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!

I am Here!

It has been so long since I wrote a blog post I figured  I should let all my readers know I am still here!

It has been hard to get motivated to write sometimes as things are getting busier and busier. October so far has been great here in Kimmirut! We already have snow on the ground and the temps are definitely what I would call winter back in New Brunswick , however they keep informing me that it is only fall!

To kind of give you an update on what I have been up to thus far in October ( yes I know it is almost over) I went to two Thanksgiving dinners! One with my group of friends here in town ( it was pot luck and oh so yummy!) and the second with my store manager Sheryl and her family.

For the first part of October we were getting flurries off and on until finally it just decided to snow! Here are some pics from our first "official" snow fall....

 
I also finally ordered my Canada Goose parka! I really debated on weather or not to buy the Goose or to go with a three in one parka.. After input from people I know who live in the north and knowing the wussy I am I ordered the Resolute parka.  I was not adventurous and ordered it in Navy. I still haven't gotten it yet ( it is probably sitting in Iqaluit waiting to be shipped to Kimmirut) I will let you all know how it is once I get it.

Until I get my parka I spent the earlier part of this month layering cloths! I only had the spring jacket I came up in May with which definitely did not cut it when the wind was whipping through Kimmirut. Sheryl lent me her "winter" parka ( She is much more acclimatized than  I am ) as a Training Parka... I feel like a Nunavut toddler!

I also got some new items in October! I bought an upright exercise bike from amazon.ca which is awesome and will keep me somewhat active in the winter... and my friend Golda brought me back a single serve blender from her trip down south..... I am loving making smoothies in it though I do need to find some recipes that are not so blah!


On October 16th my Nannie arrived in Kimmirut from New Brunswick, I cannot tell you how awesome it has been to have a familiar face from back home here. She will be staying with me until November 2nd ( I will post more on our adventures in another blog post). It is really awesome just to hang out with her and have company to talk to. She is really enjoying it here so far! She didn't even freek out about the matchbox sized plane you have to take to come to Kimmirut!

I promise I will remember to post more! Until then here are a few pics for my friends who do not reside in the North!

 

 

 

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:

Shopping Spree, Surprises and Packing ... An Adventure

Tuesday was my big shopping spree day in Saint John! This would be the final big shopping trip before my move. I had my list all prepared , my stores all picked out and a plan in place.

Everything was going great got to Saint John picked up my sister's wedding dress from the dry cleaner then headed to mecca.... COSTCO!  I had a short but specific list for Costco and I stuck mainly to it. Which in Costco is virtually impossible due to the things you manage to find and think... " Hey I might need all 15 of those" and buy it.

After the Costco adventure(where I am sure people thought I was crazy for having a big bottle of Advil , Robaxacet and about 750 Vitamin D pills) I had to go get jeans. That was an adventure and a half mainly because I am so darn picky about jeans! Well Addition Elle had NO jeans... so off to Reitmans ... no jeans there but got a cute windbreaker. So Mom and I decide to take a break and grab lunch that is where the surprise came in...


While eating my older sister called and asked about her wedding dress. Kathie then asked to talk to me where she informs me I need to tell my mother to be at the airport at 4:30pm. I was like what the heck! Well it turns out my uncle , whom I had never met  and had not been home in 31 years was coming home for a week! He actually leaves the same day as me (May 15th) I leave from Fredericton at 6am and he and his girlfriend leave from Saint John at 5:20pm.

Needless to say that there were alot of tears at the airport! So only a few people in my family knew he was coming home mainly my parents and my sister and her fiancee. So we surprised my Nannie who was shocked as heck!

So after a night of chatting I wake up this morning to the power being out... not a big deal you think well when there is no ceiling fan or air conditioning it makes for a very cranky Jeka.

Today was the day of packing for me... well at least one tote! I got most of my sewing stuff packed and even a buch of odds and ends . I was prepared to be over the 70lb limit it was about 50lbs so I thought that was pretty darn good! I still have a few things to pack and some stuff cannot be packed until Monday ( like clothes I am wearing !)

I also have to get a few more things for Paislie so that she can eat and have litter during the first few weeks of living in the North.

The cool thing I have been noticing thanks to www.kimmirutweather.com is that the sun is coming up extremely early (like 3:30am) and the nights are like twilight until like 11pm. Which is soo cool. I am looking forward to taking lots of pictures! I also spoke to my store manager and she confirmed for me that I will have both phone and INTERNET when I arrive in Kimmirut. Thank gosh! I think I would probably be going crazy without them.

Well the next few days are going to crazy busy, cleaning , packing and getting ready for my Nannie's 70th Birthday Open House on Saturday.

Closing of a Door

Today was my last day of work....

What a bittersweet time for me! I thought I was going to be ok then I got to work. Needless to say all my faux bravado melted away and I was left sobbing at work. What can I say I am pretty emotional at times.

My co-workers gave me a this beautiful card... which did not help the tears!



I have to say that I have some of the best co-workers ! They gave me balloons and a cake too and put up with the tears. They are all excited for me to be on this journey and to have this crazy adventure. I am too but my emotions still roller coaster .


Now that I am finished work I need to really get on task with preparing for the move. I have 11 days to decide what I am taking North with me, sort through stuff that is staying and tidy up my room.

Tomorrow is going to be what I call affectionately  "Tote Day". What is this you may ask? Well totes are on sale at Canadian Tire! I am hoping I am able to pick up the size of totes I need (ie will fit all my stuff but not cause too much in overage fees ) and maybe ....just maybe start to fill them.

The younger sisters and I are debating going to Saint John to a movie so I thought we might do some tote shopping and maybe find a few pairs of jeans for me too ... ones that do not cost me 60 bucks a pop!

Well I will let you know how "Tote Day" goes!