The Great Brownie Experiment

This school year I needed a new challenge that would allow me to channel my stress energy into while enjoying something I enjoy.  I decided to try and find the best brownie recipe.  I sent out a call for recipes from friends and families and they did not disappoint.  I cut off the number of recipes to try at 30 due to the amount of chocolate I would need, not to mention sugar etc.  Since roughly September, I have been bringing in different kinds of brownies to leave in the staff room to be tasted and judged by my fellow teachers.  After all, who better to judge than teachers who are generally in severe need of chocolate and sugar on those really tough days.  Huge thank you to all my willing test subjects, I know that you put your taste buds and waistlines on the line for me and my experiment.  I am attaching the document file that includes all the recipes, as well as the notes from the judging.

The top five brownies were as follows:
The Katherine Hepburn (with walnuts), The Double Decker (brownie with white chips layered over chocolate cookie dough), Caramel Swirl (caramel with pecans), Brownies on the Brain (chocolate chips and cocoa nibs), and The Mocha (coffee & pecan).

And the winner is.... a tie! Katherine Hepburn and The Mocha tied for best overall brownie.

List of the competitors

#1 – Original “Fry’s Cocoa” -nice & fudgey, “tastes like chocolate milk”, rich chocolate taste

#2 – Katherine Hepburn (with walnuts) -love the nuts, good chocolate taste

#3 – Peppermint with ganache -“chic” look, good mint flavour, maybe add mint to the white chocolate swirl, “reminds me of girl guide cookies”

#4 – “Oh Chocolate” (two owls café) - darker than original, very chocolatety

#5 – “Rich Fudge” Fudge 1 -texture is more like cake

#6 – Mocha (with pecans) -“wow, taste buds blown away”, love the nuts, richer flavor, good classic look

#7 – Cakey Brownies - “like a dense chocolate cake”

#8 – Chewy Brownies - similar to fudge but good

#9  - “Fudgey” Fudge 2 -“nice bite to them, good fudge taste”

#10 – Dulche du leche (Ten special) – nice, couldn’t taste the cayenne but good orange and coconut

#11 – Peanut Butter swirl – a bit dry, need to swirl the pb more

#12 – Brownies on the Brain (with cocoa nibs) – excellent, wow chocolate flavour, almost as if there was booze in them

#13 – Caramel Swirl – mmm caramel, delicious

#14 – Brownie Bouquet “fluffy” – ok but denser than imagined

#15 -  Blondie 1 – more like cookie dough, strong vanilla taste

#16 – Skor Brownies – delicious, love the bits of skor

#17 – Double Chip Brownies – very dark, ‘almost’ too much chocolate with the added chips, not much pb chip taste

#18 – Chocolate Cream Cheese Brownies – nice, slightly fluffy texture, not too much cream cheese taste

#19 – White Chip Orange – meh, not much orange taste, odd texture with the graham cracker crumbs

#20 – Double Decker Black & White – Fantastic, delicious, love the contrast, definitely a favourite

#21 – Guinness Dark Brownies – rich dark flavour, almost like a dark cake

#22 – Caramel Pecan – good caramel flavour, nice ratio of nuts

#23 – Dulche Coffee Brownies – ok, caramel was a bit odd, didn’t use the icing

#24 – Peanut Butter Chip – yummy, good chocolate taste, nice ratio of pb chips, one of the favourites

#25 – Double Peanut Butter Paisley – great pb taste but not really chocolate, difficult to swirl the chocolate syrup

#26 –After Eight Mint Brownies – excellent mint melted taste, dark and not overly sweet

#27 – S’mores brownies – Crumbly with the graham cracker crumbs, marshmallow kinda slips off

#28 – Red Velvet cheesecake brownies – Yummy, very nice 

#29 – Malt Ball Brownies – excellent, nice sugar/caramel flavour

#30 – Pecan pie brownies – lovely, gooey and chocolatey 

Some days....

It has been a crazy month so far and some days it seems like everything is against you.  Freezing weather (hasn't been warmer than -35C since Christmas), cranky students, rush for end of term and report cards, hockey tournaments in and out of town (which means high absenteeism), and wacky internet connections.  This morning at recess I found that a student had tied a rope into an empty noose and hung it in the far stairwell, probably one of the most disturbing things that I have seen in quite awhile.

Today is Friday the 13th and the school just went dark, lights and water are out, but random rooms still have power.  Should have stayed in bed this morning but since I am the teacher that really isn't an option.  Reminds you of that cartoon "But mom I don't want to go to school today" "I know honey, but you have to go, you are the teacher".  Now we wait on maintenance to try and fix the problem.  Personally if it were my choice, I would give in and let the students out to go watch the hockey tournament at the area, it is where they want to be anyway and it would make all the teachers happy on this Friday from hell.

Why do I live where the air hurts my face?

It has been a running joke that I have been seeing posted around Facebook and tossed back and forth between my sisters and I.  One of my sisters lives in Arizona and when she starts talking about how much she missed a real winter we remind her that going outside in the winter can often make your face hurt.  Now granted I am living a fair bit North compared to my sisters but walking home from the post office today, arms full, and nose freezing in the -45C temperature I was reminded that I do indeed live where the air hurts my face.  I could have of course pulled my scarf further up over my face but then I would have had the glasses icing up and the resulting blindness for the rest of my walk home.  Eternal dilemma during a winter walk without my contacts.  Made it home in one piece, glasses fogging, and nose just about ready to fall off from the burning cold.  Ahhhh winter :)  But there are wonderful compensations to living where the air hurts your face.  The pure icy white of the frozen bay and river, the undisturbed snow drifts after a storm, the dancing northern lights, the clear winter skies, and the excuse to drink hot chocolate and tea with friends pretty much anytime from October clear into May.  Bundle up, stay warm, and enjoy the winter.

Back to Reality aka the End of Christmas Vacation

They say that students are the ones that mourn the end of their Christmas/winter vacation and having spoken to a number of my students over the break I do know this to be true.  However I might argue that their teachers may feel the loss of vacation even more keenly that their students particularly if part of your vacation was spent travelling trying to get home.  I did not travel this holiday season but the majority of my colleagues did; taking anywhere from 6hrs to 48hrs to get home.  That is precious vacation time spent in a plane, car, or train that is doubled when you factor in the return trip.  Weather and mechanical issues can also impact the length of time in transit as a number of my colleagues experienced coming back north today, spending more than 24hrs either in an airport or on a plane due to delays.

Even without travel involved, Christmas vacation always seems to pass too quickly.  There is always something that I meant to get done but couldn't find the time or was distracted by other events, tasks, and responsibilities.  While I would say my vacation was productively spent getting organized both professionally and personally (ie: shredding, scanning, and filing) I certainly didn't do everything I wanted.  Time seemed to slip away and now it is Sunday night before school starts and I still have work to do.  Never fails, best intentions and all that...

Terry Fox Run 2014 or the end of my hair

This year I was part of the Terry Fox committee at school and to help the students meet our fundraising goal this year I made a little wager.  The deal: if the students could raise $2000 for cancer research by the end of September I would let them shave my head.  They rose to the challenge :)  After movie nights, classroom coin collections, and the final donations collected during the Terry Fox Run, the students beat their goal.  So on October 3rd, there were 12 teachers ready to get a cream pie in the face as well a pie for the principal, and a line up of students ready to aim and fire.  And after the pies were thrown and pictures were taken it was time to put my safety and hair into the hands of my students.  Despite their excitement and pride at having reached their goal, they were a little nervous about actually cutting off their teacher's hair and shaving her head.  But after their nerves settled they got to work and snip, snip my hair was cut off (to be donated to Locks of Love), and next up came the clippers.  In the end there were only two of my students that were brave enough to actually shave my head and they did a very good job.  Long hair to peach fuzz in a matter of minutes for an excellent cause.

 

A New Year in the North

-34C with the windchill and light blowing snow.  Will there be fireworks in the Arctic? Absolutely!  After spending a quiet Christmas holiday in Inukjuak getting organized and looking after a few huskies, cats, fish, and plants for my fellow teachers I was looking forward to the fireworks tonight.  When I went to let the dogs out for their final pee of the night I was not sure about the way the weather was looking.  The blowing snow seemed to be picking up and the wind seemed stronger; not a good thing when you are planning to set off fireworks.  Luckily, this is the Arctic, no trees and lots of snow.  After getting confirmation from a friend that the fireworks were going to go off as planned I prepped for the weather.  Two layers of long johns: check, fleece neck warmer and touque: check, -40 boots, parka, and paluks: check.  Grabbed the tripod, an extra battery, and tucked the camera into the parka to keep it warm until the show got started; I was ready to go.  I headed down to the river to get a good spot that was out of the wind with a good view of the spot they were setting off the fireworks from.  Skidoos, hondas, and trucks were headed down the river road as parka bundled people waddling through the snow to the river bank to see the show.  Got my tripod set up just in time and settled down into the snow to watch the snow.  This is my third New Year's Eve in Inukjuak and the fireworks never disappoint.  There is some thing wonderful about being bundled up in the freezing cold and watching fireworks explode against an empty background of snow, ice and rock.  Halfway through I put the camera away and just sat back to enjoy the show as people shouted Happy New Year and honked their horns.  Walking back home, nose tingling with the cold, I loved the fact that people were calling out Happy New Year as they roared past on their skidoos and hondas.  It gives you a feeling that it will be a Happy New Year.

Trapped Killer Whales and their "Fate'"

Not long after Christmas there was a great deal of excitement in my small part of the world.  A pod of roughly 20 killer whales were trapped in Hudson’s Bay about 30kms away from Inukjuak.  The wind, tide, and ice had shifted, trapped the whales and preventing them from reaching the open water.  The whales had only a small area open as a breathing hole with pack ice and ice floes on all sides.  The questions and rumors flew quickly around the school and town about where the whales had come from, what had caused them to become stuck in the ice, and what was to be their fate.  The foremost desire of many of the students and their teachers was to find a way to go out onto the Bay and see these beautiful animals in the wild; a first for many.

Early that afternoon I was bringing my sister to the airport to catch a flight home after her New Years visit to the Arctic and while we were checking her in there was even debate over whether they could convince the pilot to make a small detour over the area where the whales were stuck so that the passengers could catch a glimpse before winging their way south.  As I drove back to town after seeing Kat off, there were a number of skidoos and snow machines heading out of town across the ice as the afternoon light was beginning to fade.  A number of people from town were heading out to get a look at the trapped whales and the rest wanting to do the same.  The difficulty lay in the route.  The breathing hole where the whales were trapped was out on the edge of Hudson Bay, following a track of ice and snow covered bumps.  Without a guide or a good knowledge of the right way to go, a person could very easily get lost on the ice.  These are what had stopped many of the teachers from venturing out after school; that and the fact that the sun was already setting by the time classes got out.  But the thought of "wouldn't it be incredible to be able to see the whales" still remained in our thoughts.

That evening, photos and videos started circulating online and interest to go out on the ice began to rise.  At dinner that night, the whales were a large part of our discussion, specifically how we could get ourselves out to see them before it was too late.  We had a skidoo, a hamutiq (sled), and warm clothes but we needed a guide and a way to get the day off from school.  As dinner progressed we began to rationalize how this experience would be a once in a lifetime and wound up staging a kind of rebellion involving a flurry of phone calls, chats, and email conversation.  After contacting our centre director and a number of other teachers we decided that we had to try and get out there no matter what.  Our centre director agreed to find a guide that could take us out there and we decided that we would take a sick day in order to make it happen.  The next morning we arrived at the school, ready to go if there was a guide to take us, the principal was not happy with the majority of his staff taking the morning off but there was little he could do.  The group of us took the morning without pay and headed out on the ice. The weather was not great but we had a good guide and travelled out in convoy style for about an hour to get where the pack ice floes had trapped the whales.  After arriving at the site, the guide reminded us to follow his directions and to watch our step on the ice.  We climbed over jagged ridges of blue ice to the breathing hole that was being kept open by the movement of the whales.  There was a fair size crowd being directed by several elder hunters who were checking the ice and looking for weak spots.  It was a surreal experience standing on the edge of an ice floe, maybe 3 meters from these giant, sleek creatures.  It was saddening to see how much the area of open water had diminished over night as the temperature had dropped.  The tide and the wind were working against the whales, pushing the ice in, keeping the whales prisoner, and until mother nature changed her mind the situation was unlikely to change.  It was a beautiful experience but sad at the same time.

I was struck by the situation or even debate of what to do about the whales.  With youtube and other Internet media sources sending the situation viral, it was interesting to see people’s reactions.  Many believed that the government should send in a icebreaker to set them free, or that the community should take out chain saw and cut a path free like had been done in the movie “Miracle”.  It was interesting because it begs the question “What if”.  What if the polar bear hunter had take a different route home and had not found the trapped whales, what if the videos had never been posted?  The whales might have gotten free or they might have died depending on the weather and nature herself and we would never have known.  People were complaining about the injustice of a pod of killer whales being trapped and that the village had not gone out to cut them free, but knowing nothing about the reality of the safety for the people involved.  Floating ice floes or unstable ice trapped the whales.   It would not possible to cut a path with chainsaws ‘like the Americans’ without endangering the live of the people.  As for the idea of sending in an ice breaker, should the government ‘waste’ the money to fee a few whales when there are social problems in the North that are in dire need of aid. 

In the end, the village decided to send out volunteers to break up enough ice to keep the breathing hole free until the weather shifted, Mother Nature decided the matter for us.  During the night, the wind and tide shifted allowing the whales to find enough channels and free water to escape their temporary prison. As quickly as the excitement has begun it was over and village life went back to normal.  I will never forget the feeling of standing on an ice on Hudson’s Bay no more than 3 meters away from a killer whale.

Air Maybe or Travel in the North

There are many things that people taking flight would like to believe to be true.

1)    You will arrive at your destination on time

2)    There will be a bathroom on the plane

3)    Your flight attendant will be able to do a service on your flight

4)    The plane will be able to land at your destination

5)    Your plane will be able to depart from your point of departure

6)    Your seat is your seat

While these are all well and good, they may not always come to pass when flying in the Arctic.  Over the past three years I have had the chance to fly to a umber of northern communities, sometimes planned and other ties not.  Out of approximately 20 flights, I have been delayed roughly 15 times.  These delays are usually not simple 10 or 15 min delays but ranged from 30 mins to over 24 hours.  The most common reason for delays are a ‘mechanical’ problem or severe weather.  The delays can be frustrating, tiring, entertaining, or sad depending on the day.  I have been treated to several airport picnics served by the flight crew, an impromptu fiddle/accordion concert, northern lights show,  and the eternal search for wifi and outlets. We always seem to get where we are going eventually but it may take time and a great deal of patience.  However, I have learned a few lessons along the way: always wear layers, have snacks to eat or trade, something to entertain/distract yourself, and a sense of humour.  Travelling in the north is not for the faint of heart or those who live on a tight schedule but it is always an experience.

Airport Picnic day 2

From the Arctic to Europe - Grad trip memories 2011

Students - check, passports - check (just barely), funding - check, me as a last minute chaperone - check :)This year it was decided that the school would send our graduating students on an end of year Graduation Trip, destination: Paris, Venice, and Rome. Many of our students have not traveled outside of Inukjuak let alone the country. There were feelings of excitement, fear, and curiosity in equal measure as the students prepared to board the plane that would take them so far from what they have always known. En route to Europe we made a stop in Montreal to do a bit of shopping as both students and teachers were in need of summer clothes; hazard of living where the ice breaks up the last weekend of June. After a visit to the local college where a number of our students will be attending this fall and more shopping than is good for any one person, we took the students for a day of at La Ronde. We thought that it would be a good idea to spend the day before our evening flight to Paris burning off energy running around an amusement park. The weather was not promising when we arrived at the park but despite a few showers during the day it didn't hamper the fun. Once we were in the park, teachers and students split up to race for the rides, we would see each other every so often in lines for the different rides. The bad weather was actually a great thing for us for despite it being a holiday in Quebec we had the park nearly to ourselves. Late in afternoon it was time to head to the airport to head to Europe, once we managed to round up all the students we were on our way. I'll admit that I was as excited as they were to fly to Paris, it is one of my favourite cities to wander around. We encourage the students to try and sleep on the plane as we were in for a long day of touring when we arrived, some of them actually listened. After getting everyone through customs and finding all their bags we were on our way into the city of lights. It was fun watching the students reactions to Paris, surprise and delight seemed to be the most common. We found ourselves staying in a hostel not too far from Notre Dame and this is where the 'fun' began. Travelling in the summer in Europe does tend to have its disadvantages, one of which is there are a lot of people. Staying at our hostel were several other large school groups. Nice enough kids but perhaps a little misguided. We were woken up at about 2am by one of the young men yelling "I love you!" and "Will you sleep with me?" to the open windows of the girls on his trip. He was very drunk and apparently very horny. We felt rather sorry for the chaperones of his trip, they had their hands full with 40 students and only 2 chaperones. Not that we were without difficulty on our trip. The next night was another sleepless one for the chaperones on our trip as we had a group of our students sneaking off to "try and find internet" aka "a bar". We found them pretty quickly, actually coming back to the hostel, only a couple of them having drunk too much. Unfortunately one of the boys that had been drinking was on some medication that did not react well with the alcohol. This meant another 2am wakeup call as the male chaperone came to tell us that the student was acting very strangely and seeming to have no idea where he was. Long nights of strange followed by good days of touring around Paris; the Louvre, Versailles, Notre Dame, bike tours, and of course the Eiffel tower. Our last night in Paris was another sleepless one unfortunately. We had a restless evening as the students were getting their bags ready to leave the next day for Venice and there was a great deal of running around between their rooms. The were slow to get settled down and we were keeping an eye on them as we patrolled the halls, often running into the chaperones from the trip with the "love" student. After the chaperones had finally gone to bed for a light doze we were woken by the new that one of our students was feeling ill and in a fair bit of pain. It was decided to take him to the hospital, just to be on the safe side. Good thing we did, it turns out that he need to have his appendix removed. Seriously, what are the odds? A kid flies down from the Arctic and all the way to Europe only to need to have his appendix removed in Paris. Well arrangements were made and his operation was scheduled for later that day, the day we were to be leaving for Venice. It was decided that since I was the extra chaperone, I knew Paris fairly well and spoke French, I would stay with the student during his operation and either take him back to Canada or meet up with the group again depending on what the doctor decided. The rest of the group had to run off to catch the train to Venice I settled back into the hostel for one more night to await the doctors verdict. Side note: there are some very cute and helpful

doctors in Paris at the Hotel de Dieu (hospital near Notre Dame). After the surgery they decided that he would need to stay in the hospital for another 2 days, then he could rest one more day in Paris, and then we would be allowed to rejoin our group in Italy. Good news for us, it would have been a little disappointing to have to fly back to Montreal without having seen some of Italy. He was released from the hospital, allowed to check into the hotel, and do a little gentle sightseeing before we left for Rome to meet our group. When I gave him a few options as to what we could do before our train left, we decided to tour the catacombs of Paris. Very creepy and very interesting, not for the faint of heart though. Once you are underground and in the catacombs there is no way out except straight through. If you enjoy the macabre I definitely encourage you to go and ogle the tunnels of artfully arranged bones, complete with the sound of dripping water and the odd echoes that haunt the place. Not a bad way to end our visit to Paris. Later that day we headed to the train station to make our way to Rome where we would meet the rest of the group. We left a bit early as the hotel staff had warned us that it was coming up on a holiday and that the station would be a little crazy. Good thing we left when we did because about 10 mins after we arrived at the train station we found out that the subway line we had been on was stopped, and no one could tell us why. I left my student to guard the luggage and went off to find some supplies for supper on the train. We were taking the night train to Rome because the Doctor had said that it would be better if the student could spend the trip lying down rather than sitting up. Less of a chance to see the scenery but better comfort and healing for him. We found our car and got settled in, we were sharing it with a family from South Africa headed to Florence to visit family. Very nice woman and her children who were very interested in the fact that we were coming from the Arctic. Finally arrived in Rome the next morning and made our way to the hotel where our group was staying to get checked in. Next task, to find them somewhere in the eternal city of Rome. Luckily they had left us a copy of the itinerary, and since it was close to lunch time we decided to head for the restaurant were they were to be having lunch. Rome is a beautiful city and I enjoyed looking around as we figured out how to get to the restaurant. We passed by the Spanish Steps and several fountains on our route. When we found the restaurant and went int to join the group, you would have thought that a celebrity ha arrived. The other student were so glad to see us, particularly him as they had been uncertain if he would have to go back to Canada. We joined the group for their pizza lunch and toured the rest of the afternoon through the Vatican and did a little shopping. It was nice to be back with the group again and share in their experiences. The Vatican was beautiful, I love the statues throughout. Later that night I sneaked off to get a look at the colosseum by myself. The group had done a tour there the day before but I wanted to see it for myself. Even though I couldn't get a look inside it was beautiful, and there was almost a summer fair feel to the evening as I wandered around. There was someone playing the accordion in the park nearby, and vendors selling snacks, coffee, and light up toys that they sent whizzing into the air. The only thing I would have like would be someone to share the fun of it with, but it was a small price to pay for the experience. The next day we were off to Pompeii to play among the ruins and learn the secrets of the city. It was a beautiful hot day, perfect for exploring ruins. The students really enjoyed the day, a few of the girls even took the time to do a little throat singing in the middle of the amphitheatre, a sound that had probably never been heard there before. Tired and slightly sunburnt we headed back to Rome for our for our last night before flying home to Canada. We finally said goodbye to our students in Montreal after seeing them safely onto the flight back to Inukjuak. Our journey complete but memories to last forever. To experience such a trip that shows them a different world is a wonderful experience to have at their age, just getting ready to start a new chapter in their lives.

Quebec Roots Project- Book Launch Montreal

Over the course of this past school year my students have been involved in a literary project through the Blue Metropolis Foundation and Quebec Roots. Along with five other communities in Quebec they were chosen to write about life in their community, what it is that makes their town/school unique. Today was the culmination of 7 months of hard work as we were able to see the book in print for the first time. They have been writing, editing, rewriting, and taking photos that describe "Life in our changing culture". The entire project was a great experience for the students as well as myself as we worked together to make our pieces the best that they could be. In the end, Blue Met. was able to get funding for three students (and myself) to fly down from Inukjuak to Montreal to attend the book launch. I was so proud of my students, I actually started to get teared up at one point when two of my students were at the front of the room, reading pieces from their work to the audience of fellow students, authors, and photographers. The cover of the book is actually from a photo that one of my students took, and the girl in the picture was one of the students that was able to come down to Montreal. It was a complete surprise to her, she was pleased but a bit embarrassed to tell the truth. I was interesting to see the students interact at the launch. The Innalik students were the oldest of the students involved and although they were shy at first T, J, and D soon got into the spirit of the launch. After a few of the students presented, the schools were given their books for the first time. I was like christmas, complete with ripping paper as the book boxes were wrapped in newspaper. Once the books were out all heads were down as they saw their hard work of writing and photography in a real book. After the initial read was over all the students began exchanging books, getting autographs from each other. It was great to see my students meet, greet, and exchange signatures from the other groups. You could see the pride and happiness on all the faces of the students involved. It was a great day. I am so proud of them all :)

Sorry, I am a bad blogger

I feel awful that I haven't been keeping this blog up this year. I let teaching projects and other activities overwhelm me and I let the blog suffer. I ran into a friend at a book launch in Montreal today and she reminded me that she still checks my blog as it is a contact to the North for her. I felt extremely guilty and made a spring resolution to mend my blogging ways. Apologies to anyone that cares. Next post to follow ASAP

Joy and Agony of Exams

It is that time of year that most look at with either dread or delight depending on their situation. As a teacher it is mostly delight with a hint of dread; delight that the time has come to torture your students, and dread that you now have to untangle their answers to formulate marks. I rather enjoy making up exams, figuring out the wording to best jump start a brain without giving the answer away. Thinking back to my days as a student, I remember how much I would freak out at exam time; unable to sleep and nervous about the outcome. Agonizing over my math and science exams, trying to reword yet another view on a piece of poetry for english exams. Now as the teacher, I find myself trying to balance a fine line between not too easy and not soul-crushingly hard. Trying to be fair to those who have studied and worked all year and yet still challenging. Now with 2 exams down and 2 to go the results stand thus: English (pretty easy but students were lazy, I actually didn't write that one), Math (perhaps a little too long and difficult), over the next 2 days we will have the Science and Social studies exams (both written by me so we will see how it goes). As my students write I find I have plenty of time to catch up on the odd pit of paper work and report cards that are due end of the week. From a teacher's point of view the week is long but not very difficult, a bit boring and yet entertaining at the same time. For the students it had been mostly a week of agony with the possibility of joy when the week is over (and of a tiny bit of worry over their report card marks). The year is winding down, boxes are being packed and classrooms are looking a bit bare as things get cleaned up for the summer. It has that bittersweet feeling about it.

You might live in the north if....

An ever growing collection of various observations from those of us living in the north :)

1)   Going to the store is the highlight of your day
2)   -40 degrees is the new +10
3)   You call the Municipal 3 times then yell "Mother$@#%*$! sewage!!!!" (possibly happens on a regular basis)
4)   It takes 4 teachers with University degrees to figure out how an Ikea can-opener works
5)   You have to crawl over the tundra to get to school
6)   You automatically know that a Honda is a four-wheeler
7)   Not flushing is actually acceptable due to water shortages
8)   Getting your groceries is like reliving Christmas
9)   You can exclaim, "Holy *&*^ it's cold!" at least 280 days of the year
10) Being asked if you are a 'ghost' by a kid at the store because you are so white is normal
11) It's perfectly normal if you wake up to your entire house swaying from the wind
12) You have created a special knock that differs from those of the carvers
13) You can walk across town in 25 minutes but you still find an excuse not to
14) You can start a rumour and it'll get back to you 5 minutes later, sometimes with crazy changes
15) You regularly order Febreeze to fight the foul odours from the bowels of your students
16) You end up doing your laundry at school
17) You will be able to slide from school all the way to your house....possibly without a running start
18) You realize that you can do anything, then you do it
19) You could end every sentence with "Welcome to (____insert name of community____)" followed by a chuck and smile and know that there is some truth to it
20) Teachers are the last to find out what is going on and then we are expected to have a witty answer
21) When you get calls from Solo Mobile and have to explain that cell phones don't work up here
22) Jehovah's witnesses can't visit, but they sure call!
23) Tu peut manger chaque repas avec un tuque sur ta tete!
24) You can experience all 4 seasons depending which window you are looking out of
25) You are utterly confused when you try to open the door to your house with your classroom key
26) Tu sais que tu vis dans le Nord quand la seule sortie scolaire de l'année est d'aller glisser sur la coline au coin de la rue
27) You have to adjust the projector in your house for movie night because your house is lopsided
28) Your kids leave during an anti-smoking speech to go smoke
29) Your house smells like poop when sewage removal comes
30) When you download a Fart application for your IPod to retaliate against your students
31) You know that if you are flying home from another community you will get there...eventually
32) You have had a parent bring ammunition to school for their child
33) When it takes longer for you to get dressed to go outside than it does to get dressed in the morning
34) You have ever found yourself wearing a parka and a flower lei at the same time
35) The entire town (with the exception of the school) has shut down because everyone has gone fishing
36) You have more winter socks and mittens than any other pieces of clothing
37) You can tell the difference between a snow-machine and Honda by sound alone
38) If you have ever sat outside your house in delight watching the Aurora Borealis dance across the sky
39) You have seen fellow teachers slice open a seal in the school lobby for a school activity
40) Movies and TV shows are like gold for trade purposes
41) You have ever had someone come to your door with an unidentified animal skin telling you "Good price"
42) The school has been closed for a blizzard in May
43) School announcements come in 3 languages and take about 15 mins on the PA system
44) You have seen repair men thaw out your frozen furnace with a blowtorch inside your house
45) You attend the May 24 weekend bonfire in a parka and snow pants
46) The alarm goes off at the school because the building in too cold, in JUNE.
47) The teachers are all wearing fleece to teach because the school is too cold, in JUNE.
48) You have watched a sunset at midnight and the northern lights an hour later.
49) You have helped someone move in -50C temps using hand sleds to push boxes through the snow.
50) You carry pepper spray just in case you run across unfriendly animals on a walk

Snow Fest POV

March Break was calm and relaxing, filled with friends, snow, and a few parties. I also found the time to finally make my own pair of paluks (leather/fur mitts). A little big and slightly crooked but not bad for a first timer. The week passed too quickly, there was also the small matter of my birthday being celebrated at the end. Small cheesecake party with friends to celebrate, other than that I would have not acknowledged the day.

The next week was back to school, at least for a day and a half, then myself and two of my fellow teacher found ourselves on the plane headed for POV (short for Purvinituq). When I heard that there was a snow festival held there every two years, and that this year was going to be the next year I knew I wanted to attend. I mean really, how often do you get to go to a snow festival in the Arctic? We bought our tickets just after X-mas but never gave our students a hint that we were going to the festival. If they know that there is a chance that their teacher might not be at school they think they don't have to come, so it was a secret till the last day. It was funny, when we got on the plane it felt like we were heading off on our real March break, I guess it is the delight of just going somewhere new. A short flight later we were one the ground and trying to get a ride to my friend's house. We were able to call the bus but it seemed to be taking forever and a very nice fellow that worked at the airport wound up giving us a ride instead, always an adventure since all we had to go on was the house number and anyone who has ever been to the north knows that there is little logic to where the houses are. Finally found it and was able to get the key for the circus girl (there was a circus troupe in town working with the kids), settled in and headed out to explore a bit. First thoughts: POV is pretty flat, and the streets made it feel slightly like a maze, but we headed towards the water and looked for the biggest buildings as those are usually the Co-op store or the Northern. Picked up a few supplies and saw a former student who had recently moved from Inukjuak to POV, nice to see him and hear all his news. Home for dinner and got ready to join the fun at the community centre for the evening concert.

Wow, lots of country style music with a little gospel thrown in, some local rock bands, a history game show, and a fashion show. we tracked down some of our students who were playing in the festival and found out that they would be on at about 2am. So being good teachers we settled in for the night to support our students (they actually weren't bad, young and still need a lot of practice, but they were entertaining). Most nights the concerts were pretty similar, a few bigger names and some very traditional acts, highlights being the circus acts put on by the kids on the final night and some fiddlers from the south. During the days were the main events: igloo building, traditional nets fishing under the ice, a marathon, dog sled races, and most importantly the ice and snow carving contests.

The carvings were simply amazing. Taking the huge blacks of ice and snow and transforming them into such works of art. Traditional figures, each telling a story, carved over several days with a wide variety of tools. To see the carvings progress from day to day was like magic. I was happy when my favourite carving won 1st place in the contest. It was a beautiful piece of a boy climbing over a cliff to hunt birds in their nest. The artist was from Nunavut and usually does more abstract carvings of stone and other materials but for festivals he carve in ice. Stunning work. The week ended with a feast on the ice; frozen, raw meat and fish, and later the final concert night.

After finding our way back to the airport the next day we settled in to wait for our flight. Delayed of course as there were so many people trying to get to Montreal or home. At one point during the wait some of the musicians headed south got out their instruments and gave a bit of an impromptu concert. Before we knew it there were people jigging and clapping along to the music. After a wait that seemed to be forever we were finally able to board and head home. As nice as it was to be away, it was even nicer to be home again.

Dancing Lights

Today could have been better, for an easy teaching day schedule-wise I would not call it much of a success. Students were antsy, teacher was not feeling her best, algebra was seeming more difficult than usual, half my students were at the airport rather than class...sigh. Both teacher and student are counting the days if not hours till the glorious period of peace that is March break. Best part of the day was an evening call from my sister, just chatting and catching up on news, commiserating on our equally lousy days. Feeling restless, I try to settle down for night. Then I remembered that I had read something in the news about more solar flares which usually means bright northern lights. After checking the weather site, cloudy, and peaking out the window, stars, I figured a walk just to make sure couldn't hurt.

As I began walking around town I could see a faint glimmer of a ribbon beginning to stretch above the town. Not very promising but lights, or not, I figured a walk might help me sleep. The northern lights shimmered in a thin ribbon over the town, nothing spectacular but enough to make you smile. Just as I was turning towards home the ribbon seemed to coil in on itself and began to dance. I climbed the nearest snowbank and settled in to watch the show. Hovering above town the lights danced and swirled, at times looking like a rainbow piano keys tumbling. Light green, yellow and the faintest hint of pink lit the sky. It seemed as if the lights were dancing only for me. Snow machines buzzed by from time to time, an odd pedestrian crunched past, but no one seemed to notice or care about the strange teacher perched on a mountain of snow, smiling like an idiot as my scarf frosted over.

As I sat atop my mountain of snow, watching the northern lights, I reminded myself that this was one of the things I love about living in the north. I love the fact that it is possible to walk out my front door and see the Northern Lights. And after a crappy day there can be still something to make you smile and remember why you came up north to teach in the first place. The only thing I could have wished to have tonight was my camera, but the memory in my mind will have to do. The feeling of the snow, the wind, cold, and the light dancing just for me.

In the stillness of the 'white'

Morning after an 'almost' blizzard. The weather report had told us that we were under blizzard alert, but as we could still see the majority of houses in town no one paid much notice. As the evening progressed the winds grew stronger, I felt my house shake a little and allowed myself the pleasant thought that I might get a 'blizzard day' at school the next morning. Alas, I woke to the silence that comes after the storm. However, walking to school I was struck by the silence of the town. Too early for the snow plows and sand truck to be at work. No school for students meant few snow machines were out in the early morning, no school busses either. Just silence and new white drifts. The wind had blown old and new snow around so much that all paths and roads were hidden. White on white plays tricks on you in the soft morning light as you navigate familiar routes. You do not even notice a snow drift until you walk into it and find the snow creeping toward the tops of your boots. The snow makes things warmer, if you call -15 warm, and if you live up here you do (past few weeks have been hovering around -30 plus wind). The higher the sun climbs, the more depth and definition you begin to see in the pure whiteness that surrounds you. It often gives me the desire to take a running leap into a snow bank, only the knowledge that under the snow is hard, wind driven ice stops me. As the town wakes, the stillness is broken by the normal sounds of winter, snow machines roaring, and chains clinking. But for that brief moment in the early morning, all is silent and white the day after a storm.

An Exchange of Information (otherwise known as Report Card Night)

Waiting, listening, hoping; I sit at my desk. Waiting to for parents to come, listening for footsteps headed down to my end of the corridor, and hoping to get a chance to talk to the parents of the students who are struggling. It seems that sometimes during report card night, while you are glad to see all parents, the one you really need to see are the one you never do. It is always a pleasure to discuss a students progress with caring parents, even if there is nothing specific that you need to say about his or her work. But I can not help but wish that the parents of the students who skip class too often, or the ones never seem to find a way to not lose their work, or the ones who are perfecting their impression of a zombie while in class... I wish that they could find time to come in and discuss their child's progress. The phone calls later do help but they are not the same as sitting face to face and being able to show them exactly where their child is struggling. Maybe sometimes it is the 'face to face' that is the issue; sometimes until you actually have that piece of paper and a person physically explaining what is happening for it to become real. Reality is not always what we want to hear, preferring the possibility that there might have been a mistake. There is also that slight chance that a report card mailed home may never see the light of day again as it may be kidnapped by a fearful student. While I did have the chance to show my students their report card and discuss where they need the most work, there are a few whose parents I would dearly love to see. Tonight there is the added distraction of blizzard preventing some from coming in to the school, and I also know that a number of the parents are out of town at the moment, and sadly some parents are ill. I understand that is is difficult for some to have the energy after work to go out again, to fight the weather and wait, that many would rather just go home and relax. But there is always that hope that some might make the choice to come in and find out first hand what their children have been up to. For some there isn't that much time left. Tonight has not been one of my better report card nights, I have only seen one of the parents of my students, and sad to say she may be the only one I will see.

Sounds of Winter

Since coming back from Christmas holidays my mind has been thinking of an article I read some time ago describing the sounds of winter in the north. I wish I could remember the name of the author, but since I can't I will to make my own description.

Walking around town, to and from school, heading out on the land, they are all linked by sounds. In town we don't really have many traffic sounds, no horns blaring or the sounds of busses and transports laying on the brakes. Instead there is the buzz of skidoos skidding on the ice or cutting through the snow. Hondas have their own roar are they rip through town laden with kids joyriding or people out doing their shopping. The only big trucks we have are for sewage, water, and sand; linked by the rumble of their engines and the clinking of the chains on the tires. Mornings and evenings are marked by the sound of howling dogs; saying hello, goodbye, and anything else you can think of. It seems are if 7am is one of their best times to converse, if I ever sleep through my alarm I can always hear the dogs. Comforting thought in a way.

Then there are the noises we make. The kids calling and shrieking to one another as they play in the snow, sliding down the hills and snow banks, chasing the odd puppy or too around their house. When walking anywhere you become aware of the sounds that comes from your own movements. The material of snow-pants and parkas has a distinct swishing sound. The crunching and squeaking of boots on the dry snow as you tramp through the tundra. There is also an absence of sound from within the tunnel of a parka hood. WIth the hood up on my parka I find that my sense of hearing is almost completely deprived.

The final sound is the wind that often blows through and around the town. It lightly teases flags and fur, blowing softly, barely a whisper. It picks up, slapping cables against houses, snapping flags, pulling the breath from ones body. It builds to a howl that warns of and accompanies a blizzard as it roars through town, closing over and blocking out almost every other sound as people and animal take refuge from the storm. Until finally the quiet returns to signal the end of the storm and the town begins to stir again, digging itself out from the snow.

Many people have asked me how you live with the quiet of the North, and I have to laugh a little as I try to explain the difference in the sounds between north and south. For myself, right now I'd take the quiet sounds of the north over the constant noise of the south any day.

Blizzard!!

After weeks of strange and at times teasing weather, we have had our first blizzard of the season. All fall we have been hearing about how strange the weather has been this year, so warm and sunny, fall seemed to go on forever. Then we started to get a little snow, light dustings to frost the land but it didn't seem to stay. There was always a day or two of nice, warm weather that seemed to chase the snow away. I found myself getting excited for snow whenever there was a hint of dark clouds on the horizon thinking "finally, we are going to get our blizzard" only to be disappointed with a small flurry. It may seem strange to some, to be avidly hoping for a blizzard, but it is a part of living in the north that I have been looking forward to. Being raised in Canada, in an area that typically gets its fair share of snow in the winter, snow is a major part of my winter memories. Having spent winters in different countries that didn't get much snow (little if any), and finding myself becoming giddy and silly when we received the lightest dusting, I realized how much of a Canadian girl I am.

Back to Inukjuak. After a passing a lazy Sunday afternoon nursing a stubborn cold I was delighted to see the wind and snow picking up outside my window. I quickly checked the weather report and grinned when I saw that we were under blizzard and wind watch for the next few days. Now I do not always believe the weather man as he can be cruel teasing teachers with the possibility of a snow day and then not delivering, however I was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt again. I settled in for the night listening to the wind howl around my house and peeking outside to see how much snow was moving around outside. The secret to a real blizzard is the right combination of snow and wind to get the whiteout that one is hoping for. By bedtime it was looking very good indeed, but there is always the possibility that a storm can blow itself out during the night. The next morning I woke to the sound of wind still howling around my house. When I peeked outside my window a huge grin appeared on my face, I could barely see a thing. Still I got ready fro school, just in case. I usually check my email while eating breakfast keeping an eye on the school, that most mornings I can see clearly from my window. Today was not one of those mornings, I knew it was there, fuzzy outline of it most of the time, but I was not looking forward to walking to class against the wind. Happily I did not have to. Administration called a blizzard day! YAY!!

It was such a quiet day. All the normal sounds of the town were missing. There were no snow machines or ATVs buzzing down the streets. No water or sewage trucks rumbling past. Even the dogs were quiet as they buried down to sleep out the storm. The wind howled and the house shook but it still felt quiet, like you were tucked in a safe place. Perfect for napping, and I am not ashamed to say that I indulged in this afternoon. I even had a pot of my dad's tomato beef stew on the stove simmering throughout the day, or at least my version of dad's stew. That is one thing I do miss about my parent's home in the winter, the soups and stews we enjoyed. Students are always hoping for blizzard days so that they can have a day off from class, never dreaming that their teachers may just want the same thing once in awhile as well. I had a very good day enjoying my first blizzard day in the arctic. Almost bedtime and the wind is still blowing, not much snow flying anymore but I checked the weather network again and we are still under a blizzard watch so who knows what tomorrow will bring.

Moving day up north

Wind picking up, light snow, a borrowed truck, a skidoo and sled, a couple teachers, and a few hired students. Ready to move, planned or otherwise, here we go. A couple of teachers here were moving into their new houses this weekend but it is not as if you can call the local moving guys to pack you up and haul your stuff to the new house. Pack it up best you can, slide it into the back of the pickup truck, and hang on. Roads were icy and snow covered, wind was picking up throughout the afternoon but we managed to get most of the stuff that was ready moved. A few funny moments of the day: seeing a couch moved tucked into the sled towed behind a skidoo, hearing the thump of a butt hitting the window of the truck when we stopped a bit too quickly for the boys in the back, the sheer silliness of moving in ever worsening weather. Ah well, what else can you do with your saturday up north?