It's pronounced Tsiigehtchic...

According to our CBC homepage, it stepped foot above 0 yesterday and will do the same tomorrow. Things are melting (ie; the ice and snow) and the mud is arriving. The back of my pant legs carry the evidence.

What a week. The school-aged kids that we have during lunch and after school were on their Spring Break last week, so this week we paid for their lack of sleep. Love them still, but TGIF. I’ve never actually had a TGIF job before. Just random shifts and days.

Tuesday of this week cannot be illustrated with photos since none were taken…BUT, it was a memorable one. Cousin Deanna and Dave had Graham and I over for supper, which was very good along with cake for dessert. We watched the next installment of Planet Earth (amazing), and they were to drive us home in their new vehicle. I won’t embarrass them by telling you that this is their second new vehicle within a month, but the first one they took on the ice road and decided to try a ski-doo jump and the flipped it. Written off with only some slight whiplash for Dave. All is now well and they like their pretty new one better anyway. But really, I won’t get into that ☺.

ANYway, to give us a ride in their new SUV we headed down the Dempster Highway for a ‘short drive’. Inuvik is the end of the Dempster, thus we were heading south toward Whitehorse. By the way, this story doesn’t end in a car accident. By this time it was after 11pm, but still daylight. We passed the sign that said Whitehorse 1220km.

The spindly, stunted trees all around us let us look for wildlife. I learned from experience years ago that you shouldn’t look out the side window too long because it makes you sick. However, seeing that fox with a pure white rabbit in its mouth makes the sickness go away. Planet Earth right there in front of us! Again, no camera, sorry.

We stopped to get out and look a couple of times. Also to listen to nothing, which is what we heard out there. It was an amazing feeling. No cars, no buzzing lights…no growling bears either, which was fun as well.

It did finally get dark, after the second time through the same cd. I may finally know the words to Moondance off by heart. We ‘knew’ that a place called Tsiigehtchic was in that direction, and assumed we should be there at any moment. ‘Just over that next crest’ became the theme of the drive from here on. So after a few dozen crests we saw the huge sign welcoming us to Tsiigehtchic! A village of...a few. At 1:45am, we assumed we’d just drive through and turn around. Actually, Dea thought maybe there’d be a motel…picked on her just a bit for that. We drove across the river on the ice to get there.

Driving through the streets we saw a few lights on and a larger crowd still awake at one house. We all had to use the bathroom so pulled in and sent Dave in to check it out for us. We were quickly waved in and joined the 8 or 9 others that were gathered around the guitar playing. They warmly welcomed us and explained that tomorrow was Gwich’in Day, which gave them the day off.

Dave plays guitar, so took over for a few songs. We sat and visited for a while. Told them to come to Inuvik and look us up at the pool. They were all family, including a 91 year old, the only drunk one out of the lot.

We didn’t stay too long (until about 2:30?) since I had to work at 9 in the morning. The drive back was quiet and much faster. I got into bed by 4:30. A little bug-eyed the next day, but well worth it. Spontaneous road trips are always the best ones.

It was a marvelous night for a moondance.

Jen

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Super sunny and fairly warm…no internet yet at home, so no temperature to report.

We should get our internet set up within a week. Not unlimited though. What are we, in the arctic or something?!

It’s now not completely dark until midnight or after. Thus, we need curtains! I sleep with an eyemask, so it’s not as though we can’t sleep, but you’re up watching a movie and thinking it’s still suppertime when really it’s 11:30pm.

I teach aquafit tonight and guard afterward until 10:30. Oh, favourite song just came on the laptop…’Mother, We Just Can’t Get Enough’ by the New Radicals. Seriously, of all time.

Short week this week and next with the Easter holidays.

Pet peeve: not much recycling done up here as there’s a high financial cost to transport the stuff down ‘south’ to a recycling plant. Thank goodness they get us our Bratz merchandise though; that’s worth the trip. They do apparently do pop cans and bottles. We pick up the little gems everywhere on the streets.
Say it with me now – RE-CYC-LING.

Jen cleaning tub in new place - not after committing a crime, just didn't want to inhale Comet fumes...I swear. (March 31, 2009)

Until soon,
Jen

Monday, April 6, 2009

Very sunny with high of -12, but pretty bad wind chill.

Graham is off Mondays and Tuesdays since the swimming pool is closed. I was at the daycare until noon, but the town deemed this afternoon a civic holiday so that people could take part in the Muskrat Jamboree festivities.

At about 1:30pm we headed down to the river to see the bush skills event in which partners have to make a fire, boil water and make tea, and make bannock from scratch to bake on the fire. It was fun to watch…and eat the bannock afterward.

An annual event.

The only sign we could see.

A tradition in Quebec - sugar snow. 

Jen and the tent were what we were aiming for here.

Bush skills event - make fire, boil tea, make bannock.

Bannock making contest.

Graham...freezing and oh so cute.

Crowd watching the bush skills event.

Bush skills event.

Pair in bush skills event.

Still freezing, still cute-trying some bannock.

It was, in fact, flippin’ freezing down there on the river (frozen one of course). We were fine for the first hour or so, but then your fingers start to lose feeling. Luckily, we stopped at the post office on the way home, only to find an Easter package with hot chocolate and tons of other goodies from my mom and dad. Thank you Mom and Dad! Funniest part of the package? A block of cheese and cheese slices…it’s $18.00 for a regular 520g block of the stuff here – hence the mail cheese.

Our Easter package from Mom and Dad Veinot.

Soy milk here is $8 something for two litres. So, we’ve had to switch back to Milk Milk (only Leanne will get the joke). Learning a trick from cousin Deanna and Dave, we buy homogenized milk 4L, which is between $8 and $10 and water it down by half, turning it into skim’ish milk. You folks can also try this handy trick at home, wherever home may be.

Until soon,
Jen

Saturday, April 4, 2009

A few flakes coming down today. Sun poking through.

Last evening was the kick-off to the 52nd Annual Muskrat Jamboree here in Inuvik. It marks the end of Winter and is the 6th to the 9th this year. Last night, at the Rec Centre, they had a free feast for all, Inuvialuit drum dancers from Inuvik and Aklavik (a-KLAV-ik), a jigging (Gwich’in dancing) contest and little games like musical chairs for the adults, blindfolded pudding feeding, etc.

We conveniently didn’t take our camera. I lifeguarded right after the daycare until 8:30pm, so hadn’t thought of it beforehand.

This morning at 9, Graham and I went to a pancake breakfast at Ingamo Hall (ING-gah-mo) down the road. I broke the news to Graham late last night that the breakfast was $10 each…it was worth it though! Big pancakes, sausages, bacon, two hardboiled eggs and any kind of juice you’d want. We were fortunate to sit by Mike, who races dogsleds and has offered to drop by the pool sometime to see if we’d like to go for a ride. Yup, yup we would.

Graham works 12:30 to 8:30pm Wednesday to Sunday now. I’m going to head down to the river to see if I can find the dogsled race. May be too late.

Jen

PS: If you’ve ever seen Office Space – ‘No Tears’ just came on the laptop. Michael sings it in the car stuck in traffic…

Dogs back from the sled races. (Alaskan team)

Dogs back from sled races. (Alaskan team)

Dogs back from sled races. (Alaskan team)

Dogs back from sled races. (Alaskan team)

Thursday, April 2, 2009 (cont’d)

The Vancouver 2010 Olympic volunteers were here today to do a treaty signing. The Olympic mascots showed up too! Can you tell which one is Deanna’s fiancé, Dave? Seriously, I’m not just making a crack at him.

Sumi, Miga, Deanna, Quatchi (or is it?)

They had some Inuvialuit drum dancing, Northern games demos, the mascots were there for photos, and there was some free food too!

  Inuvialuit Drummers.

  Inuvialuit Dancers.

  Inuvialuit Dancers' mukluks.

  Northern games demonstration. They have to jump to touch the target with their feet. The target gets moved up each turn.

  Now they have to try to touch it with both feet together!

There's always lots of stuff going on in this town.

Jen

Backtracking

Jen after the 20-minute walk from the pool to Dea and Dave's.

Thursday, April 2, 2009

So we’re in our new place. It’s a small place, but it’s fun. It’s a studio one bedroom, which means there is a half-wall between the bedroom and the rest of the place. There is no bathroom, but there’s a double sink in the kitchen so I’m sure we’ll be fine. Kidding…it’s a single sink. But really, the bathroom does have a door but everything else is open. $1100.00 a month, which is low for up here. Don’t feel bad for us, we’re rakin’ it in. Sort of. We took the place furnished for $1200 this month but have already been offered some things for free so are switching to non in May.

No phone yet or internet but that will come.

The place is newly renovated, which we aren’t used to. We’re used to the 70’s brown cabinets and olive or ivory stove. I know, I know – it’s ‘hip’ to have the olive green stove now.
Tu-ra-la-hey,
Jen

Friday, April 3, 2009

Clear, sunny skies today. There was no school today so the daycare had the school kids for the day. There were only eight of them there so it was pretty relaxed.
Yesterday and Wednesday we took the Inukshuks and Ravens snowshoeing near the school. The Ravens (3 & 4 year olds) were on Wednesday and it was a bit of a bust. Rita, Peter and I spent the whole time re-tying the shoes that came undone and then blowing on our hands to warm them up again. At least the kids got to see the snowshoes and put them on (for a few seconds).

Chloe doesn't get to see much when we're outside, but she never complains.

Brennen was a pro at getting back up by the time we were done. Peter freezing his fingers to tie another pair.

Jade probably had the most luck out of the group. 

The Inukshuks (2 & 3 year olds) had a little more luck as I added some twine to the ends of the ties to give more length. It worked for most. We also took them over to the cross-country ski trail, so it felt a little more authentic than the playground field the day before. The snowshoes worked, which Miriam demonstrated when she stepped in the deep snow without the shoes and sunk to her thighs. Where was my camera?!

We made smoothies with the school kids for snacks. They got to add the ingredients, which makes them forget that they’re healthy. Yay for deceit!

Got a microwave from the folks at the daycare today. Joyce has a bed we can have. Tons of underwear gets left at the pool. We’re set.

Yours,
Jen

Getting Here - a summary

Graham and I flew out of Halifax on February 10, 2009 at 8:35pm. Our parents and Leanne took us to the airport. It was nice to have the day to make sure we’d packed everything and to say goodbye to Jane and Mary. We went early enough to the airport to have supper together.

We flew Air Canada to Toronto with only an hour and a half stopover. Air Canada to Edmonton for about a six hour wait. These flights were our first experience with personal TV screens in each seat…excitement!
We set up camp upstairs in the airport with the two-dozen others there. One of our carry-on pieces was my yoga mat so that made for a nicer bed than the floor.

Our flight with Canadian North was at 7:40am with a short stop in Norman Wells and then on to Inuvik.

Mountains and Arctic tundra from plane.

Dave picked us up at the airport at 11:30am on the 11th. Yeah, it was pretty cold. When you cough as you inhale because it takes your breath away. Your nose sticks together on the inside. Your fingers start to stick to the plane’s stair railing and the door handles.

The Inuvik airport from the plane.

Graham and Jen at Inuvik airport.

After picking us up we headed straight to the Inuvik Family Centre, which is where the pool is. Deanna was there working so Dave gave us a quick tour until she was finished. We left from there and they drove us on the Mackenzie River ice road. Pretty cool first day.

Jen and Graham on the Mackenzie River (ice road).