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    • TravelerThe Great White North
      11213
      Day 3

      INTERNET!!!

      September 13, 2017 ⋅ ☀️ 1 °C

      Internet! Internet! Internet! Yayy! Well, internet lite really since it's only 20gb for the whole month. But, nonetheless, I can actually load this site and upload pics at 5:00pm!! I have no idea how far 20gb will take me, but considering that I can't stream any videos or movies, maybe I won't blow through it in 2 days. Back home, we had so much internet, I didn't even think about it. My phone had unlimited and well, the house had enough that we never went over...so, this 'internet-worry' is something fun to niggle my brain as I cruise through facebook......Jasmine, do you really need to look at ALL 34 pics someone posted? Nope. You get 2. Again, it's all perspective. I arrived in Igloolik mere months after they received 4G service. That's great timing right there!! Plus, I got to fly through the brand new airport in Iqualuit. All 6 gates were gleaming and ripe with new carpet smell. See, it's all coming up roses.

      Today was mostly moving related business....do a tenant walk-through with the governmental landlords, go by the internet provider office, grab some more necessities at the store, and pay security deposit for power to be put in my name. Such fun I tell ya.

      The shopping really reiterated that my brain is faulty. Yesterday, I was surprised at the chill and wind IN THE ARCTIC (and it wasn't actually cold at all by Arctic standards). Today, I was surprised by the prices in stores IN THE ARCTIC. Despite reading and being aware of the prices, it's still a shock. It's as if all three things that I fight against most in my life have coalesced in one place here: the Cold, the Dust, the Cost. Anyone who knows me knows that paying $28 for a 12-pack of Coke is gonna be the death of me. Anyone wanna send my frugal butt a Soda Stream??!! lolol.

      Getting the internet was a cute little story. I am beginning to see how traveling has really made this move a bit easier and hopefully continues to help me settle in and cope. Long-term, I'm not sure how things will go because when I've traveled, it's only been for at most, a few months at a time. So back to the internet. I had done research before moving and had emailed the company representative here in Igloolik twice before arriving. I got no replies. Today, I asked the housing folks doing my tenant walk-through where the internet place was. They told me, "it's not far, just past 3 way stop, it's up by RCMP and near Northern store in a dark blue building that looks like a house" (there are no street names signed here---don't know if they exist and just aren't signed or whether there are no street names in general). I don't know why I think I can find this place, but I figure I can. I do. It is blue and looks like a house. Plus, you know, it had a sign. Helpful. I walk in and ask about internet. The lady tells me the price. She tells me the monthly is $84. I say I read online that it's $80--what is the $4? She says completely deadpan and apologetically, "I don't know." I say, "is it tax?" "I don't know", comes the reply followed by, "are you going to buy?" Yep, yep I am. So, she gets the modem, no talking, no chit chat, no explanation, and starts setting it up. She logs in and creates an account, prints an invoice (which, even from across the desk, I can clearly see that $4/mo for the $80 subscription fee is labeled as taxes), and tells me I'm ready to go. The end. Yep, definitely like being in a foreign country. Ummmm....I just go home and plug this in?? Yall don't need to come set it up?? Where is my bill sent?? When is my bill due?? You know, just that other, useless stuff related to internet service provision. lolol. And, just like traveling, if you just go with it, it will work on out...      Read more

    • TravelerThe Great White North
      11
      Day 545

      Greasy bones mess up labeling

      March 9, 2019 in Canada ⋅ ☀️ -28 °C

      Before we begin, please allow me to share the good news that my toilet and plumbing have been working with perfection since I last wrote. Yep, turns out getting to the cause of a problem rather than just treating the symptom gets you a consistently flushing toilet!

      Currently at work, there is actually almost a full complement of staff in our group. This is practically unprecedented. It has been fantastic for allowing the jobs and tasks to be done properly. It also has allowed me time to try and work backwards and try to address some of the shambles. It's clear that previous staff were doing their best, but with limited capacity, it is not physically possible to do the job fully. We all know this. Put out the fire and leave the building a wreck.

      Once such shamble relates to bacula. Improperly boiled penis bones, like any bone, seeps oil and grease over time. All those bones at the museums we've all seen are the product of meticulous, tedious boiling/macerating/cleaning/etc. It's not an easy task. So yesterday, I walk in and pull out a big plastic bag of greasy bacula from the "f**cked up" box. Yes, we have a box for all the f**k ups no one knows what to do with. I ask what the deal is and I'm told that the markings identifying the individual bear that the bone belongs to was not properly written on the baculum and thus, got smudged off with the ensuing greasiness. Now, the task is to take each of these bacula and examine them under a microscope to see if we can make out any faint, etched ID marks. Huh. That is what my life is now? Taking greasy penis bones and examining them under microscopes. Cool.

      You just never know what type of "problems" have to be solved here.

      For the last couple months, we've had a student intern. She is in college for biotechnology and it is solely designed to teach students all lab procedures, equipment, and assays so they can go get a job in a lab anywhere doing most anything. She wanted to come North and cut up teeth to try and age animals. Part of her work has been helping me establish a repeatable, understandable process for inventorying extra teeth. Typically, only 1 tooth is necessary to get an age. But, we ask for 2 because sometimes 1 breaks, etc. Teeth also have dental ligament tissue surrounding them that we've purposefully left on. This is because if an animal is harvested but there is no tissue available to run DNA for identity, the dental ligament could work. So, our student has been pulling off hundreds of old, sometimes rotted, tooth ligament tissue from individual teeth. I walk in the lab and it smells of death. She looks up and grins with a pair of pliers in one hand. "This is SO fun!" she exclaims. "But, I think I have rotted tissue on my sweater cause it sometimes flicks off. But that's okay!"
      Huh. Okay cool. I walk out again.

      Rotted teeth tissue. Greasy bones. I think I'll go run stats.      Read more

    • TravelerThe Great White North
      1
      1
      Day 519

      Toilet travails

      February 11, 2019 in Canada ⋅ ⛅ -33 °C

      It's been a while since I posted and quite frankly, it's because I've been in a sour mood. Why, you wonder? Well, dear readers, allow me to oblige you....

      Toilet troubles.

      That's why.

      Nothing will make me want to leave, quit, fight, burn the house down more than a consistent, unresolved, non-functioning sewer system.

      It started back in January shortly after the New Year. January 6th to be precise. I knew something was odd before then because the toilet wasn't flushing normally. Then, no flush. Frozen. I left the 9th with a toilet that still wasn't functioning.

      I returned on the 21st to a semi-functioning toilet. One that would burble, gurgle, and erupt like a geyser upon flushing. Yep, that's neat. But don't worry, I was told this was normal because they removed a vent pipe. Again, that's neat.

      Typically, the pipes here have a heat trace line that runs alongside them then a thick layer of insulation around them both. Finally, the pipes and insulation are boxed in by plywood. Well, when they "fixed" my pipes, they didn't bother to reinsulate or box the pipes back in. I bet you can guess what happened next!

      Pipes stopped working at all a few days after I returned on the 21st. I did not have functioning toilet until January 31st. It was a damn damn good thing they started working that day because at 5am in the morning, I awoke with a fierce stomach virus. It was brutal. My body expelled all its stomach and intestinal contents violently until there was nothing but bare bags and tubes of organs inside. I have never been so grateful for a functioning toilet as then and I was so scared every time I'd hurl from one end or the other that that flush would be the toilet's last.

      The toilet worked for Feb 1 and 2. I left the morning of the 3rd, still nursing a wounded digestive system (for supreme fun--have a stomach virus and take 4 flights back to back to back to back from Igloolik to Edmonton for 12 hours with no time to stop at an airport bathroom).

      I have just returned from Edmonton last night. I got two flushes in. The third failed. I have no working toilet again. Despite a call to the emergency line, no one came today from the Housing Corp, whose responsibility it is to keep these units working. They didn't call, they didn't leave a note, nothing. Nothing.

      I may burn the whole place down.      Read more

    • TravelerThe Great White North
      Day 483

      How not to volunteer

      January 6, 2019 in Canada ⋅ 🌬 -27 °C

      Christmas was surprisingly tolerable by myself, largely because I wasn't by myself. My family and friends made sure of that! I spent a lot of time on the phone and messaging while also bee-bopping to various gatherings at other people's houses that decided to stay through the holidays.
      I also saw a post on the town's facebook page asking for volunteers to help put together the food and toy hampers for needy families and children on Christmas Eve. I thought, "that will be a perfect way to congratulate myself for being a great and caring human while investing little to no time. Perfect!" So, on Christmas Eve I showed up at the elementary gym at the facebook-indicated time and discovered that my little idea of showing up for, ummmm, maybe a half-hour, was sorely wrong.
      There was a TON of stuff that needed to be sorted and arranged and prepared into the gift bags for each of the 900 children on a list that the organizers had. 0_o 900?! The town's population is only 1,500! Holy moly. After about 3 hours of doing more activity than I've done in months, I left to have lunch. When I returned, the food had arrived which was donated by private individuals, companies and groups. Four hundred 20 lb turkeys. Enough so every household in Igloolik could have a turkey dinner. Do you know what 400 turkeys looks like laid out in a school gym? We were like the images you see of volunteers passing sandbags to shore up homes and towns against rising floodwaters. Potatoes were unloaded off pickup trucks in 50lb bags. Turkeys were offloaded in 60-80 lb boxes. Stuffing, cranberry sauce, and rice came in. It was incredible. When I stopped to think about it, it became more incredible given our location.
      The food drive is sponsored by a not-for-profit organization called "Feed Nunavut". Their objective is to ease food insecurity in the North. Surveys find that a full 70% of Northern families skip a meal at least once per month. This organization spotlights every year a few projects to focus donations on for folks wanting to do that sort of thing. Igloolik's holiday food and toy drive is one such project. Most of the toys and gifts came from Southern Canada donations and even a few United States donations as well. But what is impressive is that for the food, people give money and then someone here in Igloolik has to figure out how to buy the food in Ottawa, get it shipped here, pick it up at the airport, store it somewhere, and then bring it to the gym. This is a feat anywhere, but in Igloolik!! Even more so. A company started here in Igloolik, Arctic Fresh, donated their money, time, and resources. They bought the turkeys at cost in Ottawa and stored them in their warehouse in Ottawa. Then, the airlines of Canadian North and First Air (not sure which one donated) donated, or heavily discounted the freight up here. I mean, can you imagine the cost to ship 8,000 lbs of turkeys? It costs $500 to ship 100lbs down south.
      More volunteers met the freight at the airport and unloaded all those potatoes, turkeys, stuffing, etc, by hand. BY HAND. Then, stored it and unloaded it again at the gym where volunteers started putting together the fixins for the turkey dinner. They laid out a turkey every 1-2ft in the gym and then a bag of potatoes which had been prepared by the volunteers divvying up the larger 50lb bags of potatoes. Stuffing and other fixings came next. Finally, there were supposed to be mandarin oranges.
      Ah, the mandarin oranges....such a nice gesture.....if they hadn't been right at their expiration and rotten! One of the volunteers discovered that many of the donated boxes of mandarins were terribly rotten, to the point that the boxes were sometimes leaking putrefied orange juice. Someone in charge made the decision that we could not, in good conscience, give these rotten things to people. So, we had to go through, by hand, every single box and separate the good oranges from the bad. Wow. Tedious. Let me offer some unsolicited advice: when volunteering, do not open the box of oranges. Assume they are good and be secure in your altruism and holiness. Otherwise, you will spend hours hunkered over fruit trying to not put your fingers through one more rotten orange and sneeze from the aerosolizing mold.
      Finally, all the dinners had to be bagged or boxed for delivery. The hamlet agreed to allow their school bus to be driven around for deliveries and the school bus driver volunteered to spend his Christmas Eve driving around house to house.
      It was impressive to see all the work and time that went into the whole operation. I gave up the ghost at 5:30pm and returned home with achy feet and a very tired back. I was sore for 3 days. I laughed at my grand plan to feel good about myself backfiring when I actually had to work. I should have just donated money and stayed on the couch. That's a smarter move. That's your second lesson ladies and gentlemen. First lesson is: no mandarin oranges. Second: write a check.      Read more

    • TravelerThe Great White North
      Day 454

      An actual Visitor---A human one!

      December 8, 2018 in Canada ⋅ ⛅ -26 °C

      Last week I had the great privilege of hosting my first visitor to Igloolik. My cousin, who was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, where peaches and pecans sell on the side of the road, braved the cold and Journeyed to the North. I capitalize "journey" because as anyone that has traveled further north than Iqaluit knows, it is always a Journey with a capital J. lol.

      After traveling from Atlanta to Ottawa by way of Philadelphia and Toronto, he spent the night at the airport and then got the dismaying news that he would be spending an extra day in Ottawa. The jet had a dent in it. Apparently. Boeing said it was too big to fly safely. So, my cousin got his bag, hotel voucher, and left the airport. He put on his tourist hat and ventured to Parliament Hill in Ottawa and joined a tour to learn about Canadian governance and history. He had his first shawarma, a delicious wrap not unlike a gyro but yummier that originates from Lebanon. If you like garlic, you will like shawarma! He learned about the canal that runs through Ottawa and freezes in the winter providing an ice rink for all to enjoy.

      The next day, he tried again and experienced his first flight in which you walk out onto the tarmac, to board the plane...from the back. The front of the jet coming from Ottawa to Iqaluit is for cargo. The lack of roads or rail leaves only the planes to bring everything that is necessary to support thousands of people. Once in Iqaluit, he once again, walked across the tarmac to the 1-yr old new airport. There, he managed to not get lost in the 6 whole gates of the airport. The final leg of the journey is on a twin prop, 18 passenger plane sitting out on the tarmac.

      He boarded the plane that had been sitting, unheated on the tarmac for hours, and learned how cold a plane can get! Turns out it's a metal tube! Two hours later, a brief stopover in Hall Beach allowed him to see a town even smaller than Igloolik. Hall Beach is our neighbor with 800 residents that is reachable by skidoo during the winter on the sea ice with a 1.5-2hr ride. My cousin saw the one-room airport with baggage carousel that is a sheet of metal angled down so when the airline employee shoves the bags through a baggage door, the bags slide down the metal slide.

      Then, it was short 15 min flight to Igloolik. I picked him up and showed him the town which he remarked seemed bigger than he expected. Over the next days, we walked and experienced the shock and awe of grocery prices, of walking on sea ice, of realizing the sun was not going to crest over the horizon.

      He saw me gather and prepare dinner at 3pm because it felt later. He had his eyelashes frozen and frosted all of his clothing. He got to shovel snow for the first time as we unburied the qamatik that was going to be pulled behind a skidoo so we could out for a ride around the land. It turned out to be too windy for a good ride, so my cousin got his own personal chauffeured ride on the back of a friend's skidoo.

      He got to buy a local carved narwhal made from caribou antler. Great find since he'd been wanting one of those. He got to visit my work and see animal specimens that he may never get (or want) to see again. lol.

      We played bingo over the radio and lost. We went to a party and he wowed everyone with his knowledge of Nunavut and Inuktitut. I had no idea how he knew all that he did. He said he just read the magazines and talked to the people next to him on the plane. I mean, he came in rattling off towns like Pangnirtung and Qikiqtarjuaq while explained the pronunciation of Inuktitut letters. It was hilarious.

      We threw hot water in the air and watched it vaporize. We did this particular exercise at least 5 times. We saw great Northern Lights and he was shocked to learn (as we all are) that I live too far north for the best Northern Lights. (I personally think that is one of the best things to say to convey to someone just how far north Igloolik is----"well, to see the Northern Lights, we have to look South." bahahaha)

      He got to feel -40 with the windchill...as we stood out there trying to take pictures of those Northern Lights. He quickly shifted to choosing the parka when the windchills got past -35C. He remarked as well that with the proper clothes, it is not bad. It is only bad for long periods of time or for exposed skin----it's not that my hands haven't been cold before---it just usually takes longer than 10 seconds.

      I am so lucky to have been able to share this with my family. A trip like this is not feasible for most and to have the stars align so that he could come was very cool.

      And of course the Journey couldn't be complete without a little leaving drama. His exit flight out of Igloolik was cancelled 5 days in advance. The auxiliary power unit that starts the planes after they've shut down in cold temps broke in the town north of us. Thus, no plane could leave there. My cousin's flights were canceled for 4 days. I guess that's the time it takes to get a replacement sent up. Rather than bank on the fact that they might or might not get the power unit replaced, I immediately booked him on the only other airline that serves here (though those airlines just merged a few months ago so after January, we will only have one airline----what could go wrong---nothing bad gonna happen with that situation. Sigh). We drove to the airport in somewhat foggy conditions not knowing if the plane would make it out. The plane was fully booked. They landed in Igloolik and my cousin safely left in a fuzzy, dusky morning.      Read more

    • TravelerThe Great White North
      2
      32
      Day 318

      Summer was short and sweet.

      July 25, 2018 in Canada ⋅ 🌬 3 °C

      Settle in dear readers. Settle in. If you follow this little blog, you'll know that I haven't posted in over a month. I would like to update you on the goings on in Igloolik and in my head.

      Currently, it's 3C (37F) with a feels like temp of -3C (26F). I get that it's the Arctic. Well, at least I get that in a factual way, but stepping outside in late July and shivering is just bizarre. It is like I'm in upside-down world. Maybe I need to travel to the Southern Hemisphere so that I can have these chilly temps set a "normal" for me. So, is summer over? I don't know. All I know is that I have ridden to work approximately 1 day in almost a year of being here without a hat. I have ridden multiple days without gloves, so yay summer!

      The ice in the bay was blown out to sea in a matter of two days when we had gale force winds slicing through town. Seeing the bay completely iced up one day and then completely open water the next is also bizarre. Another bizarre (bizarre is the word of the day folks) experience was when the water was freed from the ice, I was instantly struck, upon stepping outside, by the ocean smell. The smell of the sea exists even in the cold Arctic. It made me smile. That's a smell I have known. It made me feel that there is life. I found that odd given that I am not a fisherman and so the sea doesn't really represent "life-giving" in that sense to me. However, the smell and sight of blue sparkling ocean is just beautiful anywhere....no matter how cold.

      Two days later, the winds changed and all the ice blew back in. Okay. It's like there's a gigantic fan in outer space oscillating back and forth on us. The winds have been relentless. Without sunglasses, my eyes instantly water from the air forcing tears out.

      In good news, the summer feels less dry. I have not had bloody boogers or pain sleeping in quite some time. I recently visited Calgary and had zero problems with their air. This is the first time on a visit that my nose hasn't hurt in Calgary.....guess I've adapted. I would likely instantly ooze fluid from every pore on my body should I happen to feel Tennessee humidity and heat again. In fact, when traveling to Calgary, I had to stop over in Ottawa. They were having heat advisories. It was in the 90s (+30sC). I stepped on the jet bridge and involuntarily gasped at the suffocating humid heat. Just the air in the airport felt so wet. The air conditioning was keeping the air reasonably cool, but the moisture was palpable---to me. Felt like I was in a moderately cool cave.

      Calgary was great. I laid on the grass and was rewarded with ants in my pants for my leisure. Returning from Calgary was hard. I returned to no water and then a boil water advisory that has not lifted in 2 weeks. Ah. So lovely.

      The town is going through withdrawal. There are no sodas/pops/cokes in the town. It's a crisis. On the Sell/Swap page I watched the auction of 4 cans of soda. The starting bid was $10. I stopped watching when it hit $40. That's right my friends. Ten dollars for a SINGLE can of coke. 12 oz, 355 ml. I suspect the bid went higher than $40. The store got 10 cases (not sure what a case is in terms of store supply/inventory-----a pallet? A box? Not sure) of coke and it was gone from the shelves in about 5 minutes. The sugar addiction is real here. And strong. I find it fascinating. Such dire straits regarding food security and general poverty, but there is money here. It's here. I do not know how these things work.

      We got a new hire here that started last week and that is very exciting because I may now be able to do the job that I was hired to do. Previously, me and another co-worker were doing the duties of this vacant position that just got filled. This person was excited to come to Igloolik because they'd been in the capital, Iqaluit, for 18 months and found it too big and busy. Yep. Igloolik will not be too big or busy I'm almost certain. A week and a half later, I am not sure he isn't having a reality check on what being not as big and busy as Iqaluit means in terms of daily life. He mentioned that his tub is not draining and that there is a bullet hole in his bedroom window that has apparently remained unfixed for over a year. They put him in this housing unit without fixing the window. Housing said maybe they can fix it when the supplies come in on the sealift, but no promises. That is going to be chilly for him in the winter. Then, he was wondering where I got my meat for eating. He noted that there is no fresh meat here. Yep. There isn't. He mentioned that he'd gotten the ground beef thinking that there was no way to go wrong with ground beef. Wrong. Our ground beef is more beef paste, a slimy concoction of pink, hopefully beef, meat stuff. I laughed when he told me this. Yep, no good meat here. You're lucky if you can get any chicken that is mostly breasts or boneless. There are no other options for ground beef either. It's that one or nothing. Take your one pick. Then, he noted that they lost one of his moving boxes. Us around him nodded in encouraging affirmation. Only 1 box? That's not bad. Nice. Iqaluit to Igloolik is one flight.....straight shot. One box lost. Yep, that checks out. He's mentioned the unrelenting wind....and the dirt.....and how he isn't worried about fixing his hair...that he is just mixing the dirt in and mussing it for the "textured" look. Welcome friend. Welcome. He too is enjoying the boil advisory. He also got his first introduction into trying to get things done here....I know I shouldn't say it, but it's been fun to watch the boyish excitement as he thinks that a shipment we need at work will actually arrive when a rep says it will. hahahahaha. He's already figuring ways to get foods and goods up from Iqaluit by having friends in Iqaluit pick up things and send them. It seems to me that the smaller, less busy, Igloolik is giving him a real dose of the real North. One point five weeks. Bless his heart.

      Meanwhile, I'm over here like an old, crotchety weathered pessimistic hag. lol. Just watching with amusement.

      Speaking of amusement, today is the last day you'll be hearing from me. I leave tomorrow to start field work. We are anticipating approximately 2 to 2.5 months of work out of cabins in the Arctic. There will be a few days here and there in a town while we get gear ready and go to meet the helicopter in the North starting point. Other than that, it will be no plumbing, no electricity, nothing with 3-5 of my closest stranger friends. Ah, I cannot wait to burn more shit. Igloolik will seem like paradise upon my return.

      I'll be taking notes so that I can relay the escapades that will surely transpire in the next few months. So my friends, stay tuned! Enjoy your warmth and summer.....and plumbing....and grocery stores.....and Netflix.......and, and, and. Much love and talk to you soon!      Read more

    • TravelerThe Great White North
      31422
      Day 282

      Biking on the frozen ocean

      June 19, 2018 in Canada ⋅ 🌬 3 °C

      Surreal. That's what biking on a frozen ocean feels like. I was mumbling to myself, "it's okay, it's okay, it's frozen, there is ice there. you're all good." If I could have rocked myself while saying those soothing things I would have.
      Moving yourself onto the ice is frightening because you can't see the ice. You only see the insane blue of the water (obviously capturing the color of the ice) that is on top of the water. You have to pedal on faith that you won't fall off a precipice of ice into the Arctic Ocean, and you know, DIE.
      My entire life was built on the fact that you do NOT, under really any circumstances get on frozen water. That is because I grew up in Tennessee where when ponds or creeks freeze, the ice usually isn't thick enough to be safe. It's like when I was canoeing in Washington State and folks were jumping out and swimming next to the banks of the river. Not me. Nope. My life lessons taught me that you NEVER swim close to creek banks because that is where water moccasins and cottonmouth poisonous snakes live, waiting for dum dums to swim up and become a snack. Well, in Washington State, the water is far too cold for those reptiles, so it's perfectly fine to sidle up to the sides of water bodies. Unfortunately, the fear that has been cemented in my brain doesn't let go that easily.....just like it doesn't when I'm bicycling on top of a frozen ocean. Deep breath.
      Not only was it scary with the water on top---which does rise with the tides----and no, I didn't check the tide tables to see if I was gonna end up in 3 ft of water out there on my bicycle---like an idiot----but it was also hard to pedal. There was still some slush in some places which makes it hard and slippery to pedal through. It was quite the workout---between my accelerated heart rate due to fear and exertion, I probably burned more calories than I have all winter.
      I can't wait until the cracks in the ice form and allow the water to drain. Then, you can see the ice and pedaling is super easy (so I'm told) on top of the ice.      Read more

    • TravelerThe Great White North
      1
      1
      Day 272

      Sunburn

      June 9, 2018 in Canada ⋅ ⛅ 1 °C

      Apparently, light reflects off white and, um, well, burns your skin with UV rays. Who knew? Who could have predicted that? Two years ago, I was in Alaska for 3 weeks for a conference, a visit to Denali, and a trip out to a colleague's field site. I came back browner that I had been in 10 years. Those long days of bright sun at high latitudes really tans the ole skin!

      These days, in Igloolik, the temps have been above freezing by about 1-3 degrees C (2-6 degrees F) for two weeks now. Birds have arrived. Geese and buntings. The streets are dusty and dirty. The melt reveals 8 months of trash hidden by the snow. With no consistent sanitation department, other than the one trash truck that comes by and empties our house trash cans, the trash is strewn all over town and everywhere. These are the things that bigger cities do that I never notice until they stop. (I believe there have been some sanitation worker strikes in some big US cities over the last 100 years or so that really highlight the importance of the job!).
      With the better weather, many many people are headed out of town to camp, hunt and fish. At +3 C (37F), outdoorspeople can actually enjoy the fishing and hunting or just relaxing away from the dust of the town.
      There's a road that leads to many of the townsfolk cabins and shacks along the water. One day I'd like to bike it, but this day was ATV. The vastness of the landscape is breathtaking. I hope to one day see other towns in Nunavut---like Pangnirtung and Pond Inlet because they are at the base of awesome mountains and fiords.

      I also include an example of how living here really works for folks that make things work with few resources. What do you do when kids constantly vandalize, well, everything? You improvise with cheap solutions that are easily replaceable....and, we all know duct tape fixes everything!      Read more

    • TravelerThe Great White North
      1
      2221
      Day 272

      1st week in June=we hit freezing temps!

      June 9, 2018 in Canada ⋅ ⛅ 1 °C

      That's right all you fair and sweating readers. We, here in Igloolik, hit the freezing mark for the first time this week and let me tell you, it's glorious! One day I was getting dressed to leave work and I stopped and had to pat myself down, do an inventory, and finally realize, that nope...that was all the clothes I needed....hat, gloves, and ski jacket. How lovely is that? No neck gaiter, no down underlayer, no ski pants, no googles. Just a mere wool hat, gloves (which, if you keep your hands in your pockets, could even be left behind!) and a coat! Summer's here and the livin is easy.....
      ...well, the dressing anyhow. The living has turned to soft slush snow and mud. Feels like you're walking in slippery sand. Sliding all over the place.
      The 24hrs of light has not been bothering me at all. I like it, in fact. I am a night owl. Left to my own circadian rhythms, I will stay up late. In more southerly latitudes, the onset of darkness always made me feel like a loser because it signaled to the majority of folks that the day was done and I never had accomplished what I wanted to during daylight hours. Here, I never have that negative feeling. It's light all the time and I can work on the stuff I want at 10pm without feeling like I'm a weirdo---sun is still shining! I'm still carpeing the diem. :)
      I've started riding my bike more and learned in 4.2 seconds that mudflaps are not a luxury; they are a necessity. I filed my teeth down with the sand, dirt, and grit that flew in my mouth and spent a good deal of time trying to clean the back of my coat from the slung mud. It's fun though. I love the fat bike. Riding the bike +/- 10 degrees of freezing is really a lot different than my attempt this past November when I thought I'd frozen my lungs.
      Yesterday, I rode my bike to the store and all the little kids are just agog at the fat bike as it rides by. It's like you're on a parade. I have to smile and wave the entire way to the store. One little girl with some apparently gumption chased me down on her bike and silently rode next to me. I acknowledged her and asked if she was riding with me. She nodded. I asked where she was going and she replied, "With you." Oh, okay. So, me and my 9 year old shadow cruised to the grocery store. I said, "Are you going to the store?" and she again nodded. She wasn't exactly a chatterbox. I am not certain she understood my rapid fire English questions. We leaned our bikes against the rails, I visited with some folks outside while she patiently waited at the door for me. She held open the door for me and proceeded to follow me silently through the grocery. She helped me find some chocolate chip cookies. I showed her the trick to buying eggs (always open them to make sure they aren't broken). On my way out, I bought her a little treat. Then, off we go again, her following right next to me as I rode back home. She walked her bike through the deep snow to the back of my house. I am pretty sure I am going to come home and find this girl sleeping in my house one day.
      At one point, in the store, there was another White lady shopping and I could see this little girl having an internal dilemma as to whether to stick with the white woman she was currently with or jump ship to this new one. Pretty much you're a curiosity and probably everything, from what I buy, to how I talk is different to a child that has grown up in Igloolik. Not that the kids don't see TV, but to have these weird, tall people right there at your fingertips to silently follow and watch is just too neat.....apparently.      Read more

    • TravelerThe Great White North
      32133
      Day 249

      The plane was stuck on the lake

      May 17, 2018 in Canada ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

      I was talking to a friend yesterday and they made the comment that my life was just not normal anymore. This was prompted by me mentioning that I was working on my list for the Sealift. The Sealift is the common, all-inclusive term for getting a shipment of goods sent to you via the ocean container ships that make their annual deposits to the North. This is how we get all the fuel, vehicles, heavy equipment, construction supplies, non-perishables. Individuals can also order and reserve a spot on a ship. There are companies that will do your shopping for you, take the goods and pack them, deliver them to the freight company to be crated and palleted, reserve your spot on the cargo ship, and order delivery once your shipment arrives in your community. You have the option of doing all the steps yourself...from flying down south to do shopping to reserving your spot on the ship. One of my most hated grown up tasks is grocery shopping so this is like grocery shopping on steroids. It's my nightmare. I'd much rather clean a toilet. I am gonna go with one of those all-inclusive companies. There isn't a chance in hell you'd find me in a Costco trying to gather all the toilet paper and kidney beans I'll use in a year. Making out the list is awful enough. This damn Sealift BETTER save me money or I am gonna be hot! Anyway, this whole discussion is what prompted my friend to say my life is weird.

      Then, this morning, I get cc'd on an email that fuels that idea like gas on a fire. The email is brief, but the message doesn't need a lot of extra fluff. Apparently, on a flight to drop fuel drums off at sites that we will use this fall for field work, the plane got stuck on a lake. The email concisely states the the plane got stuck on the lake and they spent the night. Yep. That's not a normal, everyday email in my book. What subfolder do I file that in? My boss's response? One word: "Crap". I guess that's what you do with that email. Not much you can do I guess. For me, so many questions immediately popped up like meerkats poking their heads out of their dens. How does one get a plane stuck on a lake? ---I should mention that the lake in question is frozen. That is how the fuel is dropped...the plane has skies on and it flies in to various locations, lands on the lakes and the pilot, copilot, and a few helpers move the 400lb drums to dry land. This can be quite tough if the snow is deep. Those drums don't exactly "float" on top of the snow. But, my question is, Is the plane stuck in deep snow? How can that happen with skies? Or, is in stuck in water as the snow is melting on top of the ice making a nasty quagmire of slush water/ice? How does one "unstick" a plane? Put floor mats under the skis? Some kitty litter? There isn't exactly a tow truck around. How bad is it stuck that 4 dudes couldn't get it out when the sun is up for 18-20 hours where they were working? What a shitty night to have to spend the night there (I know they bring emergency kits that include sleeping bags, food, and a stove). Do they bring 4 sleeping bags or just two? Like I said, so many questions. I walked into my boss's office and he was preoccupied with some tunes on his ipod. I said, "Um, what's the deal with the plane on the lake?" He says, "I have no idea. I'm going to await a call to hear if they say they aren't going to be able to get our fuel out and the plane is broken." Oh okay. Sure. I patter back to my office. Turns out the same protocol goes no matter what the issue---wait until someone tells you more and assume no news is good news! Just another day at the office I guess.

      I also decided to enjoy the warmer weather like the rest of you southerners. I am inundated with social media posts showing all manner of glorious outdoor beauty and activities. The greenery is so vibrant it almost hurts my eyes. So much color saturation. The colors here are white and bright, blinding white. I decided to enjoy the whiteness by taking a walk----it was just as you'd expect for mid-May. Frozen ocean and snow. Duh.      Read more

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