Day 57- May 16- Joanasie

This kid is quickly becoming one of my favourite little guys ever!! (just as a note, I use the word favourite VERY lightly, I am an extremist when it comes to it's use, I pretty much LOVE things with all I have or really dislike them. Very few things are not my favourite at some point unless I really hate them!) Joanasie is such a sweet heart. He is friends with Imaapik and has come a few times with him to my house. He is ALL INUK, in the sense that TV doesn't do it for the guy. Unlike most of Imaapik's friends that he brings to my house to play my Batman: Arkham Asylum game, Joanasie only watches the TV if it's HIS turn. The second someone else is playing, he's walking around curiously, asking "What's this?", "What's it for?", "Why do you have that?", "I have one like that.", "What are you doing?", "I hate doing dishes too.". He's talking my ear off, intrigued by me, my life, my surroundings, what I like, don't like, what I am doing tomorrow, where did I come from, etc. etc. He's very kind and doesn't try to take advantage of hospitality.



He and Imaapik were so funny to watch during Little Big Planet, they were getting so excited and nervous at one point of jumping above fiery platforms that I couldn't resist taking a picture of them. The other picture was one that he himself insisted I take. I think he really loves this ear flap hat since he is always wearing around outside. Just before he left to eat lunch he said, "no Gillian, you need one with my hat!" Cutest kid ever!!



Theme song for today: Where I need to be by Kim Wempe

Day 56- May 15- Samuel Brisson

What a day! The weather this weekend has been some of the best the north has to offer, it gets SO hot (out of the shade and wind) and everything looks so cheerful and wonderful that you can barely keep yourself indoors for long. I went for a truck ride to check out all of the "ends" of the road. Things have melted down so fast I wouldn't be surprised if people have gone out by boat already! It seems so fast this year. However, people are still traveling on the land by skidoo, not my cup of tea, skimming over cracks in the sea ice, zooming over deep cold slushy ice water, getting sore from trying to get machines un-stuck... The bravest of the town go at this time of year.

Kids are hard to get inside for lunch on days like this. They love the adventure of finding all of the junk that is suddenly appearing from under melting snowbanks. I caught Imaapik and his friends building a, hmm, ahem, maybe a robot, but I am not too sure, out of "treasures" they found all over the teachers' yards. Have to post this pic because they were so proud!



In the evening, Nancy and I decided to go the the weight room instead of getting lazy in front of the TV. Samuel was hanging out with Nancy's daughter at the time and was ever so helpful getting the key for us. I thought about how much I like Samuel. He's one of the teacher's kids and came to GR about three years ago I think. He's very sporty and is an awesome hockey player. He takes his training very seriously and I think it is really quite admirable. He has a great sense of humour and has come very far in his comprehension and ability to use both Inuktitut and English very well despite having come up at an older age than most kids. I am supposed to have in my Sec. 2 English language class next year so it will be fun to teach him as well. Great guy!




Theme Song for today: Original Prankster by The Offspring

Day 55- May 14- Pascal Poulin

I knew I HAD to break out of the bad week of missing REAL new photos each day so I went out to the street to find a victim near the kids who were playing Inuit baseball. Initially when I was missing having an SLR I started my discussion with Pascal Poulin, the gym teacher and resident photographer at Ulluriaq. He came north with his family in my second year, initially as a French primary teacher. He;s a fun guy with lots of creative ideas and passion for different projects. He loves the students and making opportunities for exposing them to new things such as model plane flight club, an indoor climbing wall, etc. His son was my Day 40.



Pascal is a very talented photographer as well. His father was a pro and I guess inspired him to get involved in the pastime. He was a Nikon man so I also went that route, buying a Nikon D5000 last April. I'm happy with the camera and purchased a wide angle from Pascal when he was upgrading his own equipment. The song for today is not random, Pascal is a big Tragically Hip fan, so here's the Hip!



Theme Song for Today: New Orleans is Sinking by The Tragically Hip

Day 54- May 13- Sanak E.

This guy, Sanak, was the also SO fun to watch. He went down to the final two for the Secondary French sector of the Spelling Bee. I don't know Sanak very well however, he was involved in the Tundra Trot three years ago when I was still coaching. I have never seen a guy with as much drive and focus as him. When he trained for running, he was very focussed on keeping a good form, doing the most he possibly could, but also could balance his training with other commitments fairly well. I really enjoyed coaching him, he was really reserved but gave his all when he was on the course. I was impressed to see him do so well with this much more academic competition. He spelled word after word and made it through many more rounds than everyone except Jessica, who caught him at the end. He was exuding pride with each round with his glowing smile. I really enjoyed being their to witness his success! I hope you enjoy the pictures.



Theme Song for today: With A Girl Like You by The Troggs

Day 53- May 12- Lizzie Unatweenuk

Lizzie is my chosen one for today. The picture is from a couple weeks ago, during the spelling bee. The event was a very fun and memorable afternoon, our first one that we've had as far as I have been there, but for sure something we will repeat in the future! I absolutely LOVED watching two individuals in particular, hence today and tomorrow's posts!



Lizzie was a highlight for me. I have taught her only a few different courses the last two years. She is an incredibly kind and rather quiet girl. She often helps her mom after hours clean the school. She doesn't usually draw much attention to herself, so the fact that she confidently joined in to the Spelling Bee, when it was a fully option event. She sat patiently, calm cool and collected the whole time and went head to head with one of the strongest and smartest guys in the Secondary English sector. She wasn't nervous, or at least never looked like it. Many of the other students were shy, timid and you could barely hear them speak when they spelled their words. A few girls even stood up and walked off the stage when they heard the word they were being asked to spell without even trying once. But Lizzie wasn't phased by anyone else and in the end she successfully spelled a final word before McCombie was eliminated. It was so nice to see, Lizzie doing SO well! I am very proud of her!



Theme Song for today: Change by Wide Mouth Mason

Day 52- May 11- Maggie Imbeault

I stopped into school on May 11. I was on the hunt for a beautiful person for my photo of the day. Maggie walked into the office and I LOVED the nassak(hat) she had on and how nicely the colours of her hat went with her coat. Not to mention she is a wonderful lady even without that excuse. I kind of put her on the spot taking her picture like that. She humored me and it was a fun three pictures to take. These aren't actually in order, first one was the one with her eyes too closed. Once that one was taken we checked it out and agreed the next one had to have more opened eyes, but we kind of made it into a joke and were laughing and being silly so much that the second picture turned out like a scared face- (the bottom one in the collage). To be honest, after checking all three out, I actually LOVE that picture, despite the fact that she was making a funny face. It turned out kind of funny since she has some of Chris' class art monsters behind her. I would love to think I had really planned the framing of the shot because I love it, but it was a bit of an accident since I was sort of rushing to take it so she wouldn't back out.

Maggie has been teaching in the K-3 sector for many years. She has some pretty awesome kids and is a super mom to them. She has a wonderful sense of humour and I enjoy having lots of laughs when we run into each other and talk in the hall, office or outside school. Hope you enjoy the picture!




Theme Song for today: Them Kids by Sam Roberts

Day 51- May 10- Susie Emudluk

Trying to play catch up, I was bad and have missed posting for TOO many days. SORRY about that to my readers. I hope I haven't lost you all!! It's been a busy week of trying to finish up lots of different things regarding school for next year and around my house before I leave in a few days for Nova Scotia for the summer.

Susie Emudluk is such a special lady. She has been an Inuktitut teacher for the younger students at the school since I have been in George River. More importantly however, I love her willingness to share stories about the past, share information about the Inuit culture and her own life. I love when our prep periods in the schedule match up so that I can occasionally catch a few minutes in the school office each week. She was one of the women who went on the slushy trip to Koroc on the weekend and that is where I took these pictures. She was very excited about her little fish and then over at the trees she paused with her tea and stretched our her arms while sucking in the deepest breath of fresh air. I loved that moment because it is exactly how I feel so many days up here!- taken with the beauty, freshness and freedom!






Theme Song of the Day: I've Been Thinking about you by Londonbeat (Downloaded it when I found it by accident on iTunes, brought back memories of junior high)

Day 50- May 9- Heather Rose Etok

Woo hoo, the big 50! Thank you SO much Heather Rose, a fellow blogger and super sweet little sister of mine, for agreeing to be my 5-0! Heather has a blog of her own, is a very good photographer, is a very intelligent student, is a tremendously fast reader and a super sweet girl. I love this girl to pieces!! She is amazing with babies and little kids, even her little brother, Imaapik, who sometimes drives her crazy. She is going to be in my class for the first time next year. For some reason I never had the chance until next year to have that class, everyone else always got them because they wanted me to teach the Applied homeroom and also pick up stray math and science classes that no one else was willing to teach. Next year however, we have two Science/Math junkies on staff for our sector, so I finally get to return to my roots, English and Social Studies. I am excited to have her and her classmates FINALLY!! She will be in Secondary 4, only two more years until she gets to go to college.

I have had lots of fun times with Heather, out on the land, camping, picnics, soft snow stories but also fun memories from the time I met up with her family in the south, stayed downtown Toronto and watched "Dirty Dancing" the musical, oh and got scared by lots of homeless guys at night when we walked back from the Shoppers two blocks away from our hotel.



I went to the end of the road to Penina's tent for a little picnic with some of her extended family. They were getting together mostly to celebrate Sarah's last day of her visit to the north. Sarah has three sisters in Kangiqsualujjuaq but moved to Nova Scotia many years ago. Her sisters are Mary, Jessie and Hillita (sp?). We had a fun time with lots of the kids around, eating yummy food, getting fresh air and hearing stories, like when Penina and Nancy were scared after her parent's 4 wheeler caught on fire. It was a very fun time!



Theme song for today: Yes! Yes! Yes! by Hey Rosetta!

Day 49- May 8- Yayi Etok

What a gorgeous day it was! My friend Nancy called me with the simple question "Do you want an adventure today?". I love friends who know you enough to be able to speak your language, not literally English, but figuratively, as in, they know how to ask a simple question in a way that you will not be able to respond with a passionate answer. So, clearly I went, who says no to an adventure?

An adventure it was. Everything has been melting down, so even finding a route out of town that did not include crossing a lake was a challenge, the normal two minute ride to the top of the water station hill, took about 7 or 8. Most of the route was easy until we got to Ujarasutjulik where two of the skidoos were stuck at a narrow pass in slush. Nancy had a tow rope along, so they strapped it onto the back of my skidoo and we pulled them out. From there, we had many more adventures in slush and water, as we passed a section of the Koroc River that was open, fast flowing rapids. It was fun, but the adrenaline was overshadowing any fear that you could feel. I was lucky because I know my skidoo has a lot of "guts" and I also wasn't towing a wooden qamoutik, which acts like a complete "drag"(sorry for the pun) when you encounter a slush or water party.

I was most impressed by the older ladies that we travelled with. I don't know their exact ages but they are easily 60 (if not over). They are tough though, they've been camping and hunting and fishing for longer than my mother has been around and talk about spry. I watched as they climbed all over the rocks where we had our fire and tea, collected firewood from in the deep snow, broke down trees to help the skidoos that were drowning in the metre deep water, no mobility troubles there I'll tell ya!! I was very tossed up when choosing a photo of the day, I will include one of these ladies, the strong women of Kangiqsualujjuaq, however, I finally chose Yayi as my subject since he was the only brave man to accompany all of us ladies.



I've know Yayi from my first year in GR. He actually built me my first qamoutik as a Christmas present from his family. It was still travelled with me on all of my camping trips since. He is a fun loving kind of guy. Loves his kids to pieces. Loves sports and trying new ones like snowboarding. He's got a good sense of humour and is a talented artist as well. I caught him drilling his 14th hole of the first hours that we were at Koroc yesterday, did I mention he is a very helpful guy!



Theme song of Today: The Icicle Melts by The Cranberries

Day 48- May 7- Mary Sam Annanack

I was walking around town between rain showers today. Chatted with some former students, then went to the school to see what was going on. Since my Day 47 person is gone to Montreal, Mary Sam is replacing. I am always surprised when I see Mary working inside. She is such a outdoorsy person and looks so natural and happy when she is outside.


I don't know Mary very, very well she is close to my age, so clearly she was never a student. Her two sons are younger so I haven't taught them either, however, I did have her brother David Dan in my class for a few years. I loved teaching David. He was a very unique guy, very mature and responsible when he left school to accept a full time job at the Co-op it was a huge loss in my group. He was a positive leader and a fantastic role model. But enough about him, Mary learned about the TV show from her brother who had been in my class when we started watching LOST. They both fell in love with the show and have really enjoyed keeping up on the seasons. Mary is active in the Junior Canadian Rangers, enjoys her time on the land. She has also been participating in the Nunavik Adventure Challenge. I like Mary Sam, and wanted to share her with you today. Especially with such rare shots of her stuck at a desk!! ha ha



Theme Song for today: Get Gone by Fiona Apple

Day 47- May 6- Sandra Etok

So, I have almost made my way through Sandra's family, and thought this would a good time to get her as she is leaving for a holiday in Montreal tomorrow. Sandra's mom, Penina was day 34, her sister, Monica, saved me on day 4, and her niece, Vanalena, was the cutie pie I had on day 20. Last night after supper, Sandra dropped in for a few hours to hang out, play on the computer and do some last minute preparation for her trip. She graciously accepted my request for her to be "my 47".


Sandra was a student when I first arrived here. She studied in French so I was never actually her teacher, but would see her around in the hallways every day. She has recently become the school secretary at Ulluriaq. She is a fun girl, loves music and laughs a lot; like her mom actually. She is doing a really good job at the school. She is awesome in all three languages (Inuktitut, French and English), which is very common among the students who take French up here since they are exposed to Inuktitut from birth, and then they are exposed to English all over the place not just on TV but in meetings, interactions at the store, FM radio, etc. When students study in French in school, it is their only real and consistent means of acquiring or being exposed to French, so it leads to trilingualism, at least verbally. Quite impressive to say the least!! Have a great trip, Sandra!

Theme Song of the Day: Get it Poppin' by Fat Joe (Just came on my random playlist, it's so freaking catchy and happy... Check it out!)

Day 46- May 5- Carrie Power

I always seem to be one day behind, but so far, I have been managing to keep on top of it. I have enjoyed taking time each day thinking about people. The people around me and all of their positive qualities or contributions to our society.



Today I chose Carrie. She hosted a gathering at her place after school that I attended. Carrie came a few years ago to GR with her husband, Bill, and her two sons. She is a primary English teacher at the school and an avid runner in her spare time. Due to her interest in running, she joined in the coaching if Tundra on my third year of it. I enjoy this pictures of her with Ludavig, he was giggling and enjoying bouncing up and down and playing with the balloons. Hope you like them too!



Theme Song of the Day: Come on get higher by Matt Nathanson

Day 45- May 4- Kitura Obed

I've been baking muffins. Rushing around, wishing so much that I was outside, behind my house on the old church bench I bummed from the neighbour's yard. It's a gorgeous Spring day. I also wish I was going with my friend, Nancy, Day 1, to Koroc for a few hours. To feel that fresh warm wind on my face. But I am not. I feel the need to go to the baby shower for one of my colleagues because she is starting an exciting adventure, she'll be leaving tomorrow and I think it's what I want to do. This sun is making the decision hard. The new book I started is ALSO making it hard. Life is full of decisions. Many are good choices, many are necessary choices, some are bad but more often than not we are faced with deciding between many good things. Those choices always seem to be so much harder!


Kitura, my photo today, is a very special lady. I guess that is fairly redundant a comment, considering that I do have LOTS of choices in my person of the day, but I choose them because they have touched or inspired me some way. She has, so here she is. Kitura makes me feel good, we laugh a lot together, I am including two pictures out of the 6 I took. 4 of the six were of her laughing, one was a funny face that caused us to start giggling. That's our relationship- not a joke, but a good feeling friendship. I have taught two of her kids, Andrea and Eva. They like her, were a lot of fun to teach, full of ideas, smiles, creativity. Kitura is also very musical. She works as a janitor at the school, but spends her breaks frequently playing on the keyboard and singing. She has written songs and performed them in town. She likes to share her feelings that way. Cheers to the sun and music that binds us all together!


Theme Song of Today: Paper Shoes by Incubus

Day 44- May 3- Tara

I'm not going to lie to you. Tonight I felt a little bit creepy trying to get my photo of the day. I was desperate. I spent most of the day cleaning up the house and the annoying mound of dishes I had let accumulate. I read and went for a walk in the afternoon. On my walk, I didn't feel like carrying my camera. I wanted to travel light, compact, aerodynamic to get some speed up. After supper, I read some more and on a break between chapters I was faced with the decision to cheat and fill in today's shot with on of my "stock", or to struggle, get out there and try to find someone to capture.

*ENTER CREEPY FEELING*

I went next door to the neighbour's to take out a pork roast so it would defrost by tomorrow morning for the slow cooker. I tried desperately to convince their middle daughter into being my photo of the day, but she was shy. (I still hope to get her later, so I didn't use pressure, hoping that eventually she'll agree!) So, I was left with two choices: try to find one of the teachers to bother, even though it looked like everyone was in for the night already, or walk out onto the street and stop the first group of kids that pass by. I chose the second. To make the experience even worse, it was dark, and as I walked towards the road in front of my house, I had no idea who the kids were, how old they were, whether they even knew me very well or not.

Fortunately it was two girls I knew pretty well from school. Tara happily agreed to the photo. I actually don't know her very well but I often see her hanging around the store or walking around outside when she is bored. Like many other kids, she is the type that would run up to say hello, ask "namu?" (or "where at you going?") and then ask "Can I follow?" You don't have to be lonely when you live in a small town like this, because almost anytime you go out, there is almost always a group of kids that is looking for something to do, or someone different to hang out with. Tara is one of those super kind, happy kids. I can't wait to see what the future holds for her!! THANKS Tara!!! You saved me!!




Theme Song for today: Wash Away by Joe Purdy

Day 43- May 2- Kylie

I just arrived home from a delicious meal, Stephanie made her favourite pork tenderloin recipe- it was stuffed with a cranberry, cherry, walnut stuffing and served with steamed asparagus and wasabi mashed potatoes. Yum! It was SO tasty. It was a very last minute meal planned earlier in the day, but so fantastic.

I spent most of the day outside as it was so nice and mild! I helped Nancy, Heather and Andrea dig out the doors of the shed where they store their 4-wheelers, since they were itching to get them out and take a drive around. It's slowly becoming the end of skidoo season. (sob sob) I also did a walk to the airport to try to work up my hunger having heard the menu.



My photo subject of the day is Kylie. One of the pictures is of her and her grandmother, Maggie. Maggie is the spouse of Jean, my old principal, and she is the president of KRG (the regional government body of Nunavik). Kylie lives in Kuujjuaq with her parents, Liliane and Derek. She gets to visit a few times a year and has to be one of the sweetest little girls I know. She has the most contagious, hard core belly laugh/giggle ever, and is so happy all the time! One of the pictures was from last year when she came for a visit during the big retirement celebration. We had supper at Jean's place one night, and we were laughing and making jokes a lot in the living room.




Theme song for today: Indian Moon by State Radio

Day 42- May 1- Betty Angel

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY MOM AND DAD!!! What is like 34 years now? You guys are the best!! LOVE YOU!!

Not a new picture, but I chose her from my stock photos. When I am at events I have been trying to capture extra shots for days like today! Betty Angel- you are Number 42!! I used to spend more time with Betty when she was younger. She was so little when I got here, don't even know if she had started school yet. She used to spend quite a bit of time with Nikita (her cousin) and I hung out at Niki's house a lot back then. She barely spoke English so we had one of those magical relationships you can have with kids where you just find a way to communicate despite the language barrier. She is gentle, kind and generous. She is also SOOOOOOO bright- back in my first few years Nikita would bring her over with some of her friends and they'd play school with them, teaching them math, English and have them working with markers and scrap papers in my spare room. I used to have a VERY full fridge of papers with "100%" or "10/10" written on them. Ahhh, the good old days. I posted two pictures of her- one from Culture day where she was playing a tradition game where you put a string inside of a kamik(leather boot) and try to pull it slowly and "catch" a caribou knuckle type bone. The other picture was a little sudden, I taped her on the shoulder during the Spelling Bee and snapped it. Betty is a really sweet and intelligent girl. She is now getting close to the end of primary at school. She has been studying in French, so I likely won't teach her but it will be fun to see how she does! Enjoy!!






Theme Song for Today: Miss Halfway by Anya Marina

Day 41- April 30- Maxime Lamoureux

Playing catch up a little. But let's pretend.

Friday- I spent most of the morning reading and then cooking in the afternoon. My neighbour planned to host a curry chicken/Stanley cup watching party for some Habs fans and one Pens fan. I volunteered to make the chicken and decided to try making the naan bread again, hoping that I could get it to be a little more fluffy than last time. It is a rather labour intensive bread, many steps but very worthwhile. I decided to put a bit of chopped onion in addition to the garlic. Tasted great.

Maxime was hanging out at the house when I was doing the naan and chicken, like a chicken with my head cut off. Running between the table and stove working on the different parts of the meal. It was fun, but made me sure that I wouldn't want to ever own my own restaurant! I asked Max if she wouldn't mind being my photo of the day and she graciously accepted.


I've known Maxime since my first year here in GR. Her family was my neighbour at my first apartment. I don't really remember her much from back then, she was probably in grade three at that point. Over the last couple of years however, we've had a chance to get to know each other and she is a really fantastic girl. She has LOTS of interests- sports(ie. snowboarding), arts (ie. SINGING(wow!!), visual art, dancing, music); simply put I rarely see her without something that is exciting happening to her or with her. She is a good student, although I haven't taught her since she is in French. It will be sad for lots of people next year because her family is moving to another community to work in another school, and she will be completing her last two years of school before CEGEP at a school in Montreal. I am sure she is both sad about leaving her friends and excited about the incredible opportunities that she has ahead of her. She will definitely never be forgotten by many people she has touched here in town. She has a way of making us laugh (sometimes in unplanned ways involving water- hehehe) and feel good. I had to post two pics- one because of her beautiful eyes, which I didn't capture very well in the shot- they are a piercing green- and I didn't realize how much like her mom's they are until I cropped this picture!! Freaky! Enjoy!!



Theme Song for today: Holiday in Spain by Counting Crows

Day 40- April 29- Liam Poulin

Today I wrote some letters for the first time in a while. On my way to the post office, I made a stop in to see one of my students, Caroline, and her new baby boy Joshua. I was going to take a picture while I was there, but I was kind of shy at the time... but maybe on another day, before I leave for summer. I then continued on to the school. I have been on a kick lately of making mix CDs, the still pretty cool younger cousin of the mix tape. I only had a few different mix tapes in my past, one of my favourites was a mix of Australian tunes with some of the fanciest doodles on the cover. It was from an exchange student, Kylie Crane, that I met during my year in Germany. I think it was an early birthday present when I visited her in Bremen. We skipped school, bought black cherries from the market and ate them on the outside stairs of the school while others went to class. Good times! Hard to believe it was 12 years ago this month!

At school, I wandered around a little bit to see what was happening. Usually those wanderings lead me by the girls culture room, where they rarely close the door and are always inside creating, sewing, designing and decorating mitts, parkas, scarves, and decorative pins. It's quite amazing to see the work. When I went by today, there was one little guy, who opted out of hunting (the boys culture class' favourite activity), so he could continue work on his alirtiq(sp? boot liners). He is the son of the gym teacher, Pascal. Liam is a fun kid, he's picked up both English and Inuktitut very quickly since coming to the north. He is a very creative and enthusiastic kid, plays hockey but loves science and movie making too. Enjoy!





Theme song for today: Wasting Time by Jack Johnson

Day 39- April 28- Mark Brazeau

Habs win a rather unlikely series with the Washington Capitals tonight. I love those kind of stories- underdogs that triumph. Very Canadian! I don't usually pay much attention to the games during the regular season but once the playoffs start it is exciting to track the Canadian teams and see if we still have the "je ne sais quoi" to take home the cup. My friends planned a pizza/nacho party to celebrate the game 7. Nancy, Mark, Andrea, Stephanie, Jean and myself all watched the game together in front of their Sharp big screen. The pizza turned out nicely- my favourite (and maybe everyone's) was the "green and white" inspired one: homemade whole wheat crust, olive oil and pesto sauce, garlic seasoned chicken, mushrooms, green peppers, roasted garlic, sauteed onions and a mix of white cheddar and feta cheese. Yum!

My photo of the day is Mark. I think he's too shy to let me take his picture, UNLESS he is with his dog team.So, I have to use a photo from two weekends ago instead. The weather hasn't been very conducive to running the dogs lately, so it's starting to feel like maybe they are done until things melt for road/trail training starts. Mark is the new Principal at school this year. Since I started at Ulluriaq, he's been working in administration though, so it's not new to him. I like working with him because he is a very hard worker, is creative, has a great rapport with the kids and is not afraid to use a little bit of heart in his job. Sadly, too many times government in particular tries to only make decisions in terms of black and white rules without considering the human faces that the decisions affect. Mark is trying his best to consider the faces, the families, the kids, the teachers. I hope that he will never be forced to give up that side of himself, since it is probably why our school is one of the most welcoming, kind, friendly and successful schools in the region.



I would also like to take a moment and pay homage to the purple fleece coat that he is wearing. Since I arrived in 2003, I have heard stories about this coat- it was from Mountain Equipment Co-op back when they still had a 300 rated polar fleece. He has tried to replace it, with all it's fadedness, holes and "90's styled colour", but somehow I still see it as his first choice. There's something to be said about it, somehow it just never dies!



Theme song for today: No Rain by Blind Melon

Day 38- April 27- Clara Hughes

Well, I had a kind of hectic day and didn't take the time to grab a photo of the day. I did however get inspiration for my person of the day from a very nice card I received in the mail. I LOVE mail, I really want to send REAL mail much more, it's so wonderful getting it, reading it and thinking about the trouble the person went through to put it together and send it. I find usually we take more time writing snail mail than we do with emails, that have become more like a work thing than a personal thing these days.

I got a thank you note from Clara, who was here last month to work with the students and the local hockey program. It was a brief visit but a nice one. She was a real inspiration to the staff and students during her presentation. She also encouraged and set a great example to the student athletes as well as she worked with them during the weekly practices. It was a very positive experiences for all of us, and I think to her as well. This is not a photo from today clearly, please forgive me for that, but I liked it all the same.



Theme Song for today: Tubthumping by Chumbawamba

Day 37- April 26- Willis Emudluk

I concentrated today on taxes. That was my only goal that I knew I wouldn't accept NOT completing by the end of the day. I upped the ante a little bit and even said that I wanted to finish before lunch, and managed to have both tabulated, rough drafts finished, supporting documents sorted by 12:05. Made the rest of my day seem very satisfying!

I walked twice to the co-op after lunch, since I forgot the tax envelopes at home the first time. Then Imaapik brought two random new friends over to play PS3 after school, Morgan and Willis. Willis as been here before, once, and I think he might be one of the sweetest little boys ever! Naturally there was no hesitation in choosing him for the beautiful person of the day!

I don't know for sure if Emudluk is his last name, but I know that's his mom's last name so I was guessing. His mother, Cecilia, was the school secretary for most of my years at the school. She is very helpful and cheerful, so I think that is where Willis learned those qualities. Willis has such cute, endearingly funny phrases that make me smile. He tries very hard in English, even though he has never formally taken it in school. I love seeing his smiley face around the school or town, because he is so clearly genuine in his good mood that it really becomes contagious. I love him so much I want to grab his cheeks like an Italian grandmother in the movies every time I see him.





Theme Song for today: Dashboard by Modest Mouse

Day 36- April 25- Jessie Papak

I was very successful today. Successful at procrastinating from doing my taxes. I'm not bragging about this, I am kind of annoyed with myself, but it is one of those things you dread, like going to the doctor, and once you go or start it's never as bad as it seems. It is just SO very difficult to start. This year in particular as I have receipts from renovations that I am able to claim, so that makes doing the taxes not as straightforward and "the same" as past years. Ugh... Doesn't matter that due to that refund I might actually get money back this year, it's just the thought of the extra minutes of work it will take to do that unknown part that I dread. But I determined on Saturday, that I would in fact enjoy my weekend and do them first thing on Monday... Tomorrow... morning. Hmmm. No more waiting I guess!

I spent the day doing things I like. I read lots of the book, "Perks of being a Wallflower" and am in the last section now. It's really good actually, I highly recommend it to all! then I got my iPod charged up and went for a skidoo ride, with my snowshoes at hand so I could hike around a bit if I found a beautiful spot. I went down past the airport and up a big hill that we sometimes take with the dogs. This hill is tall, towering even and it has a spine that runs from Alain's Lake down to the bay (where the watermelons grow). I drove close to the top of the hill, across snow and even some exposed bushes and tundra on my Skidoo. Then I walked further up on foot, trying to get a good shot of the water that is ice free already in the river and bay!

While I was walking up, I started to waiver a little bit. The wind was strong, so strong I could barely breathe air in through my right nostril, it was completely numb from the cold and pressure. I actually felt the wind pushing me so hard I felt like I could easily lose my footing, and off to my left side was a sheer cliff running the length of the trail I was walking. I felt as though if I had vertigo ever, I would not want to be anywhere near this trail or else I might not make it to the next day. I walked to the third rise, squatted behind a boulder, clutching my mitts carefully and firmly while I took out my camera for some pictures. Within seconds my hands were icy and almost unable to take more than three or four pictures.


I went from there back towards town, over an unfamiliar yet freshly cut track, checked out the other side of town before deciding on going back up the hill behind the water station to see how the trails for camping looked. As I climbed the hill out of town on my machine, I kept pressing heavier and heavier on the throttle and started flying across the lakes and hills. The sun and skidoos have made the trails a perfect highway. It was a really great ride. I got off at another spot and explored a few hills and in the trees a little bit on foot. When I came back into town I drove unknowingly though three groups of ptarmigan on the hill behind the school. As I approached them, they'd suddenly leap into flight and swarm all around my head as they fled from me. When I got home, I went for a stroll around town before settling in for supper.

I saw Jessie on my way home from a walk. She is kind of new in town. I didn't meet her until I got back here in February. She is living with a couple of teachers a few doors down. I have never met a kinder, more friendly girl in my life. She is a great photographer as well, and is super excited every time she sees you. She is good friends with Theresa, one of the French students. I think she is enjoying her time here in town!


Theme song for today: The Sound of Settling by Death Cab for Cutie (That part where they sing "Bap Aah, etc. always gets stuck in my head when I a driving on days like today)

Day 35- April 24- Anne Lanteigne

It's Anne's Birthday on Monday so Stephanie hosted a little event for her, since Kerrin wasn't able to have everyone at her place. Kerrin (and incredible cook) had made an incredible array of food- curry, burritos, etc. I brought some cocoa/cayenne rolls that I made in the afternoon. They turned out pretty good. Something different. It was a small affair but nice.



Anne is the mother of Nikita and the grade 7 teacher at school. (Well, with the reform it's called "Pre-Secondary", but it's hard to break old habits!) She is an incredibly generous woman, she took very good care of me when I first got to the north; helped me figure out my new skidoo, took me fishing and camping, invited me for lots of wonderful meals and socials, and helped me figure out things at school. Anne is a lot of fun, she knows how to let loose and have a good time, she always makes me laugh. Anne has a wonderful family, I love them very much!

This pic is a more recent one of Anne with her first grand daughter, Anjali.
Theme Song of the day: New by No Doubt

Day 34- April 23- Penina Etok

Again I am sitting down at the end of today and wondering HOW I managed as much as I have. I feel like I need a vacation from this "vacation". Mind you, I have been rather into work lately, and in fact one of the teachers will be starting a preventative leave on Monday and if the school board approves it, I might actually replace her to finish off the year. We'll see on Monday what the decision is. As a result of this possibility, I went in for a period of class this morning to get a taste of what the pilot program for Social Studies that Lesley has been doing this term is all about. I will be annoyed if after all of that I am not permitted to fill in, but whatever. Time will tell.


This afternoon I worked on some things at home, baked a cocoa coffee cake and read more of the book I am reading, "The Perks of being a Wallflower". Listened to music, danced around a little bit and finished all the dishes that were making an appalachian chain across my countertops. This evening I went to Maggie and Jean's house, I unfortunately forgot that the meal was happening so I ate before and just went to socialize a little bit. I brought the coffee cake along and even though they all complained of being too full, they seemed to enjoyed it.


This afternoon I dropped by the northern to get ingredients for cinnamon buns and ran into Penina, Monica's mom from Day 4. She is a great lady, always laughing and enjoying herself. She really makes me laugh and I feel good after chatting with her whenever and wherever I see her. She's got a great heart and is very caring towards others. I really like her a lot, so she is my photo of the day! I couldn't decide, which photo to use so I put them all together!





Theme Song for today: Begin to Cry by Christopher Jak