Gjoa Haven

It's not everyday that someone knocks on your door and tries to sell you a polar bear tooth. But that's exactly what happened to me today; and after two weeks of being up here it almost seemed normal, or should I say, I wasn't surprised. Yes, I'm in Canada, but it doesn't feel like it.
Gjoa Haven is very far north. I am up here working for three weeks helping to build an extended care center. Slowly the people of the north are adapting to "southern" culture through new developments such as these. But thankfully there are still strong currents of inuit culture and practices imbedded in their day to day lives. It is not uncommon for some of my colleagues to skip work because the weather is perfect for sealing or hunting, or to speak in their own language with one another. They are a day to day people, attune with the moment and their surroundings; they are smart, artistic, friendly and peaceable.

Our First Home!

This is our new home!!!!!!!!!! It's an aweful picture but for now it's the only one we've got. Yesterday we took the huge step into the unknown world of home owners, quite scary really. Ok, here's the description of our wee home.

It's just two blocks away from Grant Park mall, in a perfect location for me to bus to school. It's close to shopping, my pottery and more importantly, Nathan (just a 10 minute walk). It's 725 sq foot with a half finished basement. Definitely enough room to have anyone visit us who wants to. It's got a big enough backyard for us to put in a garden, which we're excited about. We're very excited and look forward to showing it off to people. We'll be moving in on January 2, just in time for me to start school the next day.

Times to Remember

Niki and I made it through Canadian security with a smile from the customs officer and a "welcome home." Our journey through Spain, Italy and Germany has been a memorable one.

The pilgrimage to Santiago was full of friendly people, spectacular scenery and cheap everything. It was a good way to relax from a busy year. Our only task and distraction was walking on average 26km a day, and for Kari, Niki and Nathan this meant either bad knees or sore feet, but overall it was a great holiday.

If Spain was a good holiday, then Italy was a good study tour. We camped out in Roma most of the time seeing many of the sites such as the Forum, the Collosseum, the Vatican Museum and St. Peter's and St. Paul's Bassillicas. We also took a day tour to Pompei and Napoli.

Germany for me was a place like home. The woodwork, the flower pots and the cute decor reminded us of many Mennonite homes. I enjoyed looking at German board games in the shop and visiting Michael Sattler's old monastary in the hills of the Blackforest.

While we were in Germany we visited Rina and Alan, teammembers from Corrymeela, and stayed with Rina's family. It is always good to see people in their own contexts after getting to know them.

Finally we took a flight through England making a quick visit with Rachel Woods who we got to know at Camp Valaqua and then back on a 9 hour flight to Calgary.

In Calgary we have been reconnecting with people and sorting out our next detours in life while relaxing at the same time. We still plan to move to Winnipeg in January and be in Saskatchewan for about a month before that.