Frosted on the Tundra

Narwhale Soapstone Carving

Musk-Ox Soapstone Carving

Inside an igloo

One of my elder neighbours in traditional dress

Igloos & Snow Bricks

Street Hockey in -40.











Snow Shapes on the frozen ocean.










Sun Dogs, common on our cold arctic days.











The modern substitute for the dogs.










Caribou Skins on a neighbour's shed.

Adventures in Nunavut IX

Greetings! Last time I wrote to you, about three weeks ago, the sun was barely creeping above the horizon, now we have almost 7 hours of daylight, it is amazing how fast it changes, and I am incredibly grateful for it! Longer days mean more chances to explore the arctic world around me. Some days, I wake up and reflect on just how incredulous it is that I live on a frozen island north of the Arctic Circle, seemingly in the middle of nowhere! With the chance to explore, I’ve had the opportunity to see some dog teams out on the frozen tundra, I haven’t gone yet, but I likely will soon! And just the past couple of days, myself and a few of the other southern teachers discovered a large igloo on the outskirts of town, crafted by the hands of a number of the town’s elders. The design is phenomenal, it is so large and cozy on the inside with two adjoining rooms, an entrance, a couple of ice skylights and ventilation holes out the top. Beds are carved into the floor and covered in caribou skins, and of course all the typical southern camping amenities like Coleman stoves and coolers blended with unique northern pieces like a pana (snow knife) and the ulu (Inuit knife used for cutting most anything). I must say it is an amazing experience to see a genuine, well laid out igloo and poke around inside it and imagine what it must have been to live in one out on the land, a place where many of the elders were born! I also got together with a number of others to watch the Super Bowl and socialize the evening away today.

As far as school goes, I have been surviving the January, February grind thus far that I have been warned are the toughest months to be a teacher. It seems hard to get the students to do much of anything these days, but we plug along and measure our learning gradually. Our second set of report cards and parent teacher conferences have also come and gone. Basketball has fizzled, and I am all right with that, it frees up some time for me to work at other things. I’ve been trying to get out to play badminton and ping pong with some of the students as a sanity release for myself, and a good chance just to chat and have fun with students. I have also been very busy trying to organize and fundraise for our school’s Student Travel Committee. I have been drafting up and sending out fundraising letters to corporations that work in the North, as well as coordinating our students to run bingos, brunches, etc. I put deposits down on plane tickets this past week, as we hope to take 8 students, a female support staff member, and me to Vancouver and Southern Vancouver Island from May 7th to 18th. We are trying to encourage good attendance, classroom behaviour and volunteering among the high school students that we will be taking. I will get to leave my class behind, except for 2 or 3 students that we will likely select from my class. It should be fun to watch them experience so many things in person for the first time!

Another week will find me in Yellowknife for our Profession Improvement Week, it will be nice to have a break from the classroom and explore a different city with some of the other teachers, and of course attend the teachers’ conference…. I am pondering lots about the future, and there are many ideas kicking around. In spite of the frustrations and discouragement that I have experienced this year, I think I could do it again, but I don’t think I ever would want to come back on my own, its just a bit too much to be in a place like this on one’s own. Whatever lies ahead for the summer and the fall, I am very thankful that after this year I can afford to not be in a hurry to have to make that decision. Perhaps I will be off on another adventure or perhaps I will be resting and reflecting, that might not be so bad after some busy years. Anyway, I hope you are all well and I look forward to hearing from you in the days ahead,

Nick.