Canada Day in Iqaluit, and a special interview with Captain Jack Sparrow

Happy Canada Day everyone! I hope you are all enjoying the parades, bonfires, days at the beach, and any other Canada Day traditions you may have. I wasn't sure how well-received Canada Day is in Nunavut; after all, there is resentment and strong feelings among the Inuit (with good reason) about colonialism and residential schools. However, it turns out that Nunavummiut celebrate the birth of our nation just like everybody else.  (Well, sort-of like everybody else. Of course they put their own slant on it.) A few days ago, this announcement was posted on Facebook:

Thankfully, it was also posted in english.

Sunday at noon the kids and I went out to watch the parade (poor JJ was stuck at work). It was fantastic! I don't know what I was expecting (a couple of pickup trucks with people waving flags?), but there were a lot of floats, the RCMP detachment, local Air Force cadets, Miss Nunavut, the fire department, etc. It was well attended, and the kids had a blast. "Best parade ever!" claimed Captain Jack, who has never attended a parade before. The pictures make it look like a beautiful summer day, but even though the sun was shining it was chilly.  It was quite windy, and the temperature was 7 degrees. The kids had planned to wear their jackets open (or take them off) to show off their Canada Day t-shirts and tattoos from Gramma, but that didn't happen. Instead they huddled out of the wind until we heard the sirens indicating it was time for cars to get off the road ("the parade is coming!"). Then Coraline and Captain Jack jumped around waving their flags to stay warm.

Waiting for the parade to begin.

Two little cold Canadians. Most of the snow is gone, but you can still see a bit behind them.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

Sparky the fire safety dog handed out treats.

Iqaluit Air Force Cadets.

Miss Nunavut.

Narwhal hunters?

The kids were surprised and impressed when they got candy.

No parade is complete without storm troopers and a TIE fighter.

I hope you all enjoyed the holiday! Happy Canada Day everyone!

*****

A little while ago a friend of mine and blog reader suggested that I have the kids blog about their experiences in the north.  After all, you've heard from me, and you've heard from JJ, but you haven't heard directly from Captain Jack Sparrow or Coraline about their take on life up here.  This week we'll find out what the Captain thinks about his year in Iqaluit. As it happens, Captain Jack and Coraline just spotted the first wild berries of the season, so he is pretty excited about that. I think it comes through in the interview. 

Welcome Captain! And thank you for being here today!

Thank you Mommy, I'm happy to contribute to your blog.

No, this isn't what happened. The kid is 8, after all. It went like this:

Hey Captain, turn off Hercules (on TV) and come answer some questions for the blog. 

Do I have to?

Yes.

OK.

Captain Jack and good friend Joe.

How has living in Iqaluit been different from living in Thunder Bay?

Here in Iqaluit there are no trees, in Thunder Bay there are trees. There are berries growing here everywhere and in Thunder Bay they grow in small spots. In Iqaluit berries grow from the ground. It doesn't rain as much up here. The snow level is way higher than in Thunder Bay and the coldness is way colder in Iqaluit.

Captain Jack picking berries last fall.

What are your favorite things about being in the north?

My favorite thing is I get a huge backyard without a fence. I can roam. 

What are you sad to be leaving behind when we go back to Thunder Bay?

My friends, and the berries, and the bouncy castles (at the Turf) because once or twice a week we get to go to the Turf and go on the bouncy castles. 

Fun day at "The Turf", which is what people in town call it when the ice
surface at the Arctic Winter Games complex is converted to artificial turf
every spring until mid-fall.

All the kids at Joamie School go to the turf at least twice a year--once in the fall
and again in the spring. This is the only large space in town where there is "grass".

Learning to read and speak Inuktitut was a fun challenge for Captain Jack.

Tell me about Joamie School.

Joamie School is very old and Joamie School has very nice teachers in it. They are very welcoming and kind. It is smaller than Holy Family School (his school in Thunder Bay, but I don't think this is true....) and there are more rooms. There are more grade 3 classes in Joamie school (with fewer students).  The kids in Iqaluit are Inuk and they have different faces than we do. At Joamie School we learn Inuktitut and we learn Inuit games.

What have you learned about "the land"?

That there are caribou, seal, polar bear, ptarmigan, ravens, walrus and arctic hares.

On the hill behind the school-January.

Joamie "lunch walkers" on a  December day at noon.

The Canadian military takes advantage of the foreign terrain
and isolation to run drills and training exercises regularly.

Aurora crew members from 405 Squadron Greenwood, NS.
They brought apples to distribute to the kids at Joamie. (The food bank at the school is just behind them.)

Remembrance Day celebrated at Joamie back in October.

Moustache day. Doesn't he look

 a little like Inigo Montoya? "You killed my father, prepare
 to die!"Or the ringleader of a french circus? 

What are you happy to be going back to when we leave here?

In Thunder Bay it is warmer in the summer, we have a long driveway and we have more windows in our house. Our backyard is so beautiful--we have our own little forest!  (I think this kid really misses trees!)

Mild mannered reporter by day.....

..turns into Superman for super hero day!

An arctic wolf for animal day. "The scariest wolf
you can make, Mommy!"

This is not Captain Jack, but another student at the school.
Of course, most kids want to dress as arctic
animals on Animal Day. I'm so grateful Jack did not
choose "seal". Looks creepy!
His mom did a great job with his makeup.

Time travel day. CJS went with 80's punk.

What is the first restaurant you want to go to when we get back to Ontario?

McDonald's. I am going to order a chicken burger and poutine and at breakfast time I'm going to get a bacon'n'egg McMuffin.

What is your favorite place to eat in Iqaluit? Favorite food?

My favorite place to eat at in Iqaluit is The Discovery. I like eating chicken parmigiana and caesar salad. (The Discovery is the boutique hotel here in town. The restaurant is actually called the Granite Room. It is quite expensive, so we only go when we have a really good reason, like when we have guests in town.)

Have you tried eating raw seal meat? What did you think?

I have, in Inuktitut class at school. And I thought it was disgusting.

That's pretty honest.

Well, it was, Mommy! It was horrible! Can I watch TV now?

Seal. Looks cute, tastes awful.
source

Sledding on the hill.

Up next: JJ's post! He is guest-authoring a blog post for me, which was supposed to be published today, but he got tied up with work. Fingers crossed things settle down and he finds time to finish writing about his time as Territorial Chief of Staff, working in Arctic Bay, what he will miss about Iqaluit, etc. Also, we get to hear Coraline's take on her year in the north.