All good things

Finally, another blog post! Yay! It's amazing how quickly a year went by. Now that the packers have been and gone, and all the personal touches in the house have been tucked into boxes (the soft lighting, the area rugs, artwork, fuzzy throw cushions, etc.) it has hit me again that our stay in the far north is truly over.

The "backyard" in July.

Still a little bit of snow!

This experience has had many ups and downs. I'll try to sum up:

Good stuff

I have learned to drive in snowy conditions a LOT better.  Unlike roads in northern Ontario, there is no salt put down here.  They put down dirt, which is great until it blows away.  (It's actually calcium, not dirt, says my kamik maker).  I can drive through drifts.  I can drive on icy roads up-hill.  I am in complete control when my car starts to slide back down the hill.  I am snow-driver extraordinaire.

I have learned to appreciate free, unlimited, high speed internet.  Loads.

There is a certain freedom that comes with the "anything goes" attitude up here. However, this is a mixed bag. Yes, anything goes, because everyone understands that stuff is hard to get up here.  The restaurant serves hamburger buns with butter in place of dinner rolls? Whatevs. Your Chinese noodle bowl has macaroni noodles instead of actual Chinese noodles? Big deal.

My kids have learned so much from this past year, though they don't realize it yet. They have a deeper understanding of Inuit culture than most of the population in Canada (many of whom cannot even say the word "Nunavut" properly). On the flip side, I have learned so much about my kids from this experience! Coraline is more resilient than she will ever give herself credit for. And Captain Jack? He belongs on the tundra.  He needs to be a hunter, or an explorer, or something else outdoorsy. This is something JJ and I really need to be nurturing as much as possible.

Things I will miss:

-The wind howling around and under the house.

-Burning wood pallets in the living room fireplace. (Not pellets. PALLETS!)

-Fur and sealskin clothing being normal. (Don't look at me funny when I walk around in my sealskin boots next winter. Where I have lived this is normal.)

-How warm and welcoming people are.

-Facebook being used for EVERYTHING. (Even finding a new family to raise your baby. Seriously!)

- Nunatsiaq News

-The long sunsets. When the sun finally does set (and by "set" I mean just barely disappear over the horizon before popping back up again), it takes a long time. The sky turns a beautiful shade of orangey-pink.

This photo was taken by someone else (Julia Macdonald), but hasn't been
filtered or altered.

This photo of Gramma enjoying the last slow sunset was taken by JJ.

-Hotchy (my hair stylist) and her bright red Pebbles' hair.

-The little Inuit kids coming to the door, or just walking into the house. (Although, I won't miss it happening late at night or early in the morning).

-Going into a grocery store at 9am and hearing this song play over the speakers very loudly. Then dancing with the checkout girl. I mean, really?

-The Astro Theatre. Coolest movie theatre north of 60. Or anywhere, really.


Things I will NOT miss:

-Having to order in EVERYTHING. My digital meat thermometer died. This means a 2-3 week wait for another one from Amazon. I will be grateful to be able to drive to Walmart and just buy stuff.

-Random days when you just don't have water.

Captain Jack collecting snow from the deck.

It takes a lot of snow to make a tiny amount of water.

-The stuff in this house that needs repairing:  The dishwasher is on the fritz.  We need to set the oven timer to remind ourselves to turn it off, or it will just keep going and going (until it leaks all over the floor). The windows are drafty and need to be replaced (many have plastic covering them). One window (in the bedroom) will just fly open, and as the house is on stilts, it's not like you can just walk around or go up a ladder and push it closed. The pipes froze constantly all winter (although I learned a great way to cope with this--windshield washer fluid down the drain!). (None of these things are unique to this particular house, this is what comes of having to ship things like dishwashers and new windows during "sealift season", which is only a few months every year.)

-The dryer not drying because the outside vent was sealed shut with ice. (This happened all winter.)

-I will not miss the frustration of many, many, MANY missed school days.  School closes because the power suddenly cuts out.  School closes when the wind gusts are too high. School closes because the roads are icy (and have been icy for days). January 2nd school didn't open because there was no water pressure (this was due to a fire, so understandable.)  However, January 3rd school was closed for the afternoon because after a brief power outage this morning, there was no water (the pumping stations had to be manually re-set).  This year the kids missed 11 unscheduled days of school.  The school does it as "half-days", so the kids have missed 22 half days. Add to that the two weeks off at Christmas, two weeks off for spring break, one week off for ......reasons.....? Then of course there were the various long weekends and other holidays....It's very frustrating, and makes me question the quality of the education they are receiving.

-How EXPENSIVE everything is.

-The gosh-darn 23 hour/day sun.

-Not being able to find things at the grocery store, like milk and bread.

-The post office wait--when the heat is on max and everyone is dying in their Canada Goose parkas. (But I will miss the Post Office warehouse. Where else in Canada can you find a postal outlet that uses a hanging tarp as a wall?)

*****

So, the past couple of weeks have been insanely busy. I listed a bunch of stuff on Facebook for sale that we do not need to take back with us to Thunder Bay, and also donated food and clothing to the local soup kitchen and women's shelter.

Shelter for abused women in Apex. Home to many women and children.

Also, JJ's work had a going away party for him! It was a surprise planned by one of his co-workers. It is common for many doctors and nurses at Qikiqtani General Hospital to drop in for short-term employment, be it a year, a month, a couple of weeks, etc. It is very rare for anyone to throw going-away parties (otherwise there would be parties happening all the time). It just goes to show how respected JJ is, and how much he was appreciated for his work here in the north.

JJ says he will be doing a blog post of sorts which will follow this one, I'll let you know when that happens!

JJ's "going away" cake. It disappeared quickly, as more staff came than was anticipated.

 JJ being surprised by co-workers in the QGH cafeteria.

So, with our extra "stuff" sold on Facebook or donated, and with JJ's party over, it was time for the packers to come in.  We did things a little differently this time, as we had learned a little from our previous move.  For instance, knowing that not everything the moving company moves will necessarily make it to our house (like the three boxes that got lost on the way up), I packed two suitcases of "Things we Cannot Replace" to come on the flight with us. "Things we Cannot Replace" included meaningful things we cannot buy in stores, like sealskin boots, CJS's hockey jacket, his hockey trophies, my new handmade parka, sculptures, artwork made by Coraline's friends, etc. 

JJ in the bedroom surrounded by boxes.

While the packers were doing their job, the kids joined
our neighbours on a hike through Sylvia Grinnell Park.

Captain Jack, Coraline, Darter, and Ed (and Nova the dog).

Breakfast at the hotel we stayed at in Iqaluit while our house was being cleaned.
This is what you eat when you have no food in the kitchen. Half a banana, a leftover
lunch-box fruit cup, a handful of Ritz Bitz, and a mini-donut. 

Finally, the big day. The final flight to Ottawa.

This is us. Fourteen checked-bags, two cats, a dog, and various carry-ons.
Waiting in Ottawa for our shuttle to the hotel (the shuttle had to make two trips).

After a relaxing night in Ottawa we picked up the two rental vans to transport everything (and everyone) on the two-day road trip to Thunder Bay. Next stop: Sault Ste. Marie!

One less-than-impressed cat.

I can has chicken burger?

"I love Thunder Bay" written in highway grime by Coraline on the side of the van.

We finally reached Sault Ste. Marie!

The kids enjoying the pool waterfall.

Chilling in the sauna.

Trees! Flowers! And McDonald's!  Days don't get much better than this.

Freya, our new rescue cat who is a native Nunavummiut, was completely unaccustomed to travel.
Can you spot her?

Yup! There she is!

And we're back!

Coraline in the backyard.

Flowers. Trees. Evenings that get dark........The kids keep pointing things out to us that they have missed.  Our second day back in town we picked them up two new bikes that cost about $200 each, not $400+ like they cost in Iqaluit. They picked berries from the tree in our yard, by reaching up into the branches, instead of searching on their hands and knees in the tundra rocks.  

What a long, strange trip it's been. Thank you to everyone who joined us on our journey. You guys gave me a reason to keep writing! We're ending the trip with over 8000 page views, with readers from all over the world (after Canada and the US, the largest readership came from Peru, Italy, Poland, and France). I'll keep the blog up for now, for at least awhile. So that when someone says "How was your trip?" we can refer them here. Ha!

"Life is a either a daring adventure, or nothing at all."

-Helen Keller

Update!

I have not forgotten about you, wonderful blog readers.  Believe it or not, you have been on my mind quite a bit lately. However, as you will have noticed, I have failed to post any new blog content for about 10 days. This is because of two things:

1) We ran out of internet.  Yes, that is a thing here in Iqaluit. JJ and I regularly play an online video game called World of Warcraft. The game came out with a patch that we had to install in order to continue playing.  We did not realize installing said patch would consume all of our remaining internet for the month. With our internet all but gone, I am unable to upload photos to the blog.  In an odd way, this was a perfect time for this to happen. We will be in Ottawa this coming Sunday, and I will have all the free internet I can use.  So, it isn't as though there are no more posts coming. You'll all just have to wait a few more days while I frantically work on those posts from hotel rooms. After all, I need to fill you in on what has been happening our last week here. Which brings us to my second point:

2) Organizing this move was way more work than I thought it would be. Yes, it was our second time moving in a year so we should know what we are doing. And you would think, that since we didn't bring up everything we own, and because we have hired a company to move our belongings back to Ontario, that the final week here would be relatively stress-free. Also, we have donated all the clothing the kids have outgrown and not replaced it as the year has gone by, so we actually own fewer things than we came up with.

That said, we moved into someone else's house. With someone else's stuff in it. While it is very easy for me to know what is ours and what isn't, it would unrealistic to expect this of the packers. So for the past week we have designated rooms as "off limits" for the packers/movers, and tried to move as much of the homeowner's belongings in these rooms as possible.  Over the past year we have simply lived in the house, using the TV remote control without any thought of it not actually belonging to us.  Same things with my slow cookers, the home owner's casserole dishes, my kids' water bottles, etc. We don't want the packers or movers to pack the homeowner's things, as it would be a real pain in the butt for them to come home to, say, no coat hangers. Or missing artwork. Separating everything has been very, very time consuming.

Also, we've been told it may take as long as 6 weeks for our belongings to arrive in Thunder Bay. This means we need to fill our luggage with items we will need for the rest of summer (bathing suits, shorts, sandals), but also for the beginning of fall (back to school clothes, rain boots, warm coats, etc.). Throw in packing for two cats and a dog (a small enough litter box to put in a suitcase, along with food, litter, etc.). The kids had to decide which toys to put in luggage to take on the plane with us, and which toys they can handle not seeing for 6 weeks.  This made for some very tough decisions for them.

To further add to the stress of moving, I have had to contend with the fact that on our move up here, the moving company lost three of our boxes.  They just vanished into thin air.  The same thing has happened to several friends during Iqaluit moves. So I have had to decide which things we need to have with us for the six weeks, which things can travel on the moving van to Thunder Bay, and which things I am absolutely not OK with NEVER SEEING AGAIN. I have a suitcase I have called my "essentials" bag. It contains things that I consider not-replaceable: CJS's hockey trophy and ribbons. Many of our sealskin items, which would be impossible to replace. My new parka from Victoria's Arctic Fashion. Inuit carvings from Arctic Bay.

Today, the packers are here. Despite the "do not pack this" stickies I have put on the floor lamps, the hockey bag, etc., I am hanging around supervising. In true Iqaluit style, the moving company ran out of wardrobe boxes (for packing things in the closet). In fact, boxes in general seem to be in short supply. I will enjoy filling you all in once I have unlimited internet. Wish me luck! For now, I have used the last dying breath of our internet to upload this photo that JJ took last night:

The sun is setting on our time in Iqaluit. Sunset here takes, like, 3 hours.
So...........its like a long goodbye.

Helicopter tour of Ward Inlet, and interview with Coraline!

So much is happening! We only have a couple of weeks left until we leave to go back to Thunder Bay. I've started sorting things for the move (we have professional packers coming in so actually putting things in boxes is off my shoulders). I've had the kids try on basically everything they own, and whatever doesn't fit is being donated to the women's shelter here in town (a large building where abused women can live with their children until they get back on their feet).  Of course, in the midst of the sorting, trying on, donating and list making, JJ decided that we still haven't seen enough of Nunavut. We've been dogsledding many times, and flown up to Pond Inlet and Arctic Bay, but we hadn't actually been in a helicopter..... more on that later this post. We'll start first with Coraline's thoughts on the past year.

*****

Coraline has had a humdinger of a year in Iqaluit. Right off the bat, she started middle school-- a huge change for someone who has only attended one small community school in her lifetime. In September she was voted into student government as a member of the Aqsarniit student council, representing her homeroom. She has had a great time planning dances and events, helping to work the concession stand, and being involved in fundraising.

Ready for a school dance.

In addition to all the normal stuff like math, social studies, etc., Coraline has been taking Inuktitut language and Inuit culture, along with French language lessons. Coraline has also enjoyed the freedom that came with living in a small, close-knit neighbourhood, but she's realized there are pluses and minuses that come with this. (Free-range kids can do pretty-much whatever they please, including destroying the fort you've spent days building as soon as you go inside for dinner.)  It's been a year of firsts: she's gone to her first dance, eaten caribou for the first time, and had her hair dyed (for what I'm sure is the first of many times). 

Academically she has thrived, and by the end of the year she had won awards for attendance, literacy, artistic ability, the Principal's Award, and the Inuit Qaujimajatuqanginnik Award (I have absolutely no idea what this last one is for, but neither does she, so it's all good).

Update: I know what that crazy-long-word award is now!  JJ says normally the phrase is shortened to "I.Q." He learned about it through work.  "Inuit Qaujimajatuqanginnik" means, in a nutshell, Inuit values/knowledge. These include respect, serving your community, working together, being resourceful, and caring for the land. 

Coraline won two "end of year" awards. This one was
for being the most artistic student in her class.

And here is she walking away with her prize for the attendance
award (I wasn't fast enough with the camera).

So, what does a 10 (now 11 year-old) think of living in the north? I'll let her tell you.

Hi Coraline!

Hi Mommy!

What have you enjoyed most about living in Iqaluit?

What I enjoyed most about living in Iqaluit was that lots of my friends live super close. This means I can walk down to my friend's house (for example Lilith) and see if she wants to come over or play outside. (I do it all the time.)

Coraline and Lilith.

What have you wished was different?

What I wished was different up here in Iqaluit is that my friend down in Thunder Bay (her name is Z) would move up here and stay with us 'til we left. I also wish we could bring our house in Thunder Bay up here and back again when we leave.

Tell me how going to school here is different than going to school in Ontario.

School is different up here than Thunder Bay because me and my brother don't go to the same school. This is because up here you start middle school in grade 6 while in Thunder Bay middle school starts in grade 7.

What have you learned about the Inuit?

What I have learned about the Inuit is that they eat some meats (seal, caribou, rabbit, etc.) raw. I also learned in the olden days (1900's) they used something called a kudliik (pronounced kood-lick) to keep warm.

Kudliik (also known as a Qulliq)
(source)

Tell me how the kids here are different than they are in Ontario. Do they dress differently? Speak differently?

What's different about the kids up here is they are more brown than white (skin) and they stay up very VERY late playing outside. The kids up here also like to eat raw meat and like to hunt. :(

Coraline. 

Do you have a favorite restaurant in Iqaluit?

Uuuh....what do you think? I'm a kid so.......YES! My favourite restaurant is the Discovery (fancy-pants restaurant). Why? Because I like their noodles with bacon and ham mixed in.

Is there a food or restaurant you miss from back home?

I miss two restaurants from back home. No wait, three. These are Mongo's, Swiss Chalet, and of course like all kids McDonald's.

Hanging out on the tundra.

What is the first thing you want to do when you get back to Ontario?

The first thing I want to do is surprise my friend Z (she did not come up with us) and have a party with all my friends (that is, if Mommy and Daddy let me).

Dressed for an 80's theme birthday party.

Tell me about the things/people you are going to miss when you leave here.

I'm going to miss Lilith, Vee, Kel, Mauve (these are all my friends), Joanne (she's my teacher), our big back yard, Garbage Dog (cute little orange dog who lives tied to someone's garbage box), Big Puppy (humongous husky dog in the neighborhood), Silna (small husky puppy), Pearl (Lilith's dog), and of course Iqaluit itself.

Garbage dog at home.

He's a super friendly little guy, and Buffy's best friend.

What else can you tell me about living in the north?

It gets VERY cold during the winter (and I'm serious). Sorry, that's all.

********

Our neighbors (who are friends) hosted a small goodbye dinner for us last week. In Iqaluit, everyone leaves for the summer months, so they had to have it early. In fact, the city has become downright quiet.  Even the lunchtime traffic jam is gone! JJ was told the noon flight out the day after school ends is called the "Teacher's Express", as almost every teacher here is from elsewhere in Canada and they all head south as soon as school is out.

It can be tough having a younger brother.

Coraline and Marnie.

Coraline's Iqaluit BFF, Lilith.

*****

JJ called me from work one day last week quite excited--he had heard from a co-worker that there is a helicopter service in town that will take people around to various locations on sightseeing tours. He gave me a website to check out: https://iqaluithelicopters.com/. I was a little hesitant to try this--the last time I was in a helicopter was when I was quite young, but I've heard stories about people becoming quite nauseous while on tours. However, he was pretty determined (and so gosh-darned excited) that I shrugged off my initial hesitation and within 24 hours we had booked a tour.

Our tour was to Ward Inlet. For those of you who don't know (well, if anyone who doesn't live on Baffin Island knows anything about Ward Inlet, I'd be shocked), Wikipedia describes Ward Inlet as "a body of water in Nunavut's Qikiqtaaluk Region. It lies in eastern Frobisher Bay, forming a wedge into Baffin Island, separating Becher Peninsula from Hall Peninsula. Augustus Island lies deep into the inlet."  The area is wild, remote, and full of neat little rapids, cascades and waterfalls.

We didn't tell the kids we were doing this until we were all in front of the helicopter. Captain was...well...
you can see for yourself.

Best. Day. Ever.

Coraline, while not as impressed at CJS, had
a great time too.

And of course JJ was thrilled.

We set down briefly to explore.

Walking around during our pit stop.

The high cliffs are breathtaking, and the kids were impressed with the waterfalls
and rapids.

You would think, looking at the photos above, that the tundra is a very desolate, life-less place. At first glance this is true.  The ground is very rocky and there are no tall plants at all. The average temperature in the winter months is around -40 degrees, there is almost total darkness for much of the year, and gale force winds are frequent. However, as Dr. Ian Malcolm (played by the amazing Jeff Goldblum) in the original Jurassic Park movie says, "Life, uh, finds a way."

When we got out of the helicopter we noticed the ground we were stepping on was very spongy. Due to the permafrost, the water that melts from snow and collects from rain has nowhere to drain (the ground is always frozen). Because of this, and the rocky terrain, plants grow in shallow, spongy, clumps--or tussocks. Anything that grows in these clumps is very hearty.  You can find a lot of plant life if you are prepared to crouch down close to the ground. We found prime examples of arctic cranberries, and purple saxifrage flowers (the official flower of Nunavut). Because of these moist clumps of plant growth all over the tundra, mosquitoes are abundant.  Thankfully, it's often quite windy so they haven't bothered us too much to date.

Purple saxifrage flowers. 

Arctic cranberries.

Not all the snow has melted completely yet, as Coraline discovered.

So she made a miniature snowman.

Our July snowman. Complete with arctic cranberry eyes, and berry juice hair.

Up next: JJ says he is working on his blog post (ahem....I'll believe it when I see it). Also, the countdown is on! Only twelve days left until we fly out!