The Northern Experience Whisperer aka Leah

Our houseguest Leah has now been named the "Northern Experience Whisperer". It's clear that any community she will work in, in the future will be fortunate to have her. I think the North fits her like a glove and she certainly has the luck that many wish they could have who visit here!

I was on my way to visit a student of mine this morning before she left for Ontario for medical, and a lady stopped me and said "are you headed towards town?" and I said "yes" and she said "there's a bear there", so I promptly turned around and started going home as I have a giant fear of coming face to face with a polar bear.

On my way I saw people pointing and the bear was going to the other island, so I ran and got Gail and Leah and we went and watched the bear for about 45 minutes. Thankfully Leah's camera is amazing, and she got some fabulous pictures. Then we went to a church service where I certainly felt very welcome and on the way back we saw that my neighbour caught a walrus! (I had heard someone caught one yesterday, but not that it was my neighbour! He's also the one who caught a beluga!) They kindly let us get a picture of the head being boiled, as his wife is going to use the skull for teaching.


Gail and I just can't believe all that Leah (and we) have gotten to see this weekend with Leah!

Through Her Eyes

Living in the north is my normal now. Unfortunately the sheer beauty of the landscape here passes my eyes every single day and I've become immune to the dramatic nature of it. I think this phenomenon must be related to the one that makes us immune to the smells of our own house, but this week, we have a house guest, and not the four legged variety.

 I've been thoroughly enjoying sharing Cape Dorset with our friend from the south and it has been fun to again see our community through the eyes of someone first experiencing the Arctic. It's similar to the feeling of when a person travels for a while, comes home, and realizes what their house smells like, and in this case (metaphorically speaking), my house smells fantastic!

Side note: (Leah (my friend from the south) is visiting the north to speak with students about science and promote secondary education. As well, she is here because she has a strong desire to be a doctor in northern parts of Canada and this is a great opportunity for her to see a northern community. The excitement I felt when she first told me what her goals are after she completes her first degree was intense. We desperately need doctors who will STAY in northern communities, and the fact that, that this (or communities like this) are where she wants to work is wonderful and encouraging. I certainly am not a philosopher, or a theorist, or a politician or a doctor, nor is my lovely roommate Gail. But many evenings we sit in each others company and discuss things that would help our community and help us. A permanent doctor is often at the very top of our list. 

We are fortunate right now to have some amazing nurses who care for the sick, fix injuries, and do an amazing job with what they've got available to them...they really should all be awarded medals for providing the care we do have. However, down south a hospital has nurses AND doctors, they work as a team... the doctors need the nurses and the nurses need the doctors... and here our small health centre is lacking the latter of the two. People often have to wait for extended periods for the doctor to fly in for certain procedures, or referrals, and all the other things doctors do. I can unfortunately think of circumstances where a doctor might have been able to sooner diagnose or recognize a medical issue that would have prevented or lessened certain people's realities now. I'm not sure, but I'm guessing that as well our nurses are stretched to the limits, and fortunately for us, they keep doing their job. So, like I said, I was REALLY happy to hear she wanted to work in the north!) 

Leah arrived on Friday, and yesterday, her, my friend Jean and I went for a walk to see the iceberg that is still hanging around. I've done that walk quite a few times, and seen the iceberg quite a few times, and I was eager to do it again just for the fun of it, but as we walked and I saw the excitement on Leah's face and her joy of seeing what she was seeing, I too became super excited. It reminded me of the first time I did that walk and the first time I looked up at the rocky mountain sides and the first time I thought "I'm actually in the north!".

We had a great time! We walked, we explored, we became tourists and I loved every second of it. I am hopeful someday to be able to explore with more friends and family as it is pretty special when someone can come visit!   Unfortunately, I still am awful at taking pictures. I definitely didn't inherit my mothers talent for it. However Jean and Leah seem to be adept at understanding how to snap a good shot, so the pictures I've attach to this post don't really do it justice (I plan on collecting pictures from Jean and Leah to add to this post at a later date).

The start of our hike. 

Frozen waterfall.

Frozen small river from the waterfall.

Leah exploring.

                                         

                               

The white blob in the distance is the iceberg 

yesterday, which I am pretty sure 

looks exactly the same as it did last year. 

Jean and Leah and the iceberg.

The coastline. 

Jean and Leah on our hike. 

99 problems and a dog is one...

Most of my family and friends have been proud of me for not ending up owning 17 dogs here in Cape Dorset. I've done well. Over a year and a dog has never stepped foot in our house...until yesterday. (fear not Mom, the dog has an owner...sort of).

After running quickly from the school to the Northern Store yesterday I noticed a girl with a VERY cute puppy and two other dogs following her. I was in a rush and notice about ten minutes into my journey back to the school that one of the big dogs was following me. This is NOT an unusual occurrence in Cape Dorset as almost all the dogs seem people friendly. I got back to the school where sadly a funeral was being prepared so the front door was propped open... I should have known then that I had a problem, because the dog followed me right into the school foyer. Thankfully some nice kids were there and escorted the dog back out.

I had only planned to stay at school for a few minutes, but got sidetracked with some other work. About an hour later I left and the dog was sitting there waiting for me! I had groceries in my book bag too that were starting to thaw because of my stay at the school, so I was rushing a bit to get home. The dog was kind of herding me as she stayed either a few metres in front of me, a few metres behind me, or a few metres to either side of me. She didn't seem particularly fond of me, and I was having flashbacks to the sheep dog that herded and nipped at me regularly in Ireland. I thought once I got home she would just wander off and I was doing my best to avoid eye contact with her as they tend to hook a person into loving them once they make eye contact!

I went up the front stairs, was not being followed... got my key out... was still not being followed...unlocked the door...still no sign of the dog...opened the door and BANG (she slammed into the door)! the dog had run up the stairs, straight passed me, laid down and refused to leave.

I tried yanking on her collar but she yelped and whimpered (which broke my heart), I tried shooing her, to which she blatantly ignored me. Then I got a sleeve of crackers and she followed me. I took her back to the school (assuming her owner was there), dropped the crackers, and went home. The coast was clear and there was no sign of the dog.

A few minutes later as I was unpacking the groceries, I heard barking, whimpering, scratching, yelping at the door. She was back.

I got more crackers, bribed her back to the school where she was entertained by another dog. Went back home only to be followed...walked back to the grocery stores, thought I lost her...returned home, went up the front stairs again, the coast was clear, opened the door and THUMP, THUMP, THUMP, THUMP, THUMP, THUMP, THUMP BANG (she slammed into the door again). She ran into the living room, laid on the carpet and faked being asleep. This time there was NO bribing, she ignored me completely.

As I stood outside frantically attempting whatever "dog-speak" I knew, waiting for help to arrive, my roommate showed up. I informed her we had a problem and her response was "the four legged kind?".

Well my roommate is definitely the dog whisperer. She immediately bonded with the dog, and I realized that the dog just didn't like me because I was trying to kick her out. We found out where she was from (her owner is away and someone is looking after her) so in the dark I walked her back to her house, but there was no answer when I tried relentlessly knocking. Since we live in a town with a by-law that requires dogs to be chained up, and there being no obvious chain to tie her up with, I resolved to being followed back home by the dog.

Afraid she would get shot if we left her outside, we decided to have a sleepover with the dog. This dog is SUPER sweet, and VERY well trained. Though she farts a lot, and snores when she sleeps. I've also learned to appreciate cats who know where to use the washroom, and who don't weigh 45lbs and have hot stinking breath with big tongues. Though I enjoyed getting to know this pooch (her name turns out to be April), I'll be taking her to her dog sitter later this morning once the sun comes up and I'm able to keep an eye out for bears. I think if she wanted to sleep over again though, I wouldn't mind!

720 hours

I officially stink at keeping up with this blog, but I've decided to give it another go, if for anything, for my own sanity. 

This past month was a month some major things happened that I would sooner forget but some pretty cool things happened as well. Bad stuff first...

Our community suffered a devastating loss with the fire that destroyed our high school. I suspect down south a complete levelling of a school would be similarly tragic, but up here school's are more than just a building that educates the younger generations. Here, schools have a central existence that brings together everyone for community events, not just teachers and students. As well, because the community is small, the destruction of quite a large building really has left a visable scar on the landscape of our town. It really was a sad event to experience this loss and it still stings to walk by the broken skeleton of that school, though mother nature seems to be trying to blanket it with snow lately.

Due to the fire, we now have also combined both the high school and elementary school in to one building. I've struggled a lot with this personally, but am trying to focus on the positive aspects of life, such as the fact that I once again have an amazing (but small) class this year. Our days are full of learning, laughter and spirit that I only think can come from young minds, and I truly appreciate the time I get to spend with each of them. I've also been able to see much more of my students from last year because of this combined school which has certainly brightened my days as they are strong and caring young people who make me smile every time I see them... or hear them... One of my favourite things about them being at our school in the afternoons is when they show up early and yell "hello kris" from outside the classroom window. I'm also very fond of the kindness they and their families have continued to show me. I don't think too many teachers are as lucky as I am with the students I get to teach! As well, from the stresses of all of this, I have learned how fortunate I am to have a roommate like Gail, and the friends and family I have here and down south because the support is pretty darn fantastic!

The combined school situation has also made me look at high school students differently. It's really nice to see them daily, and get to know them better. I also love seeing them on the playground equipment swinging away, which strengthens my feelings that EVERY kid should be given time to play, no matter what age they are. And truly it is amazing how much these kids want to be in school! Despite losing their beautiful high school and now having to often sit in tiny chairs designed for tiny kids, they still show up, do their work and enjoy being there! 

Some other interesting events that happened this month was the young polar bear that visited (though short lived) our community. One Thursday morning while I was on yard supervision I quickly noticed all the kids running to get a closer look at what I call "the harbour" (it's similar in shape to the halifax harbour but not nearly as deep or wide). To my astonishment there was a polar bear swimming around while being chased by a bunch of people in boats. The students told me that the people in the boats were trying to scare the bear back to the other side, so we watched... the bear seemed to be taking it's time and in my opinion was in no rush to do what the boaters wanted. The bear eventually climbed out onto the shore on the other side, so we all went about our business. 

Then close to lunch we heard gun shots (to be honest I didn't know what it was and my students told me). We all rushed to the window because our classroom has a view of the water but we couldn't see anything. Over lunch hour I found out that the polar bear came back to our side of the harbour and started chases three young guys and had to be shot. One of my fellow teachers took myself and another teacher down to try to find out where it was, and after a bit of wandering we found the conservationist (at least I think that's the guys title), skinning the bear near his place of work. 

At first I was alarmed by how small the bear was. I'm very use to seeing extremely LARGE polar bear skins stretched out to dry, this one reminded me of a large Newfoundland dog in size. But then the conservationist shows us it's teeth and claws and I quickly realized that had that bear gotten a hold of one of the guys it was chasing, it probably would have been very bad for the young man, if not fatal. Also for those of you who are like me, and do not like the idea of animals being killed, I must tell you that here in Dorset not a single bit of an animal goes to waste and they certainly don't kill for fun. Furthermore, despite what news articles say about polar bear populations, it seems here that the polar bears are doing very well for themselves as there are lots here!

On Friday night I needed some hang out time, so my friend picked me up on her four wheeler and drove me around for a bit. We went up to where the trucks fill up with water to turn around and saw a fox! He looked so much different then the foxes I have seen in Nova Scotia and the Maritimes. As some of you know over the summer, Rodger and my friends Jenn and Gary and their children became rather fond of a fox we befriended in Prince Edward Island... so naturally I feel like an expert in fox identification (not seriously). The top picture is the PEI fox and the bottom is one I've found on the internet of what the fox we saw the other night looked like. 

This past month I also had a wonderful day adventure with our Principal, and three other staff members. We hiked across the land bridge (a stretch of land that is completely submerged when the tide is in, but passable when the tide is out) and visited some ancient Thule and Dorset sites where 1000 of years ago people set up life. I had learned about these sites while taking the course I took with Nick Newbury, so it was extremely exciting to actually see them in person. Though I must admit to be slightly anxious about being stuck on the island if the tide came in too quickly as I was pretty sure we'd become supper for the local polar bears, but thankfully our Principal knew the tide schedule exactly and had bear spray with him... though I am rather inclined to think that a polar would scoff at bear spray!

The Thule site. This lake is on top of the island and it is quite amazing to see.

The shoreline with the tide out. 

Dorset site. 

Well I hope to write more blogs... we'll see how well I do with it this year. I hope everyone is happy and healthy!

Kris

Snow day in October.... that's right!

Though most teachers may secretly enjoy a snow day (or as it goes here in Cape Dorset a snow morning, to be followed by an update at lunch), I am not one of those teachers. I think perhaps my need for routine outweighs any joy I would find from sleeping in... plus I wake up at 5am no matter what.  So alas, I'm sitting here, twiddling my thumbs, wishing I had brought all the grading I have left to do home and contemplating trying to walk through the giant snow drifts to go feign some type of normality at the school... but first I will blog!

We had a concert at the high school here last Tuesday put on by a guy named Luke and his daughter Chloe.  He's a singer in a band called Whitehorse, which I never heard of until I was told they were coming to Cape Dorset. The music wasn't exactly my style. It reminded me of the song "Hotel California" by the eagles, which is a good song, but not over and over and over again. However there is no doubt that the two of them are extremely talented (his guitar playing was awesome, and she had a beautiful voice), and it seemed the community really enjoyed having them here and I must admit it was nice to have something fun to do on a Tuesday night. One of my favourite parts of the night was the very beginning when the audience was treated to throat singing! I had the good fortune of hearing them at my friend's house a few days prior, but to see them on stage and to hear it was really amazing! I'm currently trying to figure out a few throat singing techniques, and I hope to impress my friend the next time I see her.

Unfortunately I was extremely tired that night and around 8:30pm decided to walk home... unbeknownst to me there was going to be an Inuktitut dance at the end of the night! I definitely would have stayed if I knew that, as I absolutely love being a part of those!

This past week at school has also been really fun due to the lead up to Halloween.  We had a Halloween dance on Friday night which was put on by my friend Scott (he literally could set up an awesome dance in his sleep), and we all dressed up and had a great laugh. Though my jaw still hurts from laughing too much.


I have no doubt this week will be full of fun things too, as long as the snow stops!


Proof I wear the hat Darren bought me! Thank you again!

Fellow teacher showing the kids how it's done!  yay Heidi!

Heidi let one of her students bring a puppy to school... yes that's right... a puppy!  Best idea ever!

Halloween dance, and some of our costumes.

Throat singing.. this video DOES NOT do it justice!

Another two weeks summed up.

I keep seeing the Northern Lights... they are pretty and spectacular and it's kind of hard to believe that they are becoming a normal thing for me that I don't gawk at as much as I did the first time I saw them.  I have also learned from my students that you should never whistle at the Northern Lights, it's bad luck; I can't remember why it's bad luck, but it is, so I won't be doing that.  

I've also recently developed a GIANT, ENORMOUS phobia of polar bears due to something I read in a book about Inuit traditional beliefs... It said something like a person should never wish to see an animal because it will sneak up behind them when they least expect it... or something to that nature... It was written more eloquently than that, but it made my heart skip a beat because for the first month I was really hoping to see a polar bear... then I was told stories about what polar bears are capable of, and I was shown some pictures... and I quickly decided that seeing a polar bear is no longer on my list of things to do.. the problem is I really wished to see one, so now I'm concerned one might sneak up behind me.  Walking to school early in the morning has become somewhat of an olympic sport for me, and no matter who I ask I'm basically told "run to a house and bang on the door and they will let you in"... I've began to work on my cardio needless to say. 

My class is amazing.  I look forward to each day I get to go in a teach. I definitely have a great bunch of students who are eager, fun and like a good laugh. We are definitely a good fit together. 

Today Terin and I went for a walk around the community and we decided to walk along the shore line. The tide goes out really far here and I've never walked along there when it is like that.  Though it was cold, we had a great time as Terin spotted some huge bones sitting along the receded shore line. The bones were definitely the biggest bones I've ever seen, and I'm sure they are from a whale, but it was really interesting to think these giant relics of an enormous animal were sitting there all this time and we just never noticed them when the tide was out.  

Time flies...

I woke up this morning and though "hey I should write a blog this morning". It was with utter amazement that I realized it has been so long since I have done one!

September seems to have flown by and it's hard to remember everything that happened. Updates since the last post:

-My class earned their first party by earning 100 points. They do this by walking in the halls quietly, having other teachers comment to us about how kind they are, being good examples for the younger kids and by being respectful.  It was hard not to give them a party right away to be honest!  I had to limit the points because they are really such a kind class! They decided they wanted a movie/pizza party. They chose a Mr. Bean movie and they wanted me to make "homemade pizza".  I stared blankly at them and said that if my mom lived here I probably could, but would they accept frozen pizzas homemade in the ovens at school? Terin helped me thankfully, and they had a great time!

-Paul Quassa came to our school and I got to meet him along with a couple of my students!  It was pretty exciting as I had learned about him down south from my Nunavut teacher!  I turned into a bumbling fool and he gave me a signed copy of his new book!

-Snow happened.  Lots and lots of snow. It seems to disappear by being blown over the mountains.  It makes it a bit challenging to walk sometimes, but I haven't minded it yet.

-The students had their first dance and first movie night at the school, and they did an awesome job running the canteen and setting it up! (The grade sixes take charge of that)

-An animator who does stop photography (I think it is called), came to our school and did a presentation then came to each class and shot a quick and fun film. We had such a blast with him!

-We had our first full week of school this week!

-The geese have finally seemed to have flown south. Now the ravens are back to pestering me and hovering over my head.

-Jack the dog seems to have found a forever home.

-I regularly stop and pet my new dog friend (who has an owner) named Bella Girl.

-I received a package from home which was SO exciting!  Getting mail here is like Christmas as it arrives at the school and we all anxiously wait to see if we received anything!  I almost cried when opening it!

Graeme- the animator (I hope he comes back!)