People

You know what's weird about Toronto?

There's all these people around... I see so many of them when I walk down the street, and yet... I don't know any of them, and they don't say hi to me! Not even the children (of which there are very few). What gives?

Oh, wait, I guess that's what most people call "normal." But it sure is weird after living in Iqaluit.

One year in the north

Well, I've made it. On July 2nd of last year, I arrived in Iqaluit, and although I'm excited to head "down south" tomorrow, I'm also pretty happy I've made it through a year here - a cold, dark arctic winter; my first year of teaching; my first time owning a motor-vehicle (a snowmobile) - a year of many changes and new experiences. I'd be lying if I said that everything went according to plan... there have been alot of challenges living up here. But I'm looking forward to sticking around next year, to my new job at the high school, to my new apartment in town, to a full season of snowmobiling, and to whatever the heck else northern life brings me in the next year.

I'm also looking forward to catching a fish... I went out today for a last chance before getting out of town for the summer, and I had a char on my line until it managed to free itself a few feet from shore... aaaargh! And as with most of the fish that get away, he was, of course, enormous (well, at least a foot long anyway).

The other day, as if to dramatically end my first year in Nunavut, I was walking by 4-corners to find the Kamotiq in the midst of being demolished. It was sad to see the last igloo-shaped building in town come down. I figured this picture was a good was to say so-long for the summer: