Leavin' on a Jet Plane

Liza and Dennis took me to the Freshwater Creek to take the polar plunge! As you can tell from my face, the water is quite cold!

You'll all be pleased to know that I did indeed make it back safely. The four plane flights home lasted from six in the morning to midnight on July 5th, so I was extremely glad that my parents (and my boyfriend!) were there to pick me up. It may have been the exhaustion setting in, but arriving home was quite emotional.

It could be years before I realize all of the ways I have grown because of my time in Cambridge Bay. I could not even begin to describe the way the experience has shaped my views of the world. Perhaps an excerpt of my speech at the potluck will provide some insight into my thoughts:

The thing that I love best about our summer of service is that there are no “rules.” Though they encourage you to immerse yourself in the community and learn as much as possible, there are no guidelines as to what you are supposed to learn or how you should measure your growth. That would be futile, of course, because you can’t predict how one is going to grow. For example, I did not grow in my cooking abilities this summer. However, I did live entirely on my own for the first time, and I loved it! Now, I just have to figure out how to move beyond microwaveable meals. : )

Sure, I learned a lot from just being on my own. But more importantly, I learned a lot about myself, about this community, and about life. I learned that I have a passion for writing, that I am very confident in my opinions but that they are constantly under revision, that I enjoy making a fool out of myself, that my favorite moments are the ones where everyone is laughing, that I have rare gifts, that I have weaknesses and fears that I never knew existed, that I have dreams I never existed…that I am very different now than I was two months ago.

I learned that I would probably not survive here during the winter (summer is hard enough!), that there is a wondrous thrill in being able to see for miles and miles across the land, that nothing is as big as the Arctic sky, that change comes quickly;

that this community’s strength is its people, that it mourns collectively, that it celebrates with passion, that it values life and those that give it…that the danger of falling in love with a place is that when you leave, you suddenly realize that you can’t take that place back with you, that you leave a piece of yourself behind at the same time.

My experiences here have been incredible: I have gone caribou hunting, discovered a new passion for muskox burgers, learned to drum dance, watched some amazing drum dancing, gone ice fishing and gone to the dump, hiked up Mount Pelly, ridden in a komatik, gotten beat up playing soccer, learned how to throat sing and sew mitts (kind of), been in a fire truck, seen daylight at four o’clock in the morning, played with some very cute husky puppies, finally gotten used to the nose wrinkle and eyebrow raising thing [how Inuit say "no" and "yes", respectively], eaten Canadian Oreos (which are better than American Oreos), avoided the swine flu, met incredible people and gained valuable insight into the issues most important to Nunavutsutmiut.

Now, after experiencing so much, I am excited to go home; not because of the weather, but because I am excited to see all the ways I can apply what I have learned here to my life there. I am positive that I will continue to realize the life lessons I received here when I am back in my element. If nothing else, I certainly know how to keep warm during the winter! Seriously, though, each and every one of you has played a role in inspiring me to develop and grow in ways that I have not yet recognized. And as I go through life, I will look back fondly upon the memories I have of Cambridge Bay and smile, knowing that it was one of the highlights of my life.

Thank you to all of my readers for following my adventures in Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, Canada! This is the last post that I will write, but I will be writing some essays and creating a slideshow for the scholarship program to document my experience as well. I greatly appreciate your support and your questions throughout the journey. I hope that my ramblings have sparked curiosity about the people of the Arctic and the issues they face.

The price of milk is one thing I will definitely not miss!

How CHARming

Today was the big going-away potluck! Renee made some char chowder, Lisa made some delicious lasagna, Brendan brought in some excellent homemade bread, and I, well, emptied out some canned fruit into a bowl. : )

It was a wonderful celebration, a chance for me to thank the people in the community who had made my experience in Cambridge Bay so wonderful. It was wonderful to see everyone before I left, especially since the recycling kids finally got to see their video! Well, it did skip a little (I later realized that the quality was too high). Then, the Heritage Society staff presented me with some really awesome gifts, including an ulu, a doll and a cool card with a picture of a char on the front that said "thanks for the CHARming visit)!! I attempted to explain my deep regard for all of them, but realized that I would never be able to express just how thankful I was to be a part of their family.

Everybody loves a potluck!

After work, I was invited to go to the Crockatt's cabin with their family. Kim and Dave's niece just arrived today and I had a great time getting to know her. She is a rising sophomore in college who is going to be working with the Heritage Society for the next month and a half (sounds a lot like me, eh?). We played cards, roasted hot dogs, walked out on the ocean and then walked on the land to see some tent rings. It was so neat to be able to see archaelogical remains in their natural element, not surrounded by red tape or a glass window! Around the tent rings were some smattering of bones as well. The one in the picture below was a fox jaw.

Liza and her fox jaw (she put it back) : )

Kim reminds me a lot of my mom in that she can identify everything. : ) She pointed out Arctic willow, a flower that you can pull out of the ground to eat the root, the tree rings, some bones and some muskox fur. She said that as it starts getting warmer, muskox will rub off their fur onto rocks. It makes great clothing; it's softer than cashmere!

One of the tent rings

After making some smores, we headed back into town. Joey and I talked for a little while, took some pictures with the cats, and then I stayed up late packing so that I could get some errands done tomorrow. I have so much stuff to do before I leave, including the polar plunge!

Busy as an Arctic Bee (Which Are Huge!)

It was quite a busy day today! I spent the day accomplishing things on my "things to do before I leave" list, which seems to grow more than it shrinks!

This included:

Going to the Post Office to ask Angela to close my box...

Making copies of all the newspaper articles I wanted to take home with me...

Inviting people to my party tomorrow!

Making a picture for the reporter that is writing the article about the recycling program...

This was my favorite failed attempt at a photo for the newspaper (we're supposed to be jumping).

High fives for recycling!

Staying up late to write my speech for tomorrow's luncheon...

Making sure the recycling video worked...

Going shopping for extra food supplies...

Writing thank you notes...

Buying touristy stuff...

Turning in my gym key...

and more!

Ack, I don't have any clean clothes! I knew I forgot something...the laundry!

I promise I'll have lots to talk about tomorrow!

We were all pretty exhausted today

Happy Canada Day!

He would wish you a "Happy Canada Day!" too, but he is a little preoccupied with his cotton candy

I celebrated my first Canada Day today! It was beautiful weather here! It reached 12 degrees Celsius around noon, and several people were in short sleeves or shorts! This was great news for us at the Heritage Society, because we were in charge of all the Canada Day events, which included a barbecue at the high school baseball field with games, cotton candy and a bannock-making competition!

I began my festivities by manning the temporary tatoo table, which meant that I got to stick tatoos on just about everyone. Then, I took a turn at a grill flipping burgers, which was a lot harder than it looked due to the fact that the wind was blowing the smoke from both grills directly in my face. It felt like I was breathing fire! After that, I organized a game of Inuit baseball and we played for the rest of the afternoon. I had a blast!

Sinclair waits patiently for his tatoo. Mine says, "Canada, eh!"

Meanwhile, Brendan organized the bannock-making competition. To have a shot at winning, contestants must mix their ingredients, light a fire and fry their bread. However, the competition is judged by time and taste. At another part of the field, Lisa was working her magic with the cotton candy machine. Yum!

A watched pan never fries

Directly after the barbecue, we all headed to the Community Hall to set up for tonight's Community Dance, the second half of our Canada Day festivities. We decorated in the grandest Canadian style we could and got all the desserts ready, some of which were donated from the DEW Line station. More impressively, Brendan made us a huge Canada Day cake by himself and it was delicious!

The line for the Canada Day cake

The Community Dance should have been named "Community Celebration", because it was a conglomeration of live entertainment, food, games, awards and dancing. I got to drum dance with some of the elders and later taught Cambridge Bay some of my favorite line dances. I had a great time dancing with all of the kids, and I am sure that one of my fondest memories will be of all of the Heritage Society staff showing off their best moves.

It was the best Canada Day I have ever had! : )

Rice Krispies (Mom likes Special K)

A few days ago, I got an e-mail from a reporter at the Nunavut News newspaper who said she was interested in our recycling initiative and wanted to know more about the project. This morning, she called for a phone interview, and asked about the involved parties and the steps we took to get to where we are now. I was so excited to talk about the project that I'm not exactly sure what I said, but I do know I managed to make my two most important points, which were:

1) This is not going to be just another unfinished project. Cambridge Bay will have a recycling program in the near future.

2) If nothing else, I hope that this project showed the students that they have the power to make big changes in this community, and that their voices are important and respected.

After lunch, I conducted an oral interview with Kim Crockatt, the director of the Nunavut Literacy Council. I chose to interview her because I admire that she, as an outsider, was able to become a valuable part of the community and initiate several incredible social programs.

I also took the opportunity to ask her about what inspired her to adopt her first child (she's had over 50 foster and adopted children!). Surprisingly, she said, "It was an accident, really!" She met her first daughter while working at the library. The little girl would come in every day, and Kim learned that she lived with her grandmother. When her grandmother died, Kim and her husband told the RCMP that they wanted to help in any way possible, which led to her moving in! Kim laughed and said, "Then, a few days later, the RCMP called and said that she had some brothers, so we moved them in too!"

Kim Crockatt...Superwoman

The rest of the workday was spent preparing for Canada Day tomorrow. We are organizing the community's festivities, so we spent the majority of the day baking desserts and moving in the barbecue supplies (unfortunately, not real barbecue...only hotdogs and hamburgers). I learned that I am no good at making Rice Krispy treats. I am comforted by the fact that this enabled me to fulfill a goal of mine for this summer, which was to further recognize my weaknesses. Now, I just have to figure out how to hide this newfound weakness! : )

I had to use force to keep Lisa from pilfering Rice Krispy treats

I spent the rest of the day working on the manual for the recycling program. I am including a history of the project (how the project was born and what has already been accomplished), directions for the future, a description of how the project could work and contact information for all parties involved.

It's almost Canada Day! Also, for those of you who didn't understand the title, it's from a song called "Cereal and Milk". : )

The Great Canadian-American Oreo Battle

Though today was not the epitome of excitement, one thing was certainly settled once and for all...

Canadian Oreos are better than American Oreos.

It's true. I thought it was just a figment of my imagination, but after the taste test I conducted today, I found that 5 out of 6 tasters agreed that they do indeed taste different. This is not surprising, as Oreos in the United States are made by Nabisco, whereas in Canada they are made by Mr. Christie. Three people favored the Canadian over the American brand, because it has a sweeter cream. Two people favored the American version, giving the reasons that it was not too sweet and that the cookie part tasted better. The final score was four for the Canadian Oreo (that includes my vote!), two for the American Oreo and one person who said they couldn't tell the difference.

Cameron was a Canadian fan

Brendan preferred the American Oreo

I was thinking about Minda's recent blog comments as I was running tonight; she wondered about why I said I thought I knew more about the prevalent social problems in Cambridge Bay than of those in Salisbury. It's a complicated question, really, and since I have been in the North, I have observed much that has allowed me to come closer to the truth.

At home, I was sheltered, and there is nothing wrong with that. However, it is unfortunate when people live in their own comfortable bubble in their own neatly trimmed yard in the middle of a quiet suburb, because though they are vaguely aware that social problems exist, they don't know many people who deal with them. Though I did my fair share of service in the community as I grew up, I served in "comfortable" ways, like the Special Olympics or at nursing homes. Because of this, I developed a passion for service. However, now, whenever I encounter people who are struggling with serious social problems, like abuse or addiction, I am not sure how to handle the situation, or I try to escape from the awkwardness through humor.

Don't get me wrong, I am grateful that my parents sheltered me from the evils of the world; I really am! However, I am also grateful for opportunities like this Summer of Service, which allows me to experience these issues more in depth than I would get to in my hometown (where I already know which streets to avoid and people are less willing to share about their problems). I hope that in the future I will have the opportunity to engage in more "dangerous" service experiences, because I want to understand the difficult struggles that others go through, and to learn from firsthand experiences.

Part of the problem, too, is the Southern "that's just the way it is" attitude. If you have ever lived in a small town, chances are you've heard these words many times. If you are like this, you have seen it all. You have tried to help, and you know that nothing with ever change. You are a jerk. How would you feel if you were a victim of abuse, addiction, gang violence, etc. and someone told you that nothing would ever change? I mean, frankly, I can't help but become exasperated when encountering this attitude. Nothing is ever permanent! Since change is inevitable, why not change for the better?

I am really excited about returning to Duke in the fall. Thus far, i have not had the opportunity to do service within the Durham community. I have already begun to brainstorm next semester's activities, and I am excited about the possibility of assisting with a Girl Scout troop. Perhaps I can find other, more "dangerous" ways of serving as well. ; )

The Beauty of the Tundra

The inside of the Anglican Church

I arrived 15 minutes early at the Anglican church this morning, so I took a seat around the middle and snapped some pictures while I waited for the service to start. There were only a handful of elders at the Inuinnaqtun service, held every Sunday at 11:15 am. Mary Kilaodluk led the service, and was very kind to tell me the page numbers for the hymns and scripture readings in English. At one point, she turned to David and conversed with him for about a minute. I could have sworn that she said the word, "kublunuk" (white person) several times, but I wasn't sure what was going on, of course. Then, she read the passage in English for me. : )

Later in the day, Lisa took me four-wheeling out to Mount Pelly! It was a beautiful day (the temperature is about 7 degrees Celsius now), and it seemed that everybody was out at their cabins enjoying the fine weather. Now that the ice is almost gone, the muskox are down by the river and wildflowers are beginning to bloom. I never knew rocks and moss could be so beautiful, but that is basically all that the tundra is, and boy, is it gorgeous! On the back of her four-wheeler, I caught myself grinning at all I saw, which unfortunately made for a very gritty mouth.

Moss, lichens, rocks and wildflowers

We hiked up Mount Pelly to the very top, encountering a hunting fort on the way up! I'm sure there's a more official name for it than "hunting fort", but regardless of its name, it's basically a stone wall that people hid behind while waiting for caribou and muskox to come along. Mount Pelly is known to be a popular muskox 'resort' of sorts, since it is home to lots of yummy plants for them to eat. At the top, there is a World War II memorial to all of the Inuit who served.

From the hunting fort...to the top!

The view from the side of Mount Pelly. Just a few weeks ago, all that land was covered in ice!

On our way back to town, we swung by Old Town, which is home to the old stone church, the Eagle, the radio tower (which has its own Wikipedia page!), the (failed) wind farm and the Maud. The Maud is a shipwreck that is visible only during the summer when the ice melts. She was meant to sail the Northeast passage, but in her later years she supplied goods to trading outposts instead. She got stuck in the ice at Cambridge Bay in 1926 and sunk in 1930. All that remains is the bottom of the boat; the wood was all picked off by locals (wood is a precious commodity in the Arctic!).

Lisa took me right underneath the tower! We are not afraid of danger! : )