Igloolik

If you ever wanted to know what two months of my life and $280 worth of food crammed into a trunk, two carryons, and a cooler looked like, please observe the above. 

Getting here was... interesting, to say the least.  I was told I could bring two containers weighing up to 90lbs each by the government... only to get to the airport and be told by an Air Canada ticket agent that was in no way correct, and that my allowance was 70lbs only.  Thankfully, I was only overweight on my trunk, by about 8lbs, which got disbursed between cooler and carryons.  However, having to carry around extra weight is never fun, and unpacking and repacking the items you so meticulously taped up and sealed for extra protection is always a pain in the ass.  But, it was accomplished, and I was off to my gate to wait for my flight to Ottawa. 

I was unable to schedule my own flight due to my being in Ecuador the previous week before taking off to the Arctic, so I was scheduled to travel over a period of two days from Toronto to Ottawa, Ottawa to Iqaluit, where I would overnight, and from Iqaluit to Hall Beach, then finally to Igloolik.  I was sleep deprived and nervous.  I really liked Iqaluit apart from the unhelpful cab drivers and hotel staff, who were content to watch me struggle with having to deadlift two 70lb trunks every five seconds.  I guessed it was every person for themselves up here.  I found Iqaluit to be very pretty, very busy, and experienced the midnight sun for the first time, when I got up at 330am to use the washroom that night and it was still bright as day outside.  I pretty much stood at the window for five minutes, with my jaw dropped.  I also found it to not be cold at all, and was able to run around the city both days in jeans and a tank top. 

I made it to Igloolik the next day, in a ten-seater airplane with propellers which was loud and bumpy and I pretty much felt like we were going to go down into the ocean the entire flight.  Once at the "airport" (which was smaller than my Toronto apartment) I found there were no luggage trolleys and got to haul everything down a set of rickety metal stairs, trying to balance everything and not accidentally step on or be tripped by Inuit children who were playing on them.  It was no fun. 

I was driven to a super nice house on the edge of the village and was informed that I would be living by myself, which was great.  It's a very large and modern house by Nunavut standards, with an ensuite master bedroom, and second bedroom and bathroom as well.  It is warm and that's pretty much all I care about. 

I was also informed that there is a very light caseload at the present time as most people are away for the summer or "out on the land" hunting and fishing.  Majority of my children are medically fragile, and are in foster care in larger cities due to the inadequate medical resources Igloolik has to provide.  There are some custom and private adoption cases as well, but other than that, it has been very slow. 

Graffiti, Igloolik style.

Igloolik has a population of about 1900, and is located in the Foxe Basin in the Baffin region of Nunavut.  On most maps, it looks like it is located on the Melville Peninsula, however it is an island just off this peninsula.  Igloolik translates to "there is a house here" and refers to the sod houses which were originally located on this island (no igloos.  Shocker, I know).  The island was inhabited as late as 4000 years ago, and was visited by Europeans starting around the mid 1800s.  The first permanent fixture of non-Inuit people in this community was built by Roman Catholic missionaries in the 1930s.  Igloolik is considered one of the more traditional communities in Nunavut, with Inuktitut and local dialects largely being spoken here.  The children learn English at school, and the government employs local interpreters to assist social workers, nurses, home care providers, and the RCMP in their daily duties.  It is very cloudy and dusty here.  The sea-ice is still retreating from the ocean, and when it rains gusts of wind starting at around 60-80kph shake my house and it sounds like I am inside of a washing machine.  This is definitely not the 15-20C weather I was informed I would be experiencing.  

But some days, the sun shines, the sky is bright, and I am learning to tell the difference in the sky between "day sun" and "night sun".