Housesitting: Day 1

Last night, I awoke suddenly because it felt like I had a hair on my mouth. As I brushed it off and sleepily opened my eyes, I was startled by the sight of two huge green eyes staring back at me. Living with cats is going to take some getting used to!

When I woke up, the cats were staring at me. Not a "oh, we were waiting for you to get up!" stare, but a "oh, you're still here?" stare. As I prepared for work, I put the dry food in their bowls. They continued to stare. Thus sums up my life with the cats. It's a good thing they can't talk, or they would no doubt tell their owner that I am the most boring housesitter ever. : )


In the environmental class today, I talked with the students about the pros and cons of each of the recycling options that we are presenting to the Hamlet, stressing that we should be able to discuss them in detail when we make our presentation. I introduced the kids to the concept of a "carbon footprint" as we talked about how using planes or barges to recycle would have a bigger carbon footprint than having a facility in Cambridge Bay. However, the recyclables would be taken on normal flights, so no extra greenhouse gases will be emitted in the process. This is a relief, because as of now, it looks like using either Canadian North or First Air airlines is our best option.

After work, Johnny and I went shopping at the co-op for my groceries. Johnny is a 6th grade boy who was in Renee's 5th grade class last year. He comes to the Heritage Society every day after school to read, play on the computer and hang out with Renee. I have to admit, Johnny got on my nerves a little at first. He hangs around Renee all the time, coming over after school, waiting outside of her house, calling at least once a day...I didn't think I could take it if I was her. After a while, though, Johnny grew on me. It's true that he demands more attention than most kids his age, but he is a good kid, with a fun personality. Johnny knows almost every Cambridge Bay phone number. It's a good thing I like him, because after he went shopping with me, he invited himself over for dinner on Friday night. When I asked him what he wanted for dessert, he said, "rice." I laughed and said, "No, Johnny, what do you want after the rice?" and he said, "chicken." He also let it be known that he likes apples, oranges and Asian food. So we are going to have chicken stir-fry with some kind of fruit for dinner on Friday. I have no idea what I'm going to do for dessert. : )

I discovered a publication in the library today about FAS (Fetal Alcohol Syndrome). FAS is expressed in physical traits as well as mental disabilities.

Here is a really good article about FAS from the Nunavut Literacy Council: http://www.nunavutliteracy.ca/english/resource/learning/fas.pdf It is important to note that FAS and FAE (Fetal Alcohol Effects) manifest themselves in varying degrees of severity. According to one study entitled "Barriers to Youth Employment in Nunavut" (see page 19), learning disabilities in general are less likely to be diagnosed since the North has less medical and academic resources. Hopefully, Nunavut will continue to make it a priority to educate pregnant women about the dangers of drinking alcohol during pregnancy.