Adventures in Nunavut - Part VII

November 27, 2005

Last time I wrote to you, I was getting ready to travel to Cambridge Bay with our high school boys basketball team for the Kitikmeot Under 17 basketball regionals. Well our flight was cancelled on Friday morning due to blizzard conditions in Cambridge, and by Friday afternoon and evening and Saturday morning we were surrounded by a blizzard ourselves in Gjoa Haven. Then we got contacted on Saturday evening when the weather had calmed down and things came together very quickly, so that we flew out at about 9:30 pm, got into Cambridge Bay and got set to play our first game at 11:40 pm on Saturday night (only in Nunavut right, but we had to make up our missed games). We played Taloyoak first and won by about 20 points. After unpacking our bags and getting a short sleep, we were up at 6am on Sunday morning for breakfast and our first game at 7am against Kugluktuk. We won this game, also by about 20 points, before playing our final round robin game at 11am against a well-rested host team in Cambridge Bay. We lost this game by about 20 points, which set our semi-final for 1 pm against Taloyoak. The guys were obviously tired from playing so much in such a short time on only a few hours sleep and it showed as we were down 14 to 8 at half time. After a good half-time team meeting, the guys came out and played with a great deal of pride and fought back and won the game 33 to 26, setting us up for a return show down with the host Cambridge Bay Wolverines at 4 pm. Visibly tired due to their busy schedule and little sleep, the guys didn’t stand much of a chance in the final. The guys fought hard in the first quarter and were down only 13 to 11, however the tiredness soon caught up to them and the guys faded quickly in the final three quarters. All in all, I was very proud of our boys as they played with a lot of pride and heart, and considering the crazy schedule that they played, they should be congratulated for finishing second, not too many teams play 5 competitive tournament games in 16 hours on only 2 to 4 hours of sleep!

It was also nice to have a chance to visit a different town, and our plane didn’t fly out until Monday evening, so I had some extra time to explore and enjoy myself while the guys slept most of the day away. Cambridge Bay, though it only has a few hundred more people than Gjoa Haven, it has jets fly in and out and has a lot more “Southern” amenities, such as a bank, and a Quik Stop with a Pizza Hut and KFC. Perhaps it seems strange to all of you, but it was nice to be able to walk into a real bank and eat in something of a restaurant.

In the time since we’ve had quite a bit of wintry weather. We had a school closure due to blizzard conditions about a week and a half ago and a lot of cold weather. Its become almost common place to have weather that is –40 something with the windchill and we dipped into the –50 somethings for several days and so when it has warmed up to a balmy –20 like it did a little bit this past week, it seems rather warm. Any weather at home will seem delightful over Christmas time I’m sure.

This weekend I am playing in a fun community volleyball tournament, and while it is fun to get out and play, it is definitely NOT competitive, and I don’t think I’ve ever been a part of such ugly volleyball before. As for school, I reached a point early in this past week, where I was so stressed and frustrated I could barely sleep and I honestly felt like quitting. Fortunately the last 3 days of the school week went much better and I actually found myself enjoying the classroom and my students. Patience, hope and small victories here and there are what I need to focus on to keep me going. And as frustrated as I was earlier this week, I am feeling the most positive I have in months the past few days, and with Christmas holidays less than 3 weeks away….

Last night I got together with a few others and they decided to watch the movie, Shawshank Redemption, a very intriguing tale to say the least, but I found myself being challenged personally and spiritually. As I reflect on a few of the lines from the movie, such as “We can get busy living or busy dying,” and “sometimes you have to crawl through a tunnel of (crap)” before you get to the next thing I found myself with a lot to think on. Don’t get me wrong, this whole experience is not a tunnel of crap by any means, but there have been some very stretching days that have left me with a foul taste in my mouth and I am hopeful that I have wiggled my way through the tunnel here now and I can enjoy and appreciate my classroom experience more. No doubt there will be more rough times, but I am thankful to see little victories in the classroom the past few days.

As for cultural things, I ate some raw caribou fat this past week (a delicacy I am told though it didn’t really taste like much of anything to me), I have seen a few dog sleds out lately (though I haven’t gotten out for a ride on one just yet), and I also got to try to help clean and stretch and prepare some caribou skins during a cultural afternoon on Friday. My class also managed to talk me into trying to Drum Dance for them, unfortunately very few of them are willing to try it themselves. The days are getting very dark, sunrise is currently at about 10am and sunset is at 12:30pm, I don’t notice it so much in my classroom as I have no windows in it, but it is weird on weekends, when it is starting to get dark at lunch time. Hope all is well with you,

Nick

Adventures in Nunavut Part VI

November 6th,

Hey! Well, here we are into November now, and I must confess that I am in countdown mode until Christmas holidays, only 6 more weeks until I get to see trees and ground that isn’t covered in snow and familiar people again! It has indeed been a busy time with Parent Teacher Conferences, attendance celebrations for school (We recognize students here if their attendance is over 70% for a month, perhaps a glimpse into how challenging it can be develop flow in teaching when students don’t come to class), Halloween, which is a huge celebration here and of course the classroom, basketball, and my move that took place last weekend.

I now live in a house across the street from the school, and I am extremely thankful for that, I now come home at lunch time and its just a lot easier to come and go and to get to the store, etc. without having to walk 10-15 minutes in the cold every time I want to get somewhere. The previous owner left in a bit of a hurry, so he left quite a mess behind, which I have been trying to slowly sort through and get the house cleaned and under control. Kind of frustrating in some ways, but I also acquired a lot of canned and dry foods and I’m getting free rent for November and part of December, so it’s a pretty good deal in the long run considering the cost of things here.

Next weekend, November 11-14th I will be flying to Cambridge Bay with the guys and girls basketball teams from our high school for the regional basketball tournament. It should be an interesting experience, I believe our guys will be quite competitive, but I think our girls are just going for the trip, as they haven’t really had a coach or practice time. It will be nice to go to a different town for a few days and have a change of scenery, not to mention the possibility of having KFC or Pizza Hut. We have no restaurants in town here, except for the Hotel, which is pretty unpredictable as to what they can actually make that is listed on their menu.

School continues to have its challenges, while I am learning and adapting to some things, and my relationships with the girl students seem to be gradually improving, there are still many days, when I question what I’ve gotten myself into. I also continue to have my hands full with the boy that I mentioned before who came and rang my doorbell at 6 am in the morning. I think I am slowly pushing my students towards learning, practicing, and working more in the classroom, it is difficult though when a lot of the time when they were in elementary school, their day’s consisted of watching movies and play games. No wonder I feel like a glorified babysitter some days! For example, on Halloween, I gave them some colouring sheets after a lot of requests from the students, and it was the most quiet and content I have seen them. It seems a little strange and sad, that this would captivate them so much at the age of 12, but I guess it is true that progress with students at school here is measured by a much different standard than one becomes used to back home. And at least I’m not the only teacher here to experience such frustrations.

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been reading through The Hobbit, a personal favourite book that I’ve read a number of times. I don’t believe its coincidence, because as I have been reading through it this time, I’ve found myself identifying with the main character Bilbo Baggins at such a deep level. Bilbo enters into his adventure, not really knowing what he is getting himself into. He so often is frustrated, scared, worn out, hungry, and wishes he were at home in his cozy hobbit hole. Yet, he is often called upon by those others who he is on the quest with to do things and to lead in ways that he feels completely inadequate to do so. Yet, somehow, every time something comes up, Bilbo is provided with a way out or with an insight in how to get to the next part of his adventure. As I teach and lead up here in Gjoa Haven, I can’t help but feel the same as Bilbo, and yet, by the hand of God, I continue to be provided with what I need for each day. This adventure is not an easy one, but I am being challenged and I like to think that I am learning and growing in the process.

Thanks to the many of you who continue to write to me and to those of you who read my letters and pray for me. I cannot thank you enough. Some of you have asked about my address, so I will include it below, along with my new phone number. Also, the attached picture is most of the students from my class in our classroom (Yes, this was our yearbook class picture, and yes students almost always wear hats in school here, and for those of you who think my hair is starting to make me look like a bushman, I have now chopped it all off.) Cheers,

Nick

Nick Ferguson
Box 296
Gjoa Haven, NU
X0B 1J0
(867)360-7027