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 :)