Larry supports Prostate Cancer

Larry joined his work team in supporting the movember moustache growing contest in support of prostrate cancer. The contest started November 1 and goes until the 25th of November. So far, he's been doing great. The picture is obviously after 9 days growth.

As you can see by the picture he's making good on the contest. Thanks to everyone that has supported the cause. As we know cancer has touched the lives of all of us in some form or another. To all those in the fight, don't give up!

Beginning of Week 3

Well it’s hard to believe but we’re into week 3 of our relocation. It’s amazing how much we’ve learned and what we’ve accomplished in just a short time. We’ve moved into our new home (we’re still awaiting our personal belongings that are being shipped), have purchased a set of wheels (1990 Jeep Wrangler), joined the local squash club, set up our post office box and mailing, located all the “food” stores, organized our phone situation with each of us now having a working Blackberry and we’ve taken in some of the sights of Iqaluit. Apparently we live in the part of town called “lego land.” It has to do something with the fact that all the roof colours wold remind you of lego colours; blue, green, red etc…you get the picture. Overall, I would say we haven’t done  too bad for newcomers.

We’ve also taken in some of the local “do’s” within town. We went out for Wing night at the Store House Bar and Grill and went to the Legion one night to listen to a 3 piece band made up of an acoustic guitarist, bass guitar and penny flute/recorder player. The legion has what they call the quiet room which is for bands such as the three that played. In the larger room in the legions is where you’ll find the “younger” crowd partying. Wow, can’t believe I just said that.

Larry and I are adjusting well to our new lifestyle. The pace of this community is much slower than what you would be use to down south. This isn’t a bad thing! It does us good to slow down and not always be in a rush to get somewhere. Everything gets done and usually done quite well.

So far we’ve visited the Legion, Store house bar and grill, Discover Inn (best meal ever!!), Frobisher Inn, Frobisher racquet club, North mart, Arctic Adventure, The Source, availed ourselves to most Tim’s outlets and stepped into the quick mart that serves Kentucky Fried Chicken. We’ve also visited the welcome centre and library. Some of the outdoor sites we’ve seen include some great views for Frobisher Bay, which by the way has the second highest tide (we believe) in the world next to the Bay of Fundy. We’ve been told the tide here is 30’ which is pretty significant. We’ve visited a small town called Apex, driven the road to no where…..and guess what? ….it goes no where! We’ve been down to the pier which is really more what I would call a causeway.

About Nunavut

Nunavut is about 2 million square kilometers (1/5 of the land mass of Canada) and has an average January Temperature of -30 C and an average July temperature of +15 C. We can easily state that the cost of living is at least 1.5 times higher than southern Canada.

Nunavut’s economic activities include mining, tourism, fishing, hunting and arts and crafts; to name a few. The people (Nunavummiut) are located in 25 different communities and roughly 60% of the Inuit population is under the age of 25. The total population is 32,000 of which 85% are Inuit. A very important part of any kind of decision making in Nunavut is the inclusion of what is termed IQ. IQ is Inuit Qaujimajangit which provides input from all. Consultation is done amongst not only business or say the Government of Nunavut, it also includes communities, to include elders, youth and any other stakeholder that may have input. It’s not just one voice but all voices must be heard. It’s not just fact or science based but also observation by those who live on the land. There are four recognized languages in Nunavut: Inukitut, Inuinnagtun, English and French.

That’s enough info for this session, more later…..

Walking the Dogs

Each morning and night we take the dogs for a 20 minute walk.  Our favorite path is heading towards Frobisher Bay.  There is plenty of open space, so once we get off the local roads the dogs get to go off leash.  They seem to love this experience and for me, it is very enjoyable too.  We are up a few hundred feet above the bay and the view's are breathtaking.  Each day, we are amazed to see boats out in the bay, since it must be getting close to the end of shipping/boating season.  Some of these are bigger ships that transport goods to Iqaluit and some are smaller local boats that fish or sightsee on the bay.  Still, since it is typically -5 to -8 degrees, we are surprised to see the boats on the bay.  Near shore, there are already signs that the bay is beginning to freeze over.  So far the only wildlife that we have seen on our excursions are the ravines.  These are large black birds that seem to communicate by making all sorts of interesting noises.  They terrorize the dogs and one of the funniest times was when Quinn was trying to take a dump and this ravine kept hovering 3 or 4 feet over his head.  He would get down into a squat and the bird would hover, so he would jump up trying to get the bird.  This happened 4 or 5 times in a row.  Finally, Quinn just gave up and searched for an alternate, more private dumping ground.  So far, no polar bears, wolves, whales or any other animals that are supposed to frequent these parts.  All in all, one of my favorite experiences is taking the dogs for their daily walks. 

Our first days...

Well its the end of our first week and so far so good. We have accomplished alot in our few days in Iqaluit. Our biggest satisfier was being able to purchase some wheels! A must for getting around town; although the taxi service is excellent we found we would be spending too much $ on cab fares. Luckily one of the employees at Larry's work had a 1990 Jeep Wrangler for sale. You should have seen the smiles on our faces knowing we now have freedom and our own wheels. A whole new appreciation.

The dogs love it here as they too have more freedom than they've ever experienced. They spend more time off lead than on. There will be no difficulties keeping them fit; its just a matter of how well they'll adjust when the real cold sets in.

Our transition to Iqaluit has been quite smooth. We're were fortunate in that we were moved right into our apartment. It's a two bedroom semi-furnished place that will definitely meet our needs. The layout is great! We each have survived our first work week and both of us would agree that we have been made to feel welcomed. Everyone seems very friendly and willing to help out in any way they can.

Our first experience to Northmart (grocery and everything store) was an eye opener. Anything you see in the grocery stores at home is easily 30% more here. For example, a cartoon of orange juice ranges between 9 and $12 here. A loaf of bread will run anywhere between $2.99 to $5. Larry's favourite snack of cashews are outlandish. A Costco size of cashews is around $50. A pound of bacon usually runs between 7-$9. One thing we're are realizing is food is not wasted here (at least not in our home) because you don't spend frivously like we do "down south."

We took a trip yesterday, with our new wheels, onto the "road to no where." Yes, that is what it's called. Apparently during the Queen's visit to Canada she wanted to be taken out on the Tundra so they built the road to no where so they could do just that; take the Queen out onto the Tundra. We have to admit we don't know the accuracy of the story but there is this road. Many of you will remember we were told that you don't lock your front door; well in Iqaluit, at least, you do. We're slowly learning "truisms" rather than believing all that we've been told prior to arriving.

The pictures look austere and a little bleak; but believe us when we say it is truly beautiful. You do miss the trees and greenery, but the other qualities up here make it worth while.