Hamlet Day?

Today was a great day at school. Lots of learning and laughs going on, as seen in the pictures I posted. Some of my grade six boys decided to have a hair show today. It was one of those things you kind of had to be there for, but it was hilarious!
We have a four day long weekend due to Hamlet Day tomorrow and a PD day on Monday. I asked numerous children today what Hamlet Day is and what is included in the celebrations and no one seems to have a definite answer. The only concrete thing I can get out of them is that if I go I will get a hot dog. It boggles my mind how this is one of there biggest celebrations and I can't seem to get the scoop from anyone. Sarah and I plan to participate in whatever festivities are going on tomorrow for this holiday. I am hoping to be able to take part in some traditional games and be able to socialize with members of the community. It will be nice to get another taste of a function within the community outside of the school. I am guessing that traditional food will most likely be included in some aspect of the day. I have managed to dodge the caribou and seal meat so far and plan to continue to do so tomorrow. However, out of respect I will try it if it comes down to it. I will pull out every trick before getting to this point though. So far so good! I will keep you posted on the adventures of this weekend.

A Day In Ullajuk

Nice hair Siglu

Still haven't mastered rotating on here

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Jassie's lovely do

Armond destroying my masterpiece

My kids are very self sufficent

The boys

Pictures From My Northern Adventure

The iceberg...it had a blue tinge to it

One of the dog sled teams on the ice...they protect the town from polar bears

Pond Inlet getting further away

and further

Trying to figure out my camera

Riding on a qamutiik

The iceberg from far away

My favourite picture

The picture of us at the end of the trip is on our host's camera. It is coming soon. The change in our expressions from the beginning of the trip to the end of the trip is priceless!

Pretty Sure We Are Going To Loose Our Toes

On the weekend Sarah and I took our first real northern adventure. Dave, our host, borrowed his son Abasus's snowmobile to take us out for the afternoon. Our destination was to a near by ice berg that we have been observing daily from the living room window. It took a bit more than an hour each way. Sarah and I were attached to the snowmobile on a qamutiik, which is a sled. It was actually quite comfortable and allowed us to look around and see the beautiful landscape passing by. It was covered with foam and real caribou skin. We stopped to have some hot chocolate that we had packed for the trip on the way up. Hot chocolate has never tasted so good. The silence out there on the ice was like nothing else I had ever experienced. It was so peaceful. Also, on the way there we saw an animal afar, but didn't think much of it. However, on the way back we saw it again. It followed our tracks to the iceberg and was almost there. It ended up being an arctic dog/wolf. He never got too close, but did chase us for a while. An arctic dog/wolf can be quite vicious. I'm not going to lie if it had gotten any closer I was ready to give it a swift kick to the jaw. On the way back we got really cold. I stress the really. At one point we were pretty sure we were going to loose our toes. We were mentally preparing for it. We were bundled up, but it was no match for the weather. I suppose we are not climatized yet. Every five minutes on the way home Dave had to stop the snowmobile and let us run for a few minutes to get our blood moving and warm us up. When we got home we discovered that our faces, despite being covered, had some wind burn/frost bite. It is getting better though and almost gone. Despite the fear of possibly loosing limbs and turning into a permanent popsicle the trip was a success and probably one of the best things I have ever done. I look forward to our next one and plan on wearing every pair of socks I have brought with me.

Last night we went to dinner at Sarah's cooperating teacher's house. My cooperating teacher as well as some other ladies from both of the schools attended. I was scared about the food coming up here, but let me tell you there is no lack of it. These women can cook. It was literally a three course meal. I don't think I need to eat for the rest of the month. When being passed my spaghetti it slipped off the plate and onto my lap. Not only did this dirty my outfit, but it burnt my legs fairly bad. The poor women thought it was their fault and were really concerned. I tried to tell them that I am very clumsy and something like this usually happens to me at least once a day. They didn't seem to get it, but I know you all will. The north has not changed me yet!

As for teaching, it is going great. I have been teaching a hundred percent and feel quite successful in my lessons. I am really getting to know the children and am developing a great rapport with them. I don't think I have ever heard my name so much though. Now I know why my Mom always told me when we were growing up that she wanted to change her name. It is cute though. Some things I have noticed about the school is that SSA (EPA's down south) are quite frequently pulled out of classrooms for other tasks with little or no warning and are not replaced. Most of the time this is not a big deal because as teachers we have learned to roll with the punches and go with the flow. However, yesterday my SSA was pulled and she works with a student who speaks zero English. I'm talking like not a word. I really had to put my ESL skills to the test and managed to get through. The stronger kids in the class are often a big help and will translate whenever possible. The class ended up going fantastically well and was really rewarding in the end. Another thing I have noticed about the schools is the issues discussed in our Nunavut class such as overwhelming rates of suicide, alcoholism, adoption and drug abuse coming to the surface. These issues are everywhere, but are more predominant and obvious up here. A lot of kids are coming to school upset and teary eyed these days. I have learned that Inuit prefer to deal with their feelings on their own. I have made it known that I am here to talk anytime and that the school and the ESL classroom is a safe and quiet place for them whenever they need it. This seems to be working, for more serious cases I send them to the councilor in the school. It is often easier for them to express and discuss their feelings and issues in their first language. Knowing what some of these kids are going through and being able to give them my time, make them smile and make a difference is so rewarding and has reminded me of why I want to be a teacher.

Ps: I am planning on uploading pictures from my iceberg adventure tomorrow at school. Take note when looking at them the change in expressions and body language from the beginning of the trip and the end of the trip.

Pictures, Pictures, Pictures

Our home for the next few weeks

Some girls throat singing at the hip hop show

Some of the hip hoppers

Some of my little kids trying out some hip hop

Neat house that a local made

My school, it's actually quite big

Me and my school

We have A LOT of snow

The hair plucker

Tyrone and his huge wad of gum that I caught him with

Samuel and I after being beat at a game on Fun Friday

Some of my grade 6 boys

I caught Samo reading

Some of my grade 3 girls putting on a puppet show for me

Up to no good

A family Qamutiik

This one's for you dad

Super girls

View of town from the top of the hill

Government building

Listening center