Our first formal introduction to the school, and my boxes have arrived!

I would love to post photos, but the internet here is very expensive if we go over our allotted band width, which we have already done twice! So I will wait until the wireless is set up at the school, then I can add some photos.

The walk to the school is a bit less than 10 minutes, and has a slight uphill slant on the homeward leg, so I can get my basic exercise in daily. The community is built on some gently rolling slopes, so there are lots of small hills to build up those glutes! Anyhow, we had a brief staff meeting and went to our classes.

Kelly and I asked Tim, our principal, if he was amenable to a switch in subjects. She has a Social Studies teachable and I am Science/Math. She was given high school Math and then Science and Gym, while I had Social Studies! So I am now the grade 10/11 high school Math teacher, with grade 7 Language, Math and Science in the afternoon. We are both VERY happy with the switch. Best yet, I get to go to a week-long conference in Cape Dorset in late September!

Many of the teachers in the school are Inuit from Sanikiluaq, and the reason for our subject/grade changes is that the focus is to teach in Inuktituk, in order to ensure that the language and culture survives. They have been so incredibly warm and welcoming to all of us, and are helpful in pointing out cultural items and naming them for us. Kelly and I are hard at work trying to learn new words, and forgetting them faster than we can practice! I did learn that Tunga Sugit means Welcome (tunga sugitsi to more than one person). Nahkutip is Thank you and Ulolli is You're welcome. I will try to verify with Margaret Lawrence to get the correct spelling.

My remaining boxes came today, HURRAY!!! and my last missing suitcase yesterday, so I have absolutely everything I need. Our phone is hooked up, our satellite is ordered, and we have internet. Life is good! And we are about to place a food mail order, so our fridge will be well stocked. I have to admit, prices on bread, milk and eggs are very reasonable. A quart of milk was only $3.87. so we are far from starving.

I'm off to eat dinner, and then relax before the final flurry of planning begins. Wish me luck getting my many boxes of resources to the school! TTFN!

Settling in...

It has been a great welcome in Sanikiluaq so far. I met one of my roommates, Kelly, who was at the airport to meet me. Tim, my Principal, and his wife Mina were also there to greet us. Everyone helped to get luggage stashed into multiple vehicles and away we went.

Tigger got his first introduction to Nermal. It's a good thing Tigger is rather mellow. Nermal is more of an individualistic gal, and she has been dancing around Tigger having somewhat of a hissy fit. Tigger just gives me the "What have you done to me now?" look. Slowly they are sniffing each other out and Nermal has even let me pat her (although when she looked back and saw that it was me, and not Kelly, she jumped and took off, LOL!) The dance continues while Kelly and I watch, amused at their antics.

The house is actually lovely, and despite the outward appearance is very roomy and spacious. There is a huge garbage room that can be used for storage, a huge laundry area with room for two litter boxes, a huge mud room with more storage, and we have plans for putting a freezer in. The living room is huge, and Kelly has worked really hard to get it clean and well-stocked with furniture. The kitchen and dining area is not huge, but quite adequate. The bedrooms are not huge, but again will do well. The bathroom is really the only tiny room, but how much time in a day do I plan to spend there? :-D

We walked to the Co-op and to the Northern to shop yesterday. The prices are much in line with Fort Albany, so there was no serious sticker shock. Everyone that we met smiled, waved, said "Hello" (and I have promptly forgotten how to say it in Inuktitut but promise to write it down so I can practise). The community is very open and welcoming to the teachers.

Margaret, the lady I met on the plane, came over with a donation of some clothes. Kelly has also generously opened her closet so that I have plenty to wear. How lovely to have lost enough weight that I can fit normal clothing and actually be able to borrow from others! Late afternoon, we had a knock at our door and one of my missing bags showed up, the one with all of my school clothes. How nice, and how surprising! There are no local flights on the weekend...so did it come by beluga or polar bear express? We may never know!

So here I am, settling in, and no longer running naked in the streets. The community is most grateful!

Naked in Nunavut!!!

Moving day has come, and it has been an adventure! It began with a final swim in my Mom's pool. Sad to see the end of my official summer holiday.

 My bags were all loaded in the driveway, to await the taxi. Poor Tigger...already stressed in his carrier. I had planned for an early arrival to Pearson and made it with 1-1/2 hours of spare time...only to discover that my enormous cat, who is too big for a soft-sided carrier, was not allowed onto the plane until he was in a soft-sided carrier. There were none to be had in Pearson anywhere. Back and forth, back and forth, speaking to umpteen people and clerks and sales people. I finally got a sports bag with mesh sides to double as a carrier, rushed back to the counter, and found that they had pulled me from the 7:00 flight and rebooked me for 8:00 pm.

No biggie, right? WRONG!!! My bags had to be pulled, which meant a mandatory rescreening and X-ray. Down to arrival I went. No bags. I waited. And waited. And waited. At 7:40, I went back to reschedule as it was obvious that there would be no catching the 8:00 flight. We rebooked for 9:10 and back I went to wait for my bags. And wait. And wait. At 8:35, Security finally said to catch the flight and that the bags would be sent as soon as they cleared. Back up I go, get in line and wait. Flight delay meant we didn't leave Pearson until 10:10.

Once in Montreal I headed for the help desk and we completed the missing baggage form. Yes, they said, the bags had been marked for arrival on the 12:30 am flight. Go to you hotel, they said, we'll send them right over, they said. Off to the Wyndham on the shuttle, and what a beautiful hotel. Comfy bed, but no sleep. I was far too wound up. It took me two hours to drift off and I woke to check the clock at least a dozen times. It was an espresso morning if there ever was one!

I check at the desk at 6:20 am and yes, my bags were there. The valet goes and fetches....two bags. Hmmmm, could have sworn I had four in Toronto. So a call goes through to Baggage Claim, who assures me that the missing items are indeed recorded and should be awaiting me at PET Airport in Montreal. Off I go, and up to the desk. No bags. Here I am, off to Nunavut for a year, with my flight leaving in an hour, and two bags missing that I am supposed to pay for before they are sent. My Spidey Sense detects a potential problem...but Air Canada to the rescue. They would get the bags to the Air Inuit desk as soon as they arrive. But how will I pay, I ask. Oh, well, we have to pay because we have goofed, sez good old Air Canada. Yes, to every cloud there is a sliver lining!

Up to the departure lounge, where the day has dawned sunny and clear. But, another flight delay: mechanical work needs to be done to the Dash-8. We do get underway eventually, and I met a lovely woman named Margaret from Sanikiluaq. We chat the whole way and she is so full of helpful hints that I feel at home already. We land in Kuujjuarapik (pronounced koo-jwar-AY-pick) and don't leave...mechanical problems again. This time it's serious as the plane is losing power to one engine. Yikes! Yes, I think I will gladly wait for the repair. Take your time, fellows!

We get back onboard, taxi to the runway and head right back to the terminal. No luck. The problem persists. I am so glad they didn't chance the take-off! Better to call an abort on the runway than over Hudson Bay! At least we were treated to lunch at the local restaurant. A twin-engine Otter was sent and we finally made it to Sanikiluaq just after 4:30.

That was when it hit...my two bags that made it with me contained my bedding, my pillows, my blankets, the cat toys, the cat food, the coffee, the cereal, the odds and ends...but not a stitch of clothing!!! I am thousands of miles from anywhere, with nothing to wear...so it will be me that you will see running naked in Nunavut! Pray that the bags with my clothes arrive soon, even if only to spare the eyes of the poor local residents! ;-D

My soon-to-be home

Things could not be better with a roomie on the job! Here is a shot of my soon-to-be home town, taken by Kelly (who is already there and manning the home fires). She has been out exploring and took this photo of Sanikiluaq. I'm not sure which direction north lies, but Hudson Bay is all around us!

Kelly has been hard at work, making our house a home. Here's the place that she has affectionately dubbed "825 Cat Scratch Alley". Tigger will have a roommate as well, because Kelly brought her orange tabby, Nermal. Ergo the name.

This is Unit 825, the future home of the gleesome threesome of Kathy, Kelly, and Terri.

It was not in the best of condition, but Kelly has been hard at work cleaning, scouring, and cajoling John (the Housing manager) into letting her pick out the best of the furniture. Also making sure that I had a double bed, and not the single that was delivered...many MANY thanks! MWAH!!!

Looks okay so far.....

 ...but upon Kelly's closer inspection....

....yecch!!!!

She promises that a lot of elbow grease and cleaning products have rendered the house habitable. Again, she's an angel and I will have to make sticky buns for her when my boxes arrive.

This time next week, I will be loading multitudes of baggage and one very large cat and carrier into a taxi and heading for Pearson Airport to fly leg one of the trip into Montreal. My carry-on will include cat tranquilizers, cat food, cat dinner dishes, cat litter, baggies for cat litter leftovers disposal...

I see a trend here, LOL!

 TTFN!

All set to go...

It is now one week and counting until I fly to Montreal and then on to Sanikiluaq. I am following the posting of my soon-to-be roomie, Kelly, who is already there. It has been left on her shoulders to try and make the little house liveable, and if anyone is interested they can follow Kelly and see the advance pics on http://kellysnorthernadventure.blogspot.com/
It is a real eye-opener, and that is a fact!

I should have taken a picture of the mountain of boxes before the movers came! Ah, well, such is life. Had a Senior's Moment! Anyhow, I will keep everyone posted and updated as the move and year progress. TTFN!