Getting "stuff", the post office, and a chance to win!

Last post I showed you some photos of the swag the kids got for Christmas. (Also, if you haven't yet seen JJ wearing a dishcloth on his head, click HERE.) 

CJS really wanted a "real" metal sword.  I asked him why.
"So I can hunt caribou and provide for my family!"
(This one is plastic.)

A challenge is how to get these items to the north, as many retailers have exorbitant shipping fees to Iqaluit.  Most of Christmas came up with us from Thunder Bay.  (Yes, that means a LOT of shopping was done before the summer. I also have things set aside for Easter.)  Anything made of sealskin or fur was obviously purchased locally. 

I warned family and friends to send any Christmas packages well in advance, as the mail is so slow to get here.  My brother simply had Amazon ship 2 video games for the kids directly to us way back in October (genius).  My mother purchased gifts for the kids 6 months ago, and they were packed with our belongings when the movers showed up in August in Thunder Bay. On her last visit here she brought everything else from extended family in Nova Scotia in a suitcase.  (Not sure how the large plastic sword for Captain Jack got through security without drawing attention........) That said, there were still things that had to be picked up at the post office here in town. 

source

The Iqaluit post office is the centre of the universe up here. There is no mail delivery to any home, and all the mailboxes are located in this one building. Word around town is that the post office was built to accommodate anywhere from 2000 to 4000 people, depending on who you talk to.  There are now 7,700 people living here, so the post office is nowhere near as large as it should be.  

Also, much of the population is transient.  People stay for short-term contracts (some for as short as a couple of months), and are gone again.  I suppose its easy to think of coming to the north as a short-term adventure (the way we are doing it) but considering staying here long term is rather daunting.  The darkness, the isolation, the cold..... (There are some people who come up planning to stay for a short time and end up staying because they love it.)  Unfortunately, residents who leave don't always turn in mailbox keys or notify the post office that the box is now available.

Because of the turnover, and the "too small" post office, getting a mailbox is a bit of a challenge.  When we arrived we looked into it right away, as we had been forewarned.  There were no boxes available.  If you don't have a box it means (sadly) that your mailing address is: 

Your Name 

General Delivery

Iqaluit, NU 

X0A 0H0

Not having a box means you need to get into the long post office line a couple of times per week and just wait.  When you gradually make your way to the front you need to hand over your driver's license and say "Can you please check for general delivery?"  The staff person takes your ID, and walks over to the huge drawer full of stuff.  It takes several minutes for them to flip through the mail (its arranged alphabetically) to see if you have anything waiting for you.  Its LOUSY and time consuming.  Also, you can only check general delivery for yourself.  This meant I could not check for my husband, or (presumably) my kids, though luckily this didn't really come up.

I was (as expected) determined to get a post office box.  The first time I went in I was told there were none available.  So I asked how often I should check back.  I got a shrug.  A few days later I went back in and asked again.  I was told the person who dishes out boxes was "on a break", but they took my name and number.  I got a call a few hours later, and was again told "no boxes".  I asked when to check back and was told "in 2 days".  So I checked back in 2 days.  "Do you have a copy of your rental agreement?" asked the employee.  Well, since no one had mentioned that in my previous 3 conversations, I did NOT have a rental agreement copy.  That was quickly remedied, and.....WE GOT A BOX!  I still need to wait in line every time I get a package, but I can live with that. At least I know I'm not waiting in line for nothing, or worse,  flyers.

We got a box! Wahoo!

If you want to run into someone you know, or just feel like being social, you can head over and see who is in line.  Generally, standing in line at the post office takes about 20 minutes to half an hour. If you have a package, it might be at the post office, or it might be at the little house owned by the post office just down the road.  This was one creative solution to "the post office isn't big enough" problem.  You know where your package is based on what type of package delivery slip ends up in your box.

You can't use 90 percent of these gift cards here. Subway?
 There isn't one. Vie en Rose? Ha! Swiss Chalet?  
You're kidding, right? And Air Canada doesn't even fly here. 
I'm guessing these are here to buy for others as Christmas gifts, 
or just because all post offices have to have them.

It can be tough to get things up here.  I think I've already mentioned in a previous post that our kitchen garbage can lid broke the first couple of weeks we were here.  Northmart didn't have anything suitable, so I did what any other person living here would do: ordered another one using Amazon.  If you purchase a subscription to Canada's version of Amazon Prime, shipping is free.  I don't know how this is possible, the company MUST be losing money.  Its not as great as it sounds though--remember, its only amazon.ca, not amazon.com, so you don't have access to the American store's unlimited inventory.  Also, not everything on amazon.ca is eligible for Prime, so you need to double check. And even with the "free" shipping (due to your paid subscription) you are still looking at several weeks' wait for your item.

Many people use Amazon to buy their groceries, as certain things (dry goods and diapers, for instance) are cheaper to purchase online, despite the government subsidies offered here. "Amazon Prime has done more toward elevating the standard off living of my family than any territorial or federal program.  Full stop. Period." a local principal, who declined to speak further, said on Facebook. (source) Other things, such as good quality pet food, are impossible to find locally.  Amazon even has a "ship once monthly" option, so you can count on regular deliveries for cat/dog food. Obviously residents can't count on this as a long-term solution, Amazon has already stopped offering Prime to many other northern communities. The possibility of the program being cancelled here in Iqaluit is a concern for a lot of residents.

Although I have long since stopped keeping track, the things I purchased from Amazon Canada's Prime during the month of September included: garbage can, pet stain cleaner, digital meat thermometer, DVD's (Remember? Our internet is capped so streaming movies is out.), bathroom soap dish, birthday presents, clothes drying rack, and placemats.  I didn't buy them online because I was being picky or wanted a certain style or color, I bought them online because I could NOT buy them locally.  Imagine a city of 7000 people doing the same thing. That's a LOT of mail.

Here's another Iqaluit quirk:  everyone's mailing address is a PO box.  Do you know how many online retailers will not ship to PO boxes?  MANY.  So, the people of Iqaluit have developed a few "cheats" to get around the system.  Many websites you order through use dumb programming for entering a standard mailing address.  As soon as you type "box" or "PO box", the system spits you out and asks for your "real" address. I've learned that boite (the french word for "box") doesn't flag these systems.  So my address can say Boite 1868, instead of Box 1868. Another option is 1868 Boite St. And, since many of the postal workers speak french, it totally works!

Update! The little house down the street is no longer rented by the post office. Instead, they have rented a big warehouse!

View of the new improved parcel pick-up location. This is the side of the building,
where the door is.  On front of the building is taped a sign that says "Door at side.
Follow the caution tape." See it there in the corner?

Coraline is waiting for a package that will turn out to be a
box from her uncles full of wrapped gifts to go under the tree.

As you can tell the photo above, the new location wasn't quite finished in time for the holidays.  (Remember how the beer/wine store didn't have siding when it opened? (link) That doesn't stop people from making do.) There is a large tarp hanging to the left of the door.  It is a "wall" that creates an area where people can line up to wait for their packages. The walls are not painted. The floor is.......industrial. The tables were salvaged second-hand. That said, we have been getting slips in our mailbox within a day of when a package tracking number says it has arrived here, so that's progress!

Housekeeping note: I've noticed that the vast majority of my readers get here by clicking on links through Facebook.  (To everyone who does this, thanks for coming!) However, not all readers are "friends" on Facebook with me or JJ. Because of this, I've created a Facebook page just for this blog called "Seriously North".   If enough people follow the page, I'll use it to update everyone as to when a new post is up.  This is a way for people to follow the blog who don't necessarily want another "friend" on their FB feed (I'm thinking of the TBRHSC nurses, for instance).

Also, this will allow me to do a GIVE AWAY CONTEST!!!  Want to own a piece of the north for yourself?  Great! Since I don't know who you all are (blogger just tells me how many views, not names of who reads) you can let me know this way!  If you "share" the FB blog site Seriously North I will see your name in my notifications, and can enter you in the draw! I don't think it matters if you share it with one person or with the world.   Don't have a Facebook account? Don't want to be a cog in the machine that is FB sharing? No problem.  Just send me a text or an email, or leave a comment on the blog (this method isn't always foolproof) and I'll enter you. I'll provide more details on the prize and deadline for entering in a future post.

Up next: We did something really cool yesterday! A photographer who works for National Geographic took photos for us, and you'll get to see them! What did we do? Check back and find out.