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Wednesday, May 22, 2013

One Year



One year ago I left behind all that I was comfortable with and made the decision to move to Kimmirut Nunavut. I don't think i have ever been more scared to do something in my life!


The last year I have learned alot about myself. The move to Nunavut was crazy I spent days buying things I thought I would need, stuff I was not sure  even existed in the Great White North.  It is crazy to look back on that time because I did not have a sweet clue as to what I was getting myself into. I knew a little about Nunavut and I researched the hell out of Kimmirut but you don't really know what it is going to be like until you try it.

For me the move to Kimmirut would be the first time I would be away from my family. I have never lived more than 2 hours away from them.... hell I had never lived outside New Brunswick! Being 2000+ miles away from them in a fly in only community was different.  I have to say Skype and the Internet were my saviours during the first three months in Kimmirut and the fact that my family got kick ass long distance plans didn't hurt either!

I went to Nunavut with a very open mind. I was going to soak up as much culture as I could . I even committed to learning some Inuktitut, my vocabulary started small with two words (Dayma- meaning finished and Emito which basically translates to thingy lol and yes I know my Inuktitut spelling is bad but hey I am a phonetic learner!) My vocabulary quickly grew because I kept asking our local staff how to say things. I am  not fluent in Inuktitut but every day I learn more and more and begin to understand more and more.

I got to experience new foods that I never would have even touched if I still lived back in New Brunswick. I have eaten 7 different country foods ( goose, 2 types of seal, walrus , ptarmigan, caribou, arctic char and Beluga mukktuk( skin and cartilage) I have been out boating in an arctic canoe amongst the ice bergs , hiked over trails that Inuit have been using for centuries , trail blazed over the frozen Hudson Straight. I have experienced so much in my first year in the Arctic I have been amazed at my own sense of adventure.

When I left St.Stephen I was so sure I was going to be alone in a frozen town . Instead I have a amazing and diverse group of friends!  There are some Arctic veterans ( 7 of my friends have lived in the Arctic for at least one year prior to us meeting) and some Nunavut newbies and we all share something with each other.  It is crazy to think that a dozen of us ended up in the Arctic all for different reasons and have become such a tight knit group. My friends have helped me get through each hurdle that I thought would have be screaming to come back to St.Stephen I appreciate each and every one of you !


My family is also one of the biggest supporters of my move North. Everyone thought I would be able to cope and as much as I doubted them many times I have to say without their backing I don't know that I could have made it in the North. The North can be a lonely place to a single girl who moves from a loud house full of family to a small house on the harbour with a cat. When ever I needed anyone back home for a pick me up or just some TLCFS( Tender Love and Care Family Style) they were just a phone call away.

I am looking forward to what the next year brings in my Nunavut Adventure!