced gratitude for so much, food in particular. Or, I should say, the easy acquisition of food- or eating in a restaurant, or take-out junk food. Acquiring food in Arctic communities is quite an effort. Locally, there is the Northern Store which provides the community with food, electronics, all-terrain vehicles, snowmobiles, clothes and much, much more. It is incredibly expensive as everything has to come in by air or ship. There is a very short ship-arrival season when the sea ice melts, so mostly by air. Now I swore that I would not be one of those people who is always complaining about the price of things in the north - so, purely as illustration, this pumpkin costs $34.98.

There is another, smaller, store in the community (a co-op). Also available is a program called Food Mail which is run by Canada Post. The air freight is subsidized, and most food is available through the program except junk food. So far I have found this to be a great option. Some teachers, though, have had problems with food not arriving until after it was no longer recognizable as food. Food mail orders go by fax or e-mail on Mondays and the food usually arrives on Thursdays, but I have had it arrive as late as Saturday (even though it is given priority with the airline). Our vice-principal, who is incredibly generous with his time, picks up our Food Mail at the airport in the new school van and delivers it to our houses. So, I can get just about everything I need, with considerable effort.
We have had some wonderful group dinners recently (teachers from the school and the Arctic College and RCMP officers). The Newfoundland teachers and their wives hosted an enormous Thanksgiving dinner. Turkey and all the trimmings brought in from Montreal by food mail. They did every bit of the shopping and cooking.

Last Saturday night Crystal (Grade 7 teacher) and I cooked a pasta supper for 17 people. I made spaghetti sauce, boule (French, ball-shaped bread) and pineapple-upside cake for desert (a relic from my Joy of Cooking/Fanny Farmer childhood, also I have a case of canned pineapple from the sealift). I am baking more than I did at home. Something about the endless winter - comfort food. I brought up a book on baking artisan breads and have been experimenting with surprisingly good results in spite of the iffy oven in my house. This has been really fun and I have learned so much - I need to write a post about my bread baking experiments. The smell alone is worth the effort.O.K so no connection to Culinary Clyde, but I couldn't resist. That was the happiest puppy I have ever seen (except for Angus).

Marvelous Night For A Moondance

2008-10-16T09:53:00.000-04:00

Sunrise 7:55 Sunset: 16:45

Arctic full moon. I was headed home late from school yesterday feeling tired and looking forward to some couch potato time - until I noticed the sky. It was around 5 PM and the moon was full and high in the twilight. I went home for Reba and the camera and took a walk up towards the airport, towards the moon. The snow changed in colour from white-white to pink to blue as the sun went down. It was hard to know which way to look as the sun was setting behind me and the moon rapidly rising ahead of me. My dog is old. Her participation in outings for the past while has been more about endlessly sniffing everything than walking. Last night, though, she was pulling hard on the lead, dying to run free. It was if she would run forever if I let her go. I understood how she felt. We could have walked on and on, but fear of polar bears sent us home. Instead, we forced ourselves, slowly and reluctantly, up the steps to the house like kids called in too early from sledding.

Night and Day

2008-10-13T18:21:00.001-04:00

Sunrise 7:46 Sunset 16:45

The days are getting shorter at a crazy speed. In another month or so, it will become totally dark. I am curious about what it will be like to live in darkness for months on end. In preparation for this I brought lots of vitamin D and full spectrum lighting for my home and classroom. When I first arrived here it was dark for only a few hours during the middle of the night. My bedroom has excellent blackout blinds, so I wasn't aware of the darkness. I found that I was bothered by the long days. For me, it was eerie and unsettling. I expect that I will adapt more easily to the constant dark than the constant light, which will return in the spring. I wonder how the cats will react? Maybe they'll sleep 24 hours a day instead of 23.5.

Around town today .... school closed at lunch for the funeral of the mother of one of our support staff members. She was a well-respected and much-loved woman and apparently the church is packed and many people were unable to get in. Today is also election day and I'll head out soon to vote and see what election day looks like in Clyde River.

Some pictures from the weekend. This one is my favourite of all the pictures I have taken here.Many families have been polar bear hunting in the past few weeks.The community was recently issued 25 tags (licence to hunt 25 bears). The hunt is a communal and social event. People stay out on the land in tents for a few days. All the bears are brought back into town and the meat is shared around the community. The hides are sold out of the community for around $2,000.00 each. A few tags are also issued regularly to outfitters who guide sport hunters.

World Teacher Appreciation Day

2008-10-10T12:42:00.000-04:00

Apparently today is World Teacher Appreciation Day. I'm not sure how, but through some Olympian twist of logic the tradition at Clyde River School involves teachers cooking breakfast for all the kids, their families and other community members (this includes home delivery for elders). Having just finished 5 years of bed & breakfast I found myself manning four frying pans and an oven (all full of spattering bacon) all morning today. Time for a serious examination of past lives and any possible misdeeds involving pigs. A very fun time. I have mentioned the Newfoundland teachers, but have not written about my Inuk colleagues. They are seriously funny, kind, and great mentors for new northern teachers like me. So, the kitchen was quite wild this morning. I am so saturated in bacon fat that I am worried about attracting dogs and polar bears on the walk home. All in all, a wonderful week. On Wednesday my class celebrated the completion of a Workplace Safety course. This course is required before they can begin the work experience portion of the program. They faced enourmous challenges to get through this course, including child care, illness of their children (one of my student's children was taken out by medivac) part time jobs, other family members they look after and a terminally ill parent to name a few. It was also my birthday on Wednesday, so a great celebration in all. We made and ate pizza, I gave out certificates and they sang happy birthday to me. Thanksgiving dinner will be up the hill in the apartment block where the Newfoundlanders live. I call it Signal Hill. Should be lots of fun. I am posting some pictures of the Terry Fox walk held here on September 26.

Po-lar Bears Are Com-ing To Town

2008-10-09T15:17:00.000-04:00

There is really only one thing that has been a disappointment to me since I moved to Clyde River. I love walking and hiking and was looking forward to exploring the area on foot. However, I found out pretty quickly that I couldn't do that. On one of my first days here, I walked to the airport and was excited to see lots of trails in the hills outside of town. I was told by a number of local people that I shouldn't leave town this time of year because this is when the polar bears come close. Apparently, they also wander into town on a regular basis. I was also advised that it would be ok for me to walk around if I got a rifle. I knew there was something I forgot to pack. So, I have to be content to walk Reba around town.
Speaking of Reba, my whimpy little dog who refuses to go out on the step if it is wet seems to have heard the call of the wild. We get followed by a friendly little pack of dogs and Reba plays top dog, nipping the other ones if they try to walk ahead of her. So, I was feeling very relaxed about this whole situation until Reba slipped out of her collar one day while she was playing with the husky pup next door. Unfortunately this was also the day that a large, mean dog was loose in the neighbourhood. To make a long story short, the encounter between them was unpleasant. After I searched for an hour with the help of the local kids, Reba arrived home much the worse for wear. Some bites and a pronounced limp. Anyway, all was well within a week and lessons learned for both of us. The kids love Reba. Every time I leave the house with her I hear "DeborahReba! DeborahReba! and they all come running and take turns walking her on the leash. The cats have been quite a curiosity to the kids. I often find kids lined up looking in the window. Every now and then I drag poor long-suffering Buddy out on the step for them to hold. Thankfully, Buddy loves kids. One little girl's first word when she petted Buddy's long, black hair was "mittens!".

Storm Day!!!

2008-10-06T13:35:00.000-04:00

I just had to let my teacher friends in Nova Scotia know that school was cancelled today because of blizzard conditions. I'm serious. So, this is a good chance to write about my new community. Clyde River is an Inuit hamlet on Eastern Baffin Island. The setting, on Patricia Bay, surrounded by the Baffin Mountains is spectacular.

There are approximately 900 people living here (95%Inuit). It's a friendly town with an astounding number of small children. The only way to get to Clyde River is by plane. Some supplies come by ship during the short time when there is no sea ice. Orders are placed in late spring with a company in Montreal and are delivered to Clyde River (and other arctic communities) in late August, early September. The sealift order can contain anything from groceries (including frozen food) to snowmobiles and cars. When the ship arrives, the crates are brought from the ship to the beach by barge. From there they are delivered to the houses and businesses by forklift. My sealift order consisted mainly of cat food, dog food and cat litter with a bit of stuff for me. During the last 2 weeks of August I was very anxious for the ship to arrive as I had run out of litter and was collecting sand off the beach. I came home from school one day in early September to find my crate in front of my house. The vice-prinicpal, other teachers and community kids unloaded it into my houseafter it was opened by crowbar first.

The ship

My crate

Behind, you can see neighbour's crates.Vice-principal opening the crate(school administration takes on a whole new meaning here)Part of the pet's portion of the sealift order.

Another Island

2008-10-05T11:58:00.003-04:00

I arrived in my new island home (Baffin Island) on August 15. Despite my best intentions I am just getting around to blogging. The trip from Nova Scotia with 4 cats and a dog was much less stressful than I expected. I'd never travelled by air with pets and so I worried a great deal about things like pets escaping in busy airports. I was haunted by a new story about a dog running around the run ways at Halifax airport. However, thanks to my friends at Bayview Animal hospital who provided me with some lovely pills (for the animals, not for me), no catastrophes occurred on the trip which included 3 flights over two days. The overnight stay at a hotel in Ottawa was interesting. I shared the bed with 5 very drugged, very happy critters - not much sleep for me, but a great sense of relief that all was well for them.
I must add that the people at Westjet were incredibly helpful and kind with the animals - unbelievable service.

I was stunned at the view from the window of the plane as we approached Clyde River. Thankfully, I was able to take some pictures because I don't think I could adequately describe it.

I can't believe how quickly time has passed since I've been here. School started on August 18. This was also the first day that it snowed. Not enough to hang around, though. The snow arrived and stayed about three weeks ago. Apparently, I can expect constant snow cover until June. It was very light all the time when I first got here. The sun only set for a very short time around 2 AM. Now it is getting dark more and more rapidly every night. Around the middle of November, it will become completely dark and stay that way for two months or so.
I am teaching in a P-12 school with a student population of about 300 kids. The teaching staff consists of 20 teachers, half of which come from the south - a very fun group of co-workers (most of them are from NFLD, so lots of laughs). The program I am teaching is called Community Occupations. I have a group of non-academic high school kids who will be working on upgrading basic skills and going out into the community for work experience. They are a great group of kids, very funny and kind and willing to do anything that is asked of them.

My Government of Nunavut issue house is large (2 bedrooms) and comfortable. I was amazed at how quickly the pets settled in (same beds, same dish of food ...you get the picture)