The weather is changing

Life here has been like sitting in the middle of a whirlwind. I have seriously not had much time to do anything but hang on and enjoy the ride. The weather is definitely changing very quickly. The berries are all gone (only ones left are the cranberries)... And the geese have all started to fly south for the winter. I have never seen so many geese in the sky!  Pretty incredible. Also, I can now say that I have successfully hunted a snow goose... As we relentlessly hunted the flocks of geese while they were here. We got a few geese and a few ducks for the freezer. It sounds like in the spring months the geese are even more plentiful and will be easier to hunt. It's different here hunting. You seriously can't sneak up on anything because the land is so flat and there is not a tree in sight to hide behind. Haha. It makes these geese quite spooky compared to the ones that we feed bread from our hands back home. 

My time here like I said has been very full of new things for me to try, do, see and eat. Although I have found time for a few things that are comfortable for me. I have been invited into a poker game with a bunch of really good people from here. Shon, George and Benji are really good guys who have seriously welcomed me with open arms. They play poker fairly regularly and have asked me to join them. They play very similar to the way we play at home, so far... I have won both times! But mostly just beginners luck. Hopefully I'll be welcomed back! Haha. During these poker games I have been able to try a few of their local delicacies (pipsi) which is a dried Arctic char was definitely my favourite. 

The weather has basically screwed up our last two weekends.  The wind was incredible last weekend (90+km winds) and we decided that it might be more wise for us to stay indoors during that... But as the snow has begun to fly, we will only have maybe one or two times to go out and enjoy the land before it is permanently covered in a very hard layer of white stuff. (When I leave in June, there will still be snow on the ground and Hudson Bay will still have at least 4 feet of ice on it.) So I am trying to brace myself as best I can for that before its a reality. 

Before I forget, I want to say thanks for the letters, care packages and words of encouragement I've received from many of you... I am very lucky to have such a great group of friends and family who make even an adventure into the cold barren land of Nunavut feel like I'm only a few minutes away.   You guys have helped me more than I think you know!  Plus, I couldn't be able to keep my house rented, keep all my bills paid and keep my car in tip top shape without you.  Thanks. 

K back to this, just yesterday... The school was very uptight... there was a nervous feeling during the morning in the staff room and I had no idea why. 

 I found out later that there was a polar bear spotted in town, about a minute walk from my house. The people here have an amazing level of respect for these animals. And obviously for good reason. These polar bears can and WILL stalk and kill humans. They are natural born killers, the ultimate predator.  I recognized very quickly that there is a huge difference between polar bears  and the bears I know. When someone is attacked by a bear in Ontario, they most likely did something to startle,scare or challenge the bear (most of the time the have cornered the bear and it only has the attack left as an option).  Polar bears will track you, they hunt you... And the reason people aren't attacked more often by them isn't because the bears aren't really that lethal, it's actually because the people here know how lethal they are and the people make damn sure the polar bears aren't given the chance.  This place has never been quieter than it was yesterday, no one outside, no kids playing outside on the street, no traffic going by, nothing. There's something to be said about that respect. 

I'm headed to Iqaluit next week for union meetings.  Our school needed a union rep, so I volunteered to join and be a representative for Inuglak school staff.  I am pretty excited to get to go to iqaluit and see even more of the north. It should be a lot of fun, and I am sure I will be able to meet many new an interesting people. Maybe I'll be able to blog from there too! 

Cheers