One Month Seems like a Life Time

As of Friday I have been in Nunavut a month. It has not seemed like a month it has seemed like I have been apart of the Kimmirut community for much longer. Which is great because it means I am accepting Nunavut as my new "home".

I still miss New Brunswick , especially my family but we talk alot through Facebook and the great phone plans everyone has gotten :) I am loving my job and the people I work with. I learn something new everyday. I am working on my Inuktitut ... I have progressed to 9 words.... OK well phrases and 7 words.

Slowly but surly I am getting use to living in Nunavut. Before I moved I was eating a lot healthier and working out more. Moving here got me out of whack I was eating alot of convince foods that I could just throw in the oven. I am working on making healthier eating a priority to me. That means Wednesdays will be my cooking day ... no more baking for me more making meals for the week .


There is a goal I have for myself that I want accomplish this summer. At the other end of town there is a big hill that goes up past the RCMP detachment to this flat spot by the power plant. I put some pics from up there in my last blog. I want to walk up that hill and just chill on the upper part when the sun is up, Which is pretty much from 2:30am until 11pm and supposedly getting longer!


Now that the ice is breaking up I cant wait to take some more pictures of the area. Although it has been rainy and foggy here so not ideal picture taking. Although I am looking forward to seeing the Sea barge when they come in. We are expecting ours to come in the middle of July.

The sea barge is how large quanties of dry shelf stable foods get shipped to Nunavut communities. It is a better freight pricing and can supply you with alot of dry goods and cleaning products. I was lucky because Sheryl( my boss) was able to get my cat litter and cat food on the barge order. Though it was very hard figuring out how much cat food my cat eats and how much litter she uses because I bought cat food and littler supply for a year.

A cool thing for us in Nunavut that happened this week was Qiniq (our Internet provider) launched a new package. Here in Nunavut the Internet packages are similar to Rogers there is a cap after so much usage. I hit my cap this week ( which was ok because my renewal date was tomorrow) Well the new package is like 80 bucks a month but gives very fast speeds and a higher cap.  I was super pumped because I was not able to really use the Internet except for basic Facebooking .

Sorry for no pictures this time but I am sure I will find something to take pictures of here against soon!

Exploring in the Rain and Snow

Since my last post I have been working like crazy..

We had to do our general merchandise inventory on Saturday which was kind of fun and monotonous which made the day go by faster. I hadn't had much of a chance to explore or do anything exciting. I am settling into a great routine.

It is very hard to keep up with your healthy eating routine when your access to alot of the foods and brands I ate at home is very limited. I asked my manager if it was possible to get my favorite Greek Yogurt in and sure enough it was possible and today it came in on the plane! I was pumped.

There are only six 4 packs in a case and with an expiration date if the middle of July .. I foresee another case coming in before then lol..

A cool thing I have learned since moving to Nunavut is that my name Jeka means jacket in Inuktitut ... For almost 25 years my name has not meant anything and now it does... The little kids here think it is cool.

I am slowly learning Inuktitut I hear words and then I lose them so I think I am going to have to grab a notepad and write words down phonetically when I hear them and what their meaning is so I can remember it.

Last night I got a phone call for Jacket , from my bosses husband inviting me over for BBQ. I love BBQ so I never turn it down and living alone cooking for one person sucks. After a great steak we were sitting around chatting about Kimmirut and the areas I have been in. Sam and Sheryl suggested we go for a drive to the "outskirts"

Sheryl , Sam , Cassie and baby Dougie and I get into the truck and off we go. I have to say that I live in a beautiful area! Even though there are no trees there are tonnes of beautiful rock formations , natural lakes and even some bushes!

I got to see great expanses of water , which is great because I love water! The area reminded me alot of New Brunswick and PEI all mixed into one. We also went up to the top of one of the big hills in town by the Power plant(who knew?) and our water lake , the old dump and the new dump .

Here are some pics from the top of the big hill!

                              This is off toward where people go hunting to the flow edge.

The Heel from up high

Ice break up

                                              
                                                 The one with the white roof is Mine!

                                                    I love the backdrop for this pic!

I can't wait to explore the outskirts when the weather is a bit more co-operative and there is grass!

Until next time!

Walking on Water

On Sunday I decided that since I was off I would go on my first adventure on the Ice!

Sunday was beautiful here in Kimmirut. I was even able to walk around town with no jacket during the day. After confirming with my boss that I did not have to go into work to cover while the planes came in (the scheduled passenger and freighter planes had been canceled due to weather on both Friday and Saturday) and which level the tide had to be to go out on the ice. I packed a backpack , water bottle, binoculars and my camera and set out.

Sheryl(my boss) told me to follow the skidoo trials. There are actually like two main ones, one of which is by my house so I set out there only to find that I cant go that way because of all the ice break up. So I walked along the mushed up ice on the coast line toward the second area that skidoos usually go on and off the ice. During my walk along the coast I saw a dead seal that had no head *graphic pic*

And this cool looking dog who scared the crap out of me because he jumped from behind this rock and barked his heart out at me!

So as I go along I get to the point where the skidoos come on and off and the same issue too much broken ice ... BUT WAIT FOR IT!

There was a guy coming up from the ice on a 4 wheeler so I followed his trail and got going toward the ice. It was a bit slick getting down there and on the way down I found another dead seal ... this one was a bit more real seal looking.

So I finally make it out to the ice , there is lots of water there as the tide was coming back in, as long as I didn't go near the big pools I was good .

Here are some pics of me around out on the ice! You can see the ice wall that forms on the heel when the tide goes out.

And me !!!

This was such an awesome day out on the ice! It was prob my first and last chance to go out on the ice right now because of break up and warm temps. I can say that this is my first TRUE Nunavut adventure and I am looking forward to more!

Breakfast...and Settling in

This morning as I was walking to work I met my boss and her daughter walking to the store.  Normally she take her kids to school and daycare then to work. It turned out that this morning the school was having a "cold " pancake breakfast.

So Sheryl and I get all of our opening prep done so that we can go to the breakfast. From what Sheryl was telling me that pretty much the whole community comes out... well when we got there it seemed like most of the people in town were there.

Breakfast was cold pancakes, grilled hot dog half's, toast and scrambled eggs and juice. It was great! Sheryl and I were sitting with two of the towns elders, both of whom only spoke Inuktitut which was cool and intimidating as well. I am definitely glad that Sheryl was there to translate.

After breakfast Sheryl and I went back to the store to prepare for opening. Once the store was open and customers were coming in the ones that saw me at breakfast were asking how I enjoyed it. It was a really great feeling of inclusion into the community.

I know I have been here two weeks... it seems wayy longer some days. I am starting to recognize our regular customers and am able to joke around with them. I am looking forward to getting to know more people. I definitely love the feeling of community that Kimmirut has, very few places hold a breakfast and the majority of the town shows up.


It is cool to hear the kids who come into the store saying my name , almost like they want to know if I will respond to it . Alot of kids also want to come visit, mainly because I have a cat and my bosses daughter comes to visit.

I am hoping the snow and cool temperatures have left us behind! I wanted to go out on the ice and take pictures but I don't think I would do that right now ... the ice looks kind of sketchy! I am hoping to get an opportunity to go fishing or something "out on the land" just to say I have had the experience!

Back to the World

I am sure some of you thought that I abandoned my blog ..... your not so lucky!

My first week in the North was quite eventful! Work is entertaining and very challanging. I like that there is never the same thing twice . Good thing to keep my mind fresh. My co-workers are great and teaching me some Inktatut so far my word count is up to 4 words!

Kanwipe- How are you?
Dayma- Finished?
Nacome- Thank you
Your Welcome- which I cannot remember but it still counts!

I am sure I just butchered the spelling of those words.

I have met alot of people which is awesome and am starting to recognize a few faces. I also can make my way around the "subburbs" and the arena which I did not know Kimmirut had until I went to make a delivery with Sheryl.

I can now get around on my own!

The big challange I faced was my internet. As a person who has been connected to my friends and family through the internet to lose that connection was crazy! Especially when I was off for two days in a row! It turned out I did not pay my internet ....Oops ... guess I didnt know about that one. Then my modem wouldn't pick up connection... got a replacement and that one didnt work! Now I am all hooked up! Thank god I was getting a bit stir crazy.


One of the hardest things I have had to get use to with moving is the weather! There has been a bit of a cold snap here and it is a bit of a pain in the butt to bundle up to go to work. The biggest kicker was when I was talking to my little sister Allyson during the long weekend. She was like "Oh it is so hot here and I think I got heat exhsution" mean while I woke up to snow that covered the ground.... Ok so it didnt stay but it was still there!!

Well that is all my musings for now... look forward to hearing more from me for now on! Thank you to everyone who has read my blog and commented it has been great to hear from you!

Traveling and Arriving

I have made it to Kimmirut!

This was such a long journey and a very emotional one for me. Monday night I was still not done packing so I went to work on that and inserted a bit of a going away party. My sisters got me a Wii , which made the trip to Kimmirut with me! It took my mom and my uncle and I to get everything all packed and taped. I finished packing about 12 am . I had to be awake at 2am to start the trip.

Getting to the airport in Fredericton we found that one of my totes was over weight by like a pound. So my mom did some shuffling and we made ti work. Air Canada also checked my luggage straight through until Kimmirut which meant that when I arrived in Ottawa I did not have to worry about getting my luggage , what a relief!

The flight from Fredericton to Ottawa was very noisy I was on a small Dash -8 plane. I was able to sleep and that was good. I got to Ottawa and had about a 2 hour wait until I got on the flight to Iqaluit.

The First Air flight to Iqaluit was great, I was in the last seat of the plane and had no seat mates which was great! First Air is really awesome I got breakfast on the plane as well as hot towel, three options of newspapers and a pillow and blanket ... Airline service is still in existence?

So I get into Iqaluit and they tell me my flight to Kimmirut has been delayed due to weather until 3:30. At 3:30 they tell me that my flight has been canceled. I am a bundle of tears at the airport trying to figure out what on earth I am going to do. I call my boss in Kimmirut and then to the Head Office for my company to find out what I am going to do , since they take care of my travel and accommodations.

They decide to put me up at the staff housing in Iqaluit and have someone from the store pick me up. Which was ok. .. So picture this a girl who is BONE tired with two carts full of totes and bags and a cat waiting . I am litterly the only person left in the airport who does not work there.

Melissa came and picked me up and when I realized that she was coming to get me I cried . The stress was crazy. I just wanted to get where I am going and be done with it .

I was able to fly into Kimmirut on Wednesday . We were delayed by about 45 mins due to some fog. So I got all checked in and such and was waiting. Then one of the First Air staff comes over and lets me know one of my totes broke open.... GREAT ... My totes were already cracked and chipped and such so I was not looking forward to this. I did a crazy tape job and got it back on the conveyor belt.

The flight to Kimmirut was pretty, since I was in a Twin Otter you can see all the landscape which was beautiful... bad thing my camera was dead.

Staying in Iqaluit was actually good for my mental health lol. I got all the exhaustion , the nerves, the emotions out of my system so I was able to meet people in Kimmirut without being an emotional wreck.

I am going to close this post for now and I will write more on my first few days in Kimmirut!

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.