All good things must come to an end...

...and so, too, our final day of the trip arrives. I'm glad we didn't have to run today, because it was even colder and windier! I think it's warmer in Sanikiluaq right now...

 

 

We all enjoyed a bit of a sleep-in after having been up at 6:00 am yesterday. We had a leisurely late breakfast, and then stopped off at the Inuit Centre to see the people from home one more time. Off to the mall for some last minute shopping, and then we went downstairs to enjoy a few games of bowling.

 

 Is there anything quite as styling as bowling shoes? I think not...LOL!

 

The students had lots of fun, and almost everyone got at least one strike or spare. There was some interesting freestyle form happening, but all in all, it was an enjoyable afternoon.

 

 

We had our celebration dinner at Red Lobster after. We got there before 5:00, thinking that we'd beat the crowd if we went early. Apparently all of Winnipeg had the same idea! Oh well! We did get seats fairly quickly after enjoying the joke with others as they waited. We took adjoining booths to shorten the wait time. So of course, the stealth mode appeared on the camera...

 

Ha ha, over-the-shoulder when no one expects it, LOL!

 

We ended the night with a movie at the Silver City Cinema, and a few games while we waited for the show to start.

 

Megan and Joe  riding "virtual" motocross bikes for their race.

 

It was a good ending to another great trip. Back at the hotel, bags were packed and stored in my room, ready for another early morning departure. Back home in Sanikiluaq and the successful completion of the Paatsaali Running Club's 4th trip. WOOT!

 

See you at home, everyone!

 

 

 



Race day arrives!

 

Into every life a little rain must fall, and onto every runner, as well. Our streak of perfect weather runs ended today, alas!

 

The day hadn't even dawned when we got up and had still not arrived when we made it to the race site.

 

 

As usual, there was a lot of hurry-up-and-wait involved. On the race coordinator's part, it was very well done, and line-ups were minimal. It's always just a long lag between breakfast, parking, arrival, bag-check, and start times. But imagine our surprise and happiness when we headed to the start line to see some friends and family from Sanikiluaq waiting there to cheer on the students! Well done! The kids were so very happy! Many thanks to Nikki who answered some last-minute posts on where the start line was!

 

The rain hit as we began the run, but fortunately ended at the halfway mark. All seven of the runners competed, all seven finished, and all seven earned their own special medallion or SMO: Shiny Metal Object, in runner's lingo!

 

 

Left-to-right: Brad Wutke, 5K; Noah Emikotailak, 10K; Joewillie Iqaluq, 5K; coach Terri Skinner, 10K; Joe Kudluarok, 5K; Maggie Megan Kowcharlie, 5K; and Ashley Appaqaq, 10K. Way to go, runners! Celebrate your achievement!

 

And a huge thumbs-up and thanks to Subway, who provided the runners with juice, coffee, milk, subs, bagels, fruit, yogurt and cookies! Perfect way to refuel after all that hard work. And then off to the football game. The players entered the field to the boom of fireworks and fireballs, which thrilled the students to no end.

 

 

 And even better, ours was the lucky row to win free Booster Juice smoothies! There we all were, up on the Jumbotron for all the world to see as we were televised live to the nation! One way or another, these kids are making national TV!

 

 

And the smoothies were delicious, albeit very cold in an outdoor stadium in October, LOL!

 

The evening ended quietly with dinner at the hotel, a swim, and an early bedtime due to us being completely worn out. A great day for all of the students who have put so much effort into fundraising and training. I'm proud of all of them!

 

That's it for today!



The adventure continues!

Apologies that the posts have been lagging...the internet at the hotel kept dropping the signal every couple of minutes and the posts kept getting lost!

Our second full day saw us heading out to the Canadian Mennonite University, where we picked up our race kits and met course director, Jonathan Torchia. He was delighted to meet the students from Nunavut and introduced us all around to the race crew. He was gracious enough to request a photo op with our group, and Nikki found this picture on the Winnipeg Fire and Paramedic Services web site!

 

 

Jonathan is in the front, on the left side as you look at the photo. Then Noah, myself, Ashley and Megan. At the back on the right are Brad, Joe and Joewillie. I do apologize, but I don't remember the names of the others who belonged to the race crew.

 

Afterwards, we headed out to the Assiniboine Zoo. It was not very crowded, safe to say! It was the perfect day for a stroll, cool but sunny, and very little wind. Everyone seemed to enjoy it, but the younger ones appeared to have the most fun!

 

 

Climbing the observation tower.

Hopping a "ride" on Hudson's replica. He's the resident 2-yr old polar bear.

 

 



 

 

Sheriff Joewillie has got things under control. No need to panic, folks!

 

 

A little fall fun with the leaf piles. Ah, memories!

 

We grabbed some lunch, and shopped. And shopped...and shopped some more! There was quite the pile of packages making their way back to the rooms that evening! Renting the van was an absolutely BRILLIANT idea...it saved so much money on cabs, and so much time waiting, and allowed us to wander from here to there at our whim.

 

 

We finished the evening with some swimming, and then gathered together for a pizza party and a movie. Only the best quality cinematic productions would do, so naturally we all watched "Sharknado!" And yes, it was exactly as it sounds...a huge hurricane spawns a tornado that sucks up 20,000 hungry sharks that subsequently get dumped onto Los Angeles. I'm expecting to see SEVERAL Academy Award nominations here... :-D

 

So off for now, and on to the race tomorrow!

 

Running Trip #4, amazingly enough!

I cannot believe how the time has flown, and the Paatsaali Running Club is on its fourth running trip! This time, we are in Winnipeg to take part in the Fire and Paramedics 5K/10K/half marathon on October 19th. There are five students running along with two teacher/chaperone runners.

 

 

The weather cooperated beautifully this time, and the day of departure came with sunny skies and light winds. Couldn't ask for better! Well, I guess I could have asked that maybe the runway could have been repaired on a different day...the pilots spent over an hour circling while the ground crew finished!

 

Waiting patiently...and waiting...and waiting...

 

 

...but not at ALL excited when the plane finally prepared to leave at 4:00 pm!

 

We arrived in Winnipeg after a brief pit stop in Pickle Lake, and were quite surprised that the airport had moved! To be more exact, only the portion that Kivalliq Air leases, but it was a momentary panic to think of picking up a van and driving to...well, I had no idea! Luckily, the pilots and crew were very helpful, and pulled up a Google map and I picked up our van. It is a lovely Town and Country 7-passenger, with auto everything from doors to hatch. I love the car, and it has already paid for itself in saved taxi fares and stress alone!

 

 

We did get to the Inuit Centre after check-in and a late Subway supper, and it felt just like home with so many neighbours from Sanikiluaq to visit. We'll visit again on Sunday.

 

Today, we all awoke to enjoy a delicious breakfast at the hotel. There was an entrée called "The Big Joe", and our Joes (along with the rest of us) enjoyed it!

 

 

Everyone was holding their bellies!

 

We then went to the Manitoba Museum, where we toured the Museum, the Science Centre and the Planetarium. I am fascinated by the travels of the Nonsuch, who may have been the first ship to contact the Sanikiluaqmiut in the late 1600's.

 

 

This is a replica of the ship that sailed down the western coast of what is now Nunavik and from there went into James Bay to today's Moosonee.

 

 

I wonder what Scott would think if this fish came out of the water on the end of his line, at about six feet across!

 

 

 

The mirrors make us look like Oompa-Loompas, LOL!

 

After the museum and lunch, we shopped...and shopped...and shopped! Outlet Value store, Walmart, Dollarama...I have some great goodies for the Christmas Table Sale! Dinner was what has become a Running Club signature meal: All-you-can-eat sushi...yummmm!

 

 

After dinner, we returned to the hotel to enjoy a swim, a soak in the hot tub, and a ride down the water slide.

 

 

We are all safely tucked in for the night. Tomorrow we pick up our race kits, tour the Assiniboine Zoo, and enjoy a bowling game or two before the big race day. Stay tuned for further adventures from Terri, Brad, Noah, Ashley, Joe, Joewillie, and Megan!



Impressions of Thailand...

Let me say first that I'm sitting in my hotel in Bangkok, eating for all the world what appears to be corn fritters, LOL! I had to fly halfway around the world to eat good old-fashioned comfort food! And I have to say, they are SOOOOOO good!

My lunch was gained the way most Thais eat here. You walk down the street, past numerous little carts. You see what looks interesting, and you get a little take-out baggie of it. My lunch has: spring rolls and the afore-mentioned corn fritters, BBQ chicken leg, cucumbers, an Asian pear and a Blue Mountain espresso. All for about 110 baht or about $3.15. Eating Thai-style is very inexpensive and entertaining: each meal you get to play, "Guess what THAT is?" LOL! The corn fritters came with a honey-chili-peanut dip that is so HOT but oh-so-good. Deb would be in heaven. Dad would be in hell!

The one thing that has struck me most about this country is the profusion of odours. Some good, some neither good nor bad, only new, and some just downright awful. Your nose is assaulted constantly: the sweet smell of a profusion of plants and flowers; the smells coming from the numerous food carts selling crispy-fried anything; incense from the many temples; the odd funk of the mushroom-based broths in many soups; coffee carts; must and mildew from the humidity; odours from the sewers; body funk; tobacco and perfume...it is almost overwhelming!

Market-hopping has been fun. During the week, there are fewer shoppers and you can haggle your way into some good deals. Stephen took me out to "show me the ropes" so to speak, and I promptly haggled a wooden fruit bowl down for 50 baht less than he paid...here endeth that day's lesson!

Chiang Mai was very much a small vacation city, and Bangkok is a bustling metropolis. I posted on Facebook that, with a few exceptions, you'd think you were in New York or Toronto. The people drive on the left, very British. And they have great respect for their King, as shown by decorated overpasses. They also have great respect for their religion, Buddhism, and there are many vegetarian restaurants, preferred seating for monks, and advertisements to not sell replica Buddhas.

Some of the more interesting things I've done: patted a tiger; used a squat-only toilet; tried the coconut jellies (a local "dessert"); braved the zip line; got up close and personal with a giraffe. The jellies were, to be kind, different. They had a consistency between chewed wax lips, white paste glue, and stale Jello. They had a taste similar to glue and Pepto-Bismal. Yecch!

 

 

 

Tomorrow, I will be finally saying "Good bye" to the fat person I was. The abdominal flap that has been my companion for the past 40 or so years is leaving, and so is the final identifier of my former self. Yes, it may seem like vanity, but it is absolutely crucial to my sense of self and identity that this last piece of me literally goes away. I salute my independence tomorrow, and the start of my new journey. It will be several months to see the full and final effect, but well worth the wait.

 

 

For now, TTFT! Ta-ta from Thailand!

Terri

Not Nunavut this time, but a world of an adventure!

The adventure this time all takes place in Europe and Asia! I left with my current roommate, Stephen, on July 6th for a 3-week holiday in Thailand. The first stop was a 14-hour layover in Vienna, Austria, long enough to allow us to leave the airport and tour the city. What a beautiful place!

We toured the city in a horse-drawn carriage and saw many places where people like Mozart and Schubert lived at one point.

We ate wiener schnitzel for lunch and it was delicious!

The airport in Vienna is so comfortable! They have computer benches in sets of four with plug-ins and free WiFi. They have lounge areas, and also couch-style seats where you can lean back and nap! These Europeans know how to travel! I'm beginning to detest western "all for profit, get nothing free" philosophy.

We bit teh bullet and upgraded our seats to Business class for the 11-hr flight to Bangkok overnight. Talk about LUXURY! The seats were HUGE! We had an individual pod to ourselves, the seat reclined into a flat bed, the on-board CHEF took our dinner and breakfast order, I was given several glasses of champagne, we were given overnight bags complete with a pair of clean, new socks! WOW!!!!

 My meal...marinated prawns in beetroot cram with crisp cabbage and bacon salad, caramelized pea soup with truffled potatoes, fillet of salmon with tabbouleh salsa, fennel and sauteed spinach, two-tone chocolate trifle, fresh fruit, coffee, and more champagne. Oh my!

The seat even had a massager built in!!!!

We got to Bangkok about 2:00 pm (1:00 am Toronto time) and had a short wait until our flight to Chiang Mai. It is lovely here, Set in a valley between mountains that eventually join up with the Himalayas, it is a mixture of old and new, and the people are very friendly.

Our hotel is the Maninarakorn, very comfortable, with a nice pool and free breakfast buffet. I had jasmine rice with egg and some veggies in a stir fry for breakfast along with pineapple and papaya.

Our first full day, we took in a cooking class. I made hot and sour prawn soup, pad thai, spring rolls, green curry with chicken, and sticky rice with mango.

 My pad thai and hot prawn soup.

I'm making the green curry paste here.

We took a cab-truck to the market to shop, took a train to Lamphur district, and rode a bicycle to class. Interesting trip highlight...stepping into the bathroom of the train to find a hole in the floor, two foot-shaped pads and a hold-on rail...LOL! Welcome to another world for sure! And as there is no proper sewer system here, toilet paper is prohibited in many places so they have a hose-option for hose down, drip dry...unique to say the least!

Today we booked a driver and went to many factories. We took in the silk-making factory, jade, silver, fans, and so on. Then we went out to the Sankampraeng Hot Mineral Springs, kind of like a mini Yellowstone and provincial park all-in-one. Apparently the springs are hot enough to cook eggs, which they will sell you, in a bag, to do just that!

We swam in the mineral springs, had a foot massage (they cost about $6.00 for an hour) and then had lunch. I have found some Thai food I like, but not too much...I should come back much thinner, LOL!

Tonight I'm going with what I know, and we're headed to a Chinese restaurant beside the hotel. Tomorrow, Tiger land, a cruise on the Mae Ping river, and some shopping at the Night market. Then on Friday, the zip line through the rainforest canopy. Look it up on "Flight of the Gibbon Chiang Mai" to see. I'll rent a helmet camera for video-taping. Then on Saturday we'll go for an elephant trek and see what else sounds good. From there, who knows?

More to come as the days roll by!

All good things must end...

...and so our trip comes to a close.

We aimed for a zoo visit on Tuesday. But, the 6:00 wake-up call revealed no bags packed, no rooms cleaned and no readiness for check-out in time to make the trip. So, we went for plan B: a bit more sleep, clean-up time and a visit to the Museum, postponed from Saturday. We checked out but the hostel stored our bags for later pick-up. What a great little find that place has been!

The kids enjoyed the Museum. The dinosaurs are always a hit, and still one of my favourite exhibits. They also really enjoyed the First Nation/Aboriginal People's exhibit with the Inuit collection. There was a video playing showing the scraping of a seal skin so they got to talk to a few people about how it's done. Very cool!

Here's the face I knew as a kid.

It's a little different now. Still a controversial piece in Toronto...

 

This flower is a bromeliad, over 4 feet across!

The individual crystals are as large as my hand.

We have ugly fish here, but I think this guy might just take the prize!

Shades of Jurassic Park! I'll take "Objects You Don't Want To See In Your Rear-View Mirror" for $1000, Alex!

The end of his snout with the first few teeth is as large as my head.

A carved narwhal tusk from the Inuit collection.

 

A gorgeous carving made from the backbone of a whale. We have these here!

Ladies, just sayin', these baskets are kind of cool!

When the Museum visit was done, we went back to the hostel to spend our last bit of time relaxing before dinner and catching the bus to Montreal.

The boys enjoying a game of pool.

Dinner at a cool pizza place around the corner. It was a former garage, and the old doors open up to make an al fresco outdoors patio right inside the restaurant!

We caught our bus at 9:00 pm, and arrived in Montreal at 3:00 am. A cab ride to the airport, and lots of Tim Horton's coffee, donuts, and some Chinatown BBQ duck and pork for breakfast.

Even at 4:00 am, BBQ duck is SOOOOOOOO delicious!

 

 

Sad to say, the camera battery dies just as I tried to get the last shot in the Air Inuit waiting area...5 bodies stretched out on benches, sound asleep, LOL! We did nap all the way home, and I'm sure there were a few more naps taken in the afternoon.

 

All in all, it was great trip, with some great kids, and I hope that they all will have some memories that will last them a lifetime.

 

Until next trip, TTFN!

 

Terri and the Team