Cape Dorset in the Summer

I arrived safely to Cape Dorset with only a few minor hiccups on the way. Once I was aboard the Halifax to Ottawa flight the pilot informed us that we couldn't fly because Ottawa airport was shut down for an "emergency". I immediately worried about my next flight because I had such a short time  in between, but with a stroke of luck I arrived just in time and we actually landed at the gate I left from.

Upon arrival in Ottawa I was greeted with friendly faces that I had seen during my time up North during my practicum, and it was nice to sit on the plane with them and talk about what this year will bring.  We arrived in Iqaluit SUPER early and ended up having to wait for 4 hours, then we boarded the little airport bus that drove us to our not so tiny plane where we sat until we were informed we had to go back to the terminal because the luggage guys weren't ready. We sat around for some more time, then finally left for the last quick jaunt across to Cape Dorset.

It felt surreal to arrive back, and oddly familiar even though Dorset looks like a completely different place during the summer. Thousands of rocks (much more than I imagined) cover the ground, with little purple and green plants and white arctic cotton dotting the landscape. The harbour does actually consists of water that gives way to land bridges connecting the surrounding islands together when the tide is out, and boats float calmly on the sea when the tide comes in.  It really is beautiful!

Originally as I prepared to move North I thought the long daylight hours wouldn't bother me...and I suppose bother is the wrong word because really it just confuses me.  The first night I woke up at 3, looked out the window saw bright sunshine and figured I slept in until 3pm. It wasn't until I saw the AM on my clock that I realized it was 3am!  Right now as I look out the window (10:26pm) the sun is setting, but it never gets as dark as night back down south. And by 3am'ish it'll be bright as a hot summer day!  Speaking of temperatures... it's been a balmy 8C, which is actually quite warm!

The last couple days have been spent setting up my classroom (which is actually really fun, but a lot of work) and Terin and I have been trying to get internet, water hook up, sewer hook up, electricity and telephone. We've been successful with it all (except the phone; we have a number, just no one to connect it to our house!), but doing these things are a lot more different than at home, and almost easier if you can find out who is going to do what.

I'm extremely excited to meet my students. I have their names memorized and have asked other teachers to tell me a bit about each student so I'm not completely naive to their lives.  I'm hoping tomorrow I can plug away at my room and maybe finish that aspect of preparing.  I will certainly be uploading photos, but currently only have some from my bedroom window, showing an almost identical view to what I had before, except now it's the summer  edition.

I will be keeping this blog going, and will probably have more interesting things to talk about once I settle in more and get more sleep. However, we are going for a walk at "Dead Dog Lake" tomorrow... we walked ON the lake in March and tomorrow we'll see it in all it's summer glory and I'm curious if we'll find out the origins of it's name...

I miss you all! Hope everyone is well!

Love
Kris


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