The training yesterday was long and tiring. Students are used to being outside, not sitting in a room. But one thing we know, they are all very innovative in coming up with ideas that might work for them.
Let me describe Iqaluit. It is a City located on Baffin Island, and near the arctic circle. It is located on Frobisher Bay, and the City was formerly known as Frobisher Bay. Many communities in Nunavut have changed their english names back to Inuit names, so now we know this City as Iqaluit. It has a population of about 7,000 and is the seat of the Nunavut government. it has all the modern conveniences of any other town that we are familiar with. The stores have fresh food brought in regularly by air, and in fact, the North Mart has a produce section that would rival any store in Edmonton. But you pay dearly - a 2 L milk will cost you $8.
Roads only go around the City. The only road out of town is called "Road to Nowhere" and only goes about 5 km. Even so, there are a lot of vehicles. If you buy a car, you order it through the North Mart and it is delivered in the summer. There's also lots of snowmobiles, and if you look around town, you see traditional sleds that are pulled behind. Suprisingly, traffic can get quite busy and there is the daily 5 o'clock "rush minute"
There are no trees. Only thing we see at this time of year is rock, snow and ice. Frobisher bay is completely frozen over. Everything that is built in Iqaluit is brought in by sea lift in summer: framing, siding, plumbing, electrical, everything.
When in restaurants and hotel lobbys, you will be solicited continually by local artists marketing their goods. they are quite polite, and after a while, you start to look forward to seeing fascinating art they bring. If you plan on buying, carry lots of cash. i purschased a stone carving of an Inuit drummer for $210, and I'm told that was and extremely good deal. some ask as much as $800. But you need to really be careful. The artist skill level is quite varied, so you have to be patient, and know what you want.
What impresses me the most are the people. You can tell that they love this country. To us in the south, it seems harsh and difficult. To those that live here, they learn to manage. But they do say they never get used to the cold.