Lunch time!

The city of Iqaluit shuts down from 12-1pm.  Every weekday.  Everyone goes home to eat.  It took us awhile to realize this.  Ignorant southerners that we are (after all, everyone who is from nearly anywhere else in the world is considered a "southerner" here), we drove around town during our first two weeks trying to go to shops, get power and utilities set up, etc, without paying attention to the time.  It didn't take us long to realize that although everything is technically "open", no one is actually THERE.  Everyone is at home.

Traffic. (Photo taken before the snow fell.)
(source)

Normally traffic in Iqaluit is.... well..... there isn't any.  But twice a day, every weekday, there is traffic for about ten minutes. First everyone rushes to get home for lunch.  Then everyone rushes to get back to work.  This used to be called "rush minute" (as opposed to "rush hour".  Get it?)  Now it's called "rush ten minutes".  The amount of traffic compared to a larger city is negligible, but its made worse here by the lack of traffic lights.  Everyone needs to stop at the Four Corners intersection downtown, a four-way stop which backs up traffic almost the entire length of town. It's not a big concern though.  By ten-after-one the roads are all but deserted again.

Schools even send children home (via school bus) every day to eat. Every school! First the elementary schools empty out, then the middle school, then the high school (as the same buses serve all schools). Then the buses turn around to pick them all back up again in turn to take them back to school. Even summer programs and daycares expect parents to pick up their children during the lunch hour to take them home.

Children playing at the park while waiting for the end of lunch bus.

Yes, it is possible to sit at the table in the summer. 

"BUS! BUS! The bus is coming!"

My husband's first day of work he called me at noon in awe.  "There is no one here!" He said. "The hospital is literally deserted!" Of course, he didn't mean literally.  There are no patients frantically ringing emergency call bells that echo through deserted corridors.  He meant "figuratively", as there is a small skeleton crew of nurses who are obliged to tough it out and eat their boxed lunches in a little cubby somewhere.  (He also rolls his eyes at his anal wife who insists on the clarification.)

This odd little table in the hallway is where JJ ate one day
when he had the misfortune of not being able to come
home for lunch. Poor JJ.

I have spoken to several locals here about this odd lunch-time phenomenon.  Everyone's attitude seems to be "Yup, that's just how its done here!" No one seems to know why.  It's not like in Europe where things shut down for a couple of hours for a mid-day siesta and then stay open later in the evening.  Everyone just frantically dashes home for 45 minutes to an hour, then dashes back to work. Maybe lunch is a revered time in Inuit culture?  Maybe since home is so close by for everyone, its just a nice little escape from the daily grind?

Whatever the reason is, it's a another little reminder that we are somewhere "different".

Let's pretend you have lunchtime free, with no children coming home. Or you decide to splurge and take the kids out to eat. Where do you go? Previously in the blog I've talked about Yummy Shawarma, which is a very popular spot.  Often there is a line that doubles on itself and heads out the door (unless it is cold, then people don't bother waiting--they just leave). Today I'll tell you about The Snack and Grind and Brew.

The Snack

The Snack is your "go to" spot for lunch in Iqaluit--if you can get a seat. It is quite popular, so often it can be difficult to get a table over the lunch hour.  Like quite a few businesses here in town, there really isn't much to distinguish the building from the homes/buildings nearby.  (There is a tiny neon sign in one window.)  It is open 24/7, and they deliver.  Prices are typical for Iqaluit (meaning expensive).  For example, a hamburger by itself is $9.95.  Want fries with that? The cost goes up to $15.95.  Add a drink for $2.85.  Like most places in town it isn't strange for people to wander in to sell you various craft items or artwork. I would highly recommend the poutine and the caesar salad with chicken strips.

The Snack

The little sign is how you know it's a restaurant and not
someone's house.

The menu isn't fancy, but the food is good.  This is the closest Iqaluit has to a MacDonald's.
(The food is better quality than McD's, in my opinion.)

Warm, inviting atmosphere. The interior was renovated earlier this year.

Lunch. JJ got a sandwich, I got the burger. 

Interior before the renovations.

Grind and Brew

Grind and Brew is a little "hole in wall".  Famous for its pizza, Grind and Brew also has a daily lunch special (usually a main, soup/stew, and a drink). There is a tiny "shop" to the right of the door when you walk in that sells random things like hockey jerseys, tea, teacups, etc. The restaurant is often crowded at lunch, with as many tables crammed into the spot as they can fit. I don't think they expect many people to eat in though, it is quite common to find the staff sitting at a table going through the books, or organizing silverware, etc. (To say the atmosphere is relaxed is an understatement. Imagine going into your grandmother's kitchen if your grandmother made pizza and sold candy. They even have tablecloths covered with plastic.) There is a TV in one corner, usually set to a sports channel. There is a large candy display upfront. It was tricky to get a picture of the interior--I try to take photos that don't clearly show stranger's faces, but Grind and Brew is typically busy (and tiny). This is one of the two places in town where you can nip in to buy pizza by the slice (the other spot is the cafe in the airport).

Like most places, just a small sign out front sets it apart from the surrounding homes.

One of the Captain's favourite spots.

Inside Grind and Brew. (Captain Jack is trying simultaneously
smile for the camera, while watching curling on the TV on the wall
behind me.)

Candy

Taken from Facebook

Hockey jerseys for sale against the back wall.
Various things on the tables that are waiting
to be put away.

In other completely unrelated news, we are running out of shoes.  You may wonder how one "runs out of shoes".  This is how:  before we left Thunder Bay I made sure to purchase extra sneakers for my darling children.  (That would be tennis shoes or running shoes for some of you.)  Why? Because the kids are still growing, which is a bit of an inconvenience in the north. Why sneakers? Because even though there is snow on the ground 10 months of the year, children still need indoor shoes to change into for school/camp/etc.  Today the last pair of sneakers came down from the shelf in the closet.  Coraline and Captain Jack both have brand-spanking new shoes to wear at school, and the now too-small sneakers have gone into the donation bag. I am desperately hoping there are no growth spurts between now and August when we return to civilization.  As you can imagine, there are no children's shoe stores in town.

Coraline's new kicks. She picked them out, as well
as a slightly smaller pair, about a year ago.

The kids are out of school now for the next two weeks.  This is Easter break. I prepared for Easter the same way I prepared for everything else before we came up: did a lot of shopping in advance and hauled everything up last August.  I cannot imagine living here and having to think that way all the time.  The planning for the annual sealift would be incredible.  You would need to make a list of every holiday, birthday, and special occasion and buy everything a full year in advance (and don't forget the birthday parties your children will likely be invited to throughout the year, best to have some spare "gifts" stored in a closet). Then add in growth-spurts and seasonal changes. And then hope Amazon Canada carries things you forgot to order, or that you will have visitors willing to shop for you before they come up.

Next post: Easter!  I've had a turkey in the freezer for months, and am hoping the stores are stocked when I go to buy groceries tomorrow for the weekend.  Then Toonik Tyme is right around the corner!  What is Toonik Tyme? I'm not totally sure, but there has been buzz about it all around town for the past month.  I promise you, I will find out more about it and fill you all in.

Birthday surprise

As some of you know, it was my birthday last week.  JJ and I generally keep birthdays low-key. This year he decided to surprise me by flying up my best friend from Florida (who I haven't seen in a couple of years) for an extended visit. Laoli got here on Thursday, just after lunch. When they walked in together I was completely shocked.  This is the second time ever that JJ has managed to keep a secret from me (the first was my engagement ring). Every other time he has either had to tell me about things due to unforeseen circumstances (one time I booked CJS into a hockey camp for a week JJ had a surprise planned, so he had to tell me), or I have found out by seeing computers screens left open, or hearing phone messages, etc.

From this airport in Orlando....
source

......to this airport in Iqaluit.

Needless to say, this was a complete surprise.  Laoli got to come to last post's ice show, and was a huge help to me the day of the show.  Despite not knowing her way around my kitchen (it was her second day here), she made lunch for everyone while I put Coraline's hair in the requisite "skater bun held in place with loads of hairspray". Then she sat with Captain Jack in the stands so I could help Coraline with her costume change in the dressing room between numbers.

For my birthday, Laoli made dinner for the whole family: chicken, rice, beans, and salad.  Her family is originally from St. Croix (in the US Virgin Islands), and her cooking is phenomenal. She brought up all the seasonings she would need to cook in Iqaluit (there isn't much in the way of "international food" up here).  Even my finicky eater (Captain Jack) raved about how delicious the food was and asked for seconds. For dessert JJ had made me a birthday cake.  (I didn't get the generic Northmart chocolate cake with frosting balloons!) It was a fantastic birthday.

Chicken seasoned latin-style, with rice and beans (squeee!) and salad.

Laoli also brought up yarn and hooks for Coraline, who is learning to crochet through a lunchtime club at school.  Captain Jack got craft supplies and a Star Wars toothbrush and water bottle. She also brought him a hat that lights up, which he has been wearing constantly.  While she was here I took Laoli to check out the yarn and knitting supplies at Baffin Electronics (remember--this is the odd store that sells just about everything except electronics). She picked up some yarn that was on sale, and made this cute little hat for Buffy!

 


Around Laoli's 4th or 5th day here, I GOT SICK!  BOO!  I woke up with a sore throat and ears, completely congested, feeling horrible. I got the kids on the bus and went back to bed. While I was sleeping Laoli made me homemade soup and arepas (fried johnny cakes). What an awesome friend!

I thought this was too funny to leave out, although it has nothing to do with soup.  One evening JJ decided to barbeque steak for everyone for dinner. Our children are not huge fans of steak, even though we allow them to cover it in ketchup.  JJ asked Loali how she would like her steak cooked.  She replied "medium".  Captain Jack immediately piped up "I'd like mine small please!"

Laoli's homemade chicken soup.

Arepas! Yummy!

Luckily, the skies were clear one night while Laoli was here and she got to see the northern lights.  This was on her bucket list, so yay! I have reused an old picture for this post, because you can't take pictures EVERY TIME you see the northern lights.  We'd have way too many.

Northern lights outside the deck.

Of course, a visit to Iqaluit would not be complete without a trip to the museum, the visitor's centre, and of course, shopping.  Laoli enjoyed all three.  She agreed with me that the best place for shopping was the museum, but her favorite purchase was an Ukpik (traditional Inuit owl made of sealskin or fox fur) from Carvings Nunavut.

Carvings Nunavut is inside to the left.

Muskox skull. Don't get any ideas, sis. I think these are much
more difficult to come by than walrus skulls.

Carvings for sale. The bottom shows a miniature hunting camp.

Miniature qamotik and hunting camp with tent.

Rose carved from rock and bone.

The cutest little Ukpik ever. Totally
adorable!

"Ermagerd! Look at how cute that Ukpik is!"

When we first moved here JJ joined the local performing arts association, Alianait. Because he is a member, he gets emails letting him know about various musical and other performances coming up throughout the year.  I believe he also gets discounted tickets, or at least first crack at tickets when they become available. He called me one day to tell me he had purchased tickets for something called "Ice Music". My reaction was, what the heck is ice music?  Turns out, it is music played on instruments made entirely of ice. Crazy, huh?  The performance group was created by Terje Isungset, a Norwegian musician and composer. They perform in various locations (mostly northern, because it would be rather difficult to play instruments made of ice in the Bahamas). Every year one of his stops is Iqaluit.  Last year the show sold out quickly and was packed, so this year they added another performance date. When the group (consisting of 2 musicians and several technicians) arrived in the city they set about finding, sawing, and carving ice chunks to exact specifications. All the instruments are made locally, and melt after each performance.

A highlight for most of the people in the audience was when the group was joined onstage by two local throat-singers.  The sound was amazing.  I didn't catch it on video, but Terje assured me after the show that the group's next CD will feature throat singers as well.

Poster in the museum for Ice Music.

Promo pic from their website.

The opening act: a local ukelele player and one of
her students.  She sang along in Inuktitut. They were fantastic.

Getting set up for the show, wheeling out the ice xylophone-type instruments on dollies.

Coraline enchanted, and nervous. "But, there is water
dripping off the instruments! What if they melt?"

Captain Jack thinks this is awesome.

Laoli and JJ had a blast. They both bought CD's
at the end of the show.

Ready for the show to begin!

Promo shot from their website, but this is basically what it was like! The singer used a soundboard type
mixer to capture her voice on a track, then play it and harmonize over it with other sounds.

(My pic this time.) Terje is blowing into a huge horn made of ice.

And, of course, no visit to Nunavut would be complete without going dogsledding.  The day Laoli and JJ went (I was home sick for this trip, which was a bummer), was cold but not too cold (around -25, -36 with the windchill). Boomer from Northwinds Expeditions took them up into Sylvia Grinnell Territorial Park for the morning. Laoli had a blast.  Her feet froze on the way out, but on the way back the sun was shining directly over them. By the time she and JJ both got home their many layers of clothing were soaked all the way through with sweat.

Emergency shelter at the park.

Laoli on the tundra

JJ drove the sled, this was his perspective.

Arctic Laoli

As you can see its been a busy week.  I have no idea what's coming up next!  It is winter carnival week at Captain Jack's school, maybe that will be interesting? I'll let you know.