One Year

One year ago I left behind all that I was comfortable with and made the decision to move to Kimmirut Nunavut. I don't think i have ever been more scared to do something in my life!


The last year I have learned alot about myself. The move to Nunavut was crazy I spent days buying things I thought I would need, stuff I was not sure  even existed in the Great White North.  It is crazy to look back on that time because I did not have a sweet clue as to what I was getting myself into. I knew a little about Nunavut and I researched the hell out of Kimmirut but you don't really know what it is going to be like until you try it.

For me the move to Kimmirut would be the first time I would be away from my family. I have never lived more than 2 hours away from them.... hell I had never lived outside New Brunswick! Being 2000+ miles away from them in a fly in only community was different.  I have to say Skype and the Internet were my saviours during the first three months in Kimmirut and the fact that my family got kick ass long distance plans didn't hurt either!

I went to Nunavut with a very open mind. I was going to soak up as much culture as I could . I even committed to learning some Inuktitut, my vocabulary started small with two words (Dayma- meaning finished and Emito which basically translates to thingy lol and yes I know my Inuktitut spelling is bad but hey I am a phonetic learner!) My vocabulary quickly grew because I kept asking our local staff how to say things. I am  not fluent in Inuktitut but every day I learn more and more and begin to understand more and more.

I got to experience new foods that I never would have even touched if I still lived back in New Brunswick. I have eaten 7 different country foods ( goose, 2 types of seal, walrus , ptarmigan, caribou, arctic char and Beluga mukktuk( skin and cartilage) I have been out boating in an arctic canoe amongst the ice bergs , hiked over trails that Inuit have been using for centuries , trail blazed over the frozen Hudson Straight. I have experienced so much in my first year in the Arctic I have been amazed at my own sense of adventure.

When I left St.Stephen I was so sure I was going to be alone in a frozen town . Instead I have a amazing and diverse group of friends!  There are some Arctic veterans ( 7 of my friends have lived in the Arctic for at least one year prior to us meeting) and some Nunavut newbies and we all share something with each other.  It is crazy to think that a dozen of us ended up in the Arctic all for different reasons and have become such a tight knit group. My friends have helped me get through each hurdle that I thought would have be screaming to come back to St.Stephen I appreciate each and every one of you !


My family is also one of the biggest supporters of my move North. Everyone thought I would be able to cope and as much as I doubted them many times I have to say without their backing I don't know that I could have made it in the North. The North can be a lonely place to a single girl who moves from a loud house full of family to a small house on the harbour with a cat. When ever I needed anyone back home for a pick me up or just some TLCFS( Tender Love and Care Family Style) they were just a phone call away.

I am looking forward to what the next year brings in my Nunavut Adventure!

The Days are Running Together

WOW!

Time is flying by here in the North I cannot believe that we are already into the second week of December. It has been a really hectic time here.


When I first got to Kimmirut my store manager Sheryl told me that Christmas would be our busiest time of year. I didn't think it would be that busy but oh boy! We run alot of events at the store from Moonlight Madness to Ladies night and more

Each of these nights has games, specials and more. It is pretty fun running them everyone is hyped up for the games and really get into the spirit which is awesome to see.

The past couple of weeks have seen many parcels come through the door of our store from my family back home . I am not allowed to have them because they are sooo sure I would peak and or unwrap my Christmas presents early ( I soo would) so they are in my bosses name and I will get them when it is Christmas Day.

I have to say that this Christmas is going to be tough for me being away from my family. I will be the first person in my family to miss Christmas at home. It sucks and I wish I could be there but I knew when I signed up for this that I would be here for Christmas . It was even a source of many days worth of tears when I first found out about coming to Kimmirut.

I am so glad that my family has been sending me care packages filled with Christmas goodies and decorations. I have been able to keep certain Christmas traditions alive such as putting up my Christmas tree the first weekend in December ( I slightly preempted this) and making Christmas cookies.

This is my first fake Christmas Tree!

When I first came North I was so sure Christmas would suck for me without my family and while it will not be the same  I have found that some of my friends will be in town over Christmas. Most of my friends are transient like I am and we have formed a great group. So I will not be at home alone sitting on my couch  crying ( like I imagined myself in the early days of moving North) I have two (possibly three) Christmas dinners to go to and one of my good friend's I met here is going to stay over at my house Christmas Eve.

I am also looking forward to seeing how the Hamlet celebrates the holidays .. There seems to be games and fireworks and a skidoo parade I am sure I will be out there snapping pictures and trying to capture it all so I can have it for keeps.

On a happier note I also (Finally) got my Canada Goose parka! I don't know if I shared the saga of my parka with you all or not but I ordered my Parka once I was in Kimmirut and I ordered the Canada Goose Resolute men's 2XL parka and I waited.... It took two and a half months to get here. In the mean time my boss let me use her parka I then found out hers was a 1XL men's parka... Needless to say when it got in it was too big! Which lead to a call to Iqaluit Northmart to see if they would swap my parka for a smaller size. They were cool with it and then came back and told me they had a 1XL Expedition parka in Red and Black... I chose the black and packaged up my parka to be sent to Iqaluit.

I got the "new from Iqaluit" parka and it was a 2XL... I was slightly pissed but then I tried it on and found it fit wayy different than the Resolute parka and still fit nicely so I kept it.

Here is me rocking out to my new parka!

A Big Update and Lots of Pictures!

Ok so I failed a bit at blogging this past week. It was not because I didn't have anything interesting to blog about because I did ... I just didn't feel like blogging. We have had some great weather here and then some not so great weather. Both lead to feelings of not wanting to blog and both for very different reasons!

Last Saturday I took the day off work for my older sisters wedding.... No I did not make a trip back to New Brunswick. Through the technology guru of my sister Whitney and Skype I was able to see the entire wedding and most of the important parts of the reception!

So what does being Skyped into a wedding look like? Well when I get the pics I will show you!
It was kind of sad not being there but at the same time I was glad to miss out on the heat and humidity!

After the excitement of the wedding I went for a walk on the harbour floor while the tide was out. I wanted to take some pictures of the huge "icebergs" since we are now into WATER not ice!

Here are some of my cool shots:

I also go to take part in the Hamlet's Canada Day celebrations on July 2nd. Our original celebrations were set for the first however on June 30th they found the body of our former mayor. He had been missing since late November after not returning from a hunting trip. I am glad that his family has closure .

I took a bunch of pictures of Elders ,adults and kids alike playing games however my camera decided to eat them! I tied for 1st place in one game and got a cool set of three baskets ! Currently they are sitting on my table until I find some cool uses for them ( I am thinking sewing gear is going to be in them!)

The past three days have been very icky weather wise, cold rainy and overcast! We have not had a plane since Thursday.... However today we got a plane!!! Woot 

We also have come into Sealift season! Twice a year here in Kimmirut we get Sealifts which are barges that bring in containers of non perishable foodstufs, vehicles (ATVs and such) and anything that is shelf stable. Tonight when I came home from work I found that there was a sea barge in the harbour. It was not ours .. I don't think so anyhow I believe it is the Co-ops but still cool to take pics!

This is what sea barges look like:

The Rollercoaster of Emotions and Fears

This week marks my last week at my current job.

Who knew that I grow to love my job and move up with in the company. At 24 not many people have a long term job as well as three different positions within that company. It is also bittersweet time for me because this marks the end of one chapter and the beginning of another.

I am a roller coaster of emotions right now. Petrified to go into the unknown aspects of this move. As much as I can read blogs and email and talk to people who have been to the North. I have never left home longer than two years of university and that was in the same province!

I am excited for the experiences that I know will come with this adventure. I am excited to learn more about my own country and some of the peoples who were here first. I am so full of emotions I am sure I will be crying all week long and into the next .

I am not nervous about the flight much ... mainly worried about luggage getting to were it should be and all ending up in Kimmirut with me. I am worried about my cat and her travel I am sure though my vet will ease those fears this week when we go to visit him.

There are so many times when I think to myself "What in the heck am I doing?" I am excited for me as are alot of my friends and family. I am sure once I am in Kimmirut things will be ok it is just the getting there part that is hard.

I wonder if I can put a blanket apology out to all the people traveling from Fredericton to Ottawa with me that I will be the crying sniffling girl on the plane  and that I am sorry.

Oh well maybe by the 15th my tear ducts will have dried up ..... one can hope!