And It Begins!

In preparation for heading North, de Blackwolf pack (my grade 5/6 class at Sir Charles Tupper Elementary School) and I  tried our skills at creating our own version of Cape Dorset print making.  It was quite the experience!  Our class was also very busy getting gifts ready for their pen pals at Sam Pudlat School (my future home) and practising their Inuktitut.

I received quite the send off from my class on Friday, I'm actually not sure who is more excited about my trip to Cape Dorset, me or them!  It was a bitter-sweet day though, as I was very excited about my up coming trip, but also sad to leave my class in Halifax. I am hopeful my students will follow this blog and write me questions/responses.  It is also nice knowing that I will have the opportunity to Skype with them once or twice while I am at Sam Pudlat.

Saturday the NU5 met at the Airport for a send off lunch with Nick, it was nice to be all together again, and pretty hilarious to see us clunking around the airport in massive snow boots and arctic parkas...especially since it was above zero degrees in Halifax.



















The flight from Halifax to Ottawa was short and sweet, all of our luggage arrived and we managed to find our hotel without an hassles   It was nice to have a night to 'catch my breath' and unwind after a 2 month practicum block.  The hotel was very nice with a pool, sauna and hot tub...although these areas were over run with children most of the night, haha.

Woke up this morning bright and early to catch our 7:15 am shuttle back to the Airport.  Thankfully we did not have long to wait (just enough time for a coffee). Our flight from Ottawa to Iqaluit was about three hours long on a small 60 passenger plane!  We received complimentary breakfast, coffee and tea...and a hot towelette and cookie (which was also very hot!). 

The flight was smooth, no turbulence or anything to speak of.  It was a beautiful clear day so I was able to see the land slowly become more void of trees, flat and white, the further we travelled north.  It was fantastic to look down and see the huge ice flows as we crossed the Hudson Strait.  When we finally reached Baffin Island it was almost difficult to notice where the frozen ice stopped and the land began, as both were flat and white - not a tree or town in sight.

We approached Iqaluit via the south. I was very lucky that I was sitting on the right side of the plane and had a clear view of the town as we approached.  My neighbour, a resident of the town for the past 27 years, pointed out some of the landmarks to me as we flew by.  I tried to make mental notes of where some of the places were he mentioned so that Krisanne and I would be sure to check them out - like the original Hudson Bay Company Buildings, the Legislature, and the museum.

We all bundled up in our huge coats, mitts, toques and scarves to exit the plane  as we were told it was minus thirty degrees (oh yeah, both in Ottawa and here in Iqaluit, you needed to go outside and walk up removable stairs to get onto the plane).  However, when I exited the plane it was gorgeous!  The sun was shining, it was windless and did not feel that cold at all.  Some people, myself included, were removing their hats and undoing their coats as they made their way to the terminal.

Krisanne and I caught the 5 minute cab ride to our hotel.  Apparently it's 6 dollars per person, flat rate, to go anywhere in town.  Pretty nice that you don't have to think about it!  After getting all settled in we quickly bundled up and took a walk around the town.  I must say, it is much larger than I had envisioned before arriving.  I made the foolish mistake of not putting on long-johns under my jeans and after about 10 minutes of walking I was nearly frozen solid from my thighs to my shins.  We had to duck into one of the Co-op stores to warm up, as I was not making it back to the hotel.

We took the opportunity to see what the store had to offer.  I was shocked that a lot of the food was actually fairly comparable to the prices we pay in Halifax.  It was interesting to see how certain items were really different though - like 15.99 for a 1 litre thing of juice, and ice cream was nearly 20 dollars for a standard tub.

Tomorrow Krisanne and I are going to take in the sites (everything was closed or closing early today as it's Sunday) before we have to catch our next flight to Cape Dorset.

Until next time!