Arts, Dogs and a little bit of Rhythm

So it's been a while since I've updated. I thought I'd be a bit more consistent than my blogging in Tanzania (and although I've already surpassed the single posting in my internship blog, this blog could use a little work.

Two weeks ago I was getting concerned that I wasn't getting up to much around here. I was finding myself feeling rather useless (a little at work as I didn't feel I was getting much direction and also just getting involved in the community. I still don't really feel like I've worked much with the people here as all of my work is in the office, on a computer or reading government documents). My supervisor and I have had a few meetings since my frustrations began and I have a few meetings lined up for this week. I've been helping with some project management stuff including a proposal for a food security synthesis paper that will ideally inform government policies and programs related to food security, our meeting for that is tomorrow. Then Wednesday I will be following up with the learning objectives and key messages for the community health worker training related to the new (Inuit-focused) Nunavut Food Guide. The guide is coming out in September/October with an initial Community Health Representation (community health work) training and I will be helping organize the goals of the training based on the existing documents and identified goals/needs. So lately my work plate is becoming more full (and thankfully a bit more satisfying).

Keeping busy out of work however, as I'm learning, is really up to me. Since I asked around about what I can do around town my schedule has become rather full (sweet!).

This week (June 30-July 3rd) is the Alainait Arts Festival (http://www.alainait.ca/). Artists of all kinds will be coming from across the Arctic (the territory, NWT - Northwest Territories, and Greenland to perform and share their art with us here in Iqaluit. There is a lot going on in four days, with a concert every evening. On July 1st the city organized a parade that will drive around town and end at the festival's main site: the Big Top Tent. That's where I'll be volunteering.

Jennifer, my supervisor at work, is on the festival's exec committee and I've joined her in organizing kids crafts and activities for the tent. We've got some interesting crafts including sun goggles made out of felt, and this craft-turn-game called Iyaga. Iyaga is a traditional game that uses a hollow bone with a string attached to another stick-like bone. The purpose of the game is to flick the hollow bone (in this case toilet paper rolls) onto to skinny bone (in this case a pencil) (google iyaga or wait for pictures to come).

As for the sun goggles. These were made out of bone back in the day with tiny slits for your eyes to peak out. This would protect the Inuit's eyes from the bright sun that would reflect of the blinding white snow. The cool thing is that they actually help you see better (it's almost like wearing glasses that make you squint!). My co-worker Larissa and I at work have talked about how advanced this technology is considering how few resources people had living out on the tundra.

Inuk man wearing sun goggles

On Wednesday we have a kids corner volunteer meeting to cut out all the little pieces and prepare for the weekend. All this craft prep has me a bit excited as it totally brings me back to my girl guide and camp counselor days (love it!). I really hope a lot of kids show up! (although I hope not so many that we run out of supplies!)

I did a first aid shift at a pre-festival concert last week, although I ended up at the door doing ticket sales (good thing though not sure I'd like to be doing any real first aid to be honest... let's keep everyone safe and happy). The volunteer coordinator said I could volunteer in the evenings at the concerts too if I wanted to. I know that sounds a little ambitious to help out so much, but I'm figuring it's also a way to attend the concerts for free! (I can picture my ethics professor from second year discussing theories of volunteerism and if we really do things because we genuinely want to or because we get something out of it... either way they need people and I'll enjoy a night of sweet music!).

My friend Lindsay helps out at the Humane Society here and I started joining her on her shifts. They're severely understaffed (as much of the north is) and they need as many hands to help walk the pups, clean and write policies and such as possible. Right now they have about 6 dogs in the shelter with a couple being adopted this week and a few more coming up from the RCMP by-law (dogs that were found roaming around or were taken from careless owners). I've taken a liking to puppy named AshAsh (I swear I did not name her and if it were up to me her name would be Iya or Asha - only because she's started responding to when I've called her that). She's a beautiful (about) 6 month old german sheppard (I think?) cross with something. She's feisty and full of energy! I've been using the dog walking as a way to get moving/walking while I'm here, but also because I really enjoy the puppies' company.

I took AshAsh to Sylvia Grinell Park (pics of the park to come) on Saturday for two hours. Lindsay said she used to take the dogs home for a day, take them on long walks and sort of foster them. Since I can't have dogs in my apartment (building rules) I took this one to the park. She was really good despite having a gentle leader around her snout (ugly pink thing in the picture). I really (really) wish I could take her home with me (like really really badly). But I don't think know how much my schedule would allow me to properly care for her (God knows I have a hard time taking care of myself lol). Although if I wasn't planning on going abroad for my second placement in January I would seriously consider taking her home. She needs a lot of time, love and attention (and some serious training -- she gets so excited to see the volunteers that she pees her kennel and because she was abandonned so young she has a bit of feeding aggression i.e. she gets kind of wild when you have treats or when you give her food). I totally feel like a little kid in pet store all over again 'cuz I really want this puppy (in a premature puppy-love kind of way). With some training of the shelter staff (training me to know how to train dogs) I'm hopeful that I can help train this little one so that she can become adoption-ready for a good family who can look after her.

AshAsh being sweet

Aside from that, I started going to this gumboot group that meets, now, two times a week. Larissa met some sweet girls who get together and practice at one of the girl's houses and she invited me to join. I've been twice so far and will be going tomorrow during lunch. It's a lot of fun and really challenging. It's great 'cuz it definitely get my mind working but gets me moving too. For those of you who don't know what gumboot is here's a link with a bit of a background: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gumboot_dance (yay wiki for the most easily accessible information) and this wicked video for your viewing pleasure http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsKIKS6zUrs&feature=related and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5Nk-VdDuv8&feature=related . We definitely do not sound that good (nor do we have fancy instruments and musical voices) but we're working on it! We were talking about having a mini-workshop for kids at the festival or even something later on for the youth in town. How awesome would that be?! I'm really excited about this group 'cuz it's been a lot of fun and I'm starting to catch on! (though I could really use a lot more practice) Some days have a the beats stuck in my head. Hopefully as time goes on I'll get a better.

I should also mention that my supervisor pulled a stunt at a department meeting last week. Jennifer surprised us with the "butterfly" a wicked gumboot beat. She used to be a gumboot performer back in college! She can do all these cool rhythms and is quite impressive! Maybe I'll be learning more from her than just dietetic practice, haha. That's all for now!

Food Insecurity (... barely scratching the surface)

Now I realize that it may seem that I’m complaining about food and prices a lot (even if not always on my blog). Part of the reason I talk about it so much is because of the food prices and food insecurity is a serious problem in Nunavut. The thing is, I’m a student, and I’m employed. What does that really mean? It means I’m literate, it means I’m educated (in nutrition at that) so I have the ability to make healthy food decisions when I shop; I’m an educated consumer. It also means that for the summer I have a steady income, a government income at that. I really shouldn’t have issues with food, but I do. Although, part of me is complaining for my own personal finances (6$ for 4 bananas!!), but really it’s because every time I shop or eat out, I realize more and more how food security and food access is a major problem here, and this has a major health impact on the Nunavummiut who live here. If I have trouble eating well on budget I can’t imagine what a family of 5 goes through, especially considering the employment rate and education levels here. Let me pull out some statistics from the Inuit Health Survey (2007-2008) to demonstrate.

(Backgrounder from the Inuit Health Survey: “Nunavummiut [people from Nunavut] have expressed a sesire to have health information that is of practical relevance so that informed decisions can be made in the face of the rapid changes that affecting all dimension of life in Arctic communities. In response to these concerns, a multifaceted participatory health research project for those 18 years of age and above was developed and undertaken in 25 communities in Nunavut in 2007 and 2008. The goal of the survey was to obtain an overview of the health status and living conditions of Nunavummiut living in Nunavut.”) All of the information below was taken from the Inuit Health Survey (2007-2008): Nunavut.

- Average household in Nunavut: 4.6 people
- Average household in Canada: 2.5 people (my current household is 1… just me)
- Education: 34% of study participants completed high school
- Employment: 36% of participants at the time had full-time employment.
- Average Monthly Household Spending on Food in Nunavut: $1875
- Average Monthly Household Spending on Food in Canada: $609
(should be double, not triple, because household composition is double here (4.6 vs. 2.5), not triple)

Food Security:
- Less than 1/3 of households reported having enough food to eat (i.e. reporting to be food secure)
- Severe food insecurity is “disrupted eating patterns and reduced food intake among adults and/or children” caused by unemployment, low income, and high food costs….
- 35% of Nunavummiut households reported severe food insecurity
VS. 9% of Canadian households reported moderate of severe food insecurity (Canadian Community Health Survey, 2004)
- 71% of households with children were food insecure

This is why the cost of food has me so concerned.

I could really write you a huge post (or PhD dessertation) just on food insecurity, there are many facets to this problem, especially in Nunavut. But today, I just wanted to scratch the surface.

Birthday, Wings and Food

I haven’t written in a while. I’ve been trying to wrap my brain around things and life here. It’s been an interesting transition. I’ll quickly recap parts of my first week here (my birthday, wings night) and a short thing about eating out. More to come, promise. I will make a quick note that many of my rantings are out of chronological order. I’m just writing based on what flows most easily at the time, and what makes most sense to me. I’ve been here for 2 and a half weeks now and there are things that I’ve done that I will update you on (hike on my first Saturday – with pictures, spending time with my supervisor and coworkers, Alianait arts festival meeting, gym things, walking dogs and many others) but it may not be in order, and I know I have a bit to catch up on. So, I apologize in advance with the back and forth, and mish mash of dates and timelines.

Birthday Fun

For the last 3 years I haven’t been home for my birthday. Two years ago I was in Tanzania, last year in Cuba and this year in Nunavut. I’ve been lucky enough in those three years to be have been surrounded by loving and wonderful people to make me feel just at home and of course have a little fun. When I came to work on my birthday my preceptor Jennifer left me a little birthday note with a gift bag. Inside was playing cards with pictures of Nunavut’s beautiful landscape, and seal skin earrings the shape of flowers! I was so delighted with my surprise gift; I didn’t know she knew it was my birthday. Later that day (after many happy birthdays from my co-workers) I was surprised again when everyone piled into my office with cupcakes and cake (made my Lindsay – thank you!) singing “happy birthday”. I blew out my candles and made a wish. Everyone stayed a bit to chat and have some laughs. I felt so lucky to be working with such a great team (and so welcomed considering it was my first Thursday, and technically my second day at work!).

After work I headed to the pub at the Nova Inn with Jennifer, Lindsay, Vess and Janet for a beer, and stayed to have dinner with Marc, Peter, Sarah, Ken and Lindsay. Ordered the fish and chips (may be the best I’ve ever had). Everyone was so nice and really it was a great start to my time here.

Wednesday Wing Night

I live in the 8-storey building, apparently the tallest building in the arctic. You can actually see my entire building from ANYWHERE in town. It also helps that it’s big, brown and ugly lol. Anyways so my building in conveniently attached to the Frobisher Inn, a hotel in town. As such I’m connected to the gym and swimming pool (have to buy a membership to access), a movie theatre and well one of the handful of pubs, the Storehouse. (I’m pretty sure I called it the “Storeroom” for a solid week before I clued in to its real name).

Every Wednesday in town the Storehouse and the Legion (another pub in town) have Wings Night. 10 wings for 6$. Considering the prices of food around here, that’s pretty sweet. My first two Wednesdays my coworkers and I headed to the Storehouse (where the best wings are offered) for my taste of Nunavut’s best wings. You have to get to the door no later than 5pm (most people finish work at 5pm) to make sure you get a seat, no joke. You will be SOL and quite sorry if you get there anytime past 5:30 ‘cuz the house will be full.

My first Wednseday I went with Michelle, Lindsay, Vesselina and Marc, a sweet bunch from work. We ordered wings, and sweet sweet potato fries (may be the best I’ve ever had), and beer, and pay upfront. Like you pay before you get your food, when you order, even though you’re already seated and staying for a while. This is policy for wing night. I guess they’ve had people walk out without paying which has caused them problems in the past. That and likely that it can get quite rowdy and crowded, especially towards the later evening and people can’t be found to pay. Who really knows? So we ordered and paid. Now here’s the catch. Wings are 6$ for 10, but then you order the beer, One can of Keiths at 7$.

I’ve had friends tell me that’s where you lose all your money. Figures. You can’t buy beer or any alcohol anywhere in town other than at the few licensed bars. So when you go out, vendors can get away with charging a fair bit extra for your favorite drink. My tab for 10 wings, a can of beer and half the sweet potato fries came to just about 20$. I realize this may not be much for good company (priceless) and a good time, but if we had stayed longer ordered real food and more drinks my bill could have easily made it to 40$ (as they did the following Wednesday).

The next Wednesday Lindsay, Michelle, Sarah, Ken and I headed over to the Storehouse after work. Ken got there early so he could scope us out a table to seat us all. This day Sarah (another MPH student from U of T in Health Promo) and I decided to try the hyped up Lemon pepper wings. Really not worth it. The first one was good, but they were SOOO tangy and zesty it was a bit hard to eat. People around here seem to like them (everyone I’ve spoken to about wings night has very excitedly recommended lemon pepper wings) but they’re not my favorite.
That night Lindsay, Sarah and I stayed later, into the start of the hockey game. As the staff were preparing, behind our table a large projector screen came down across the back wall, and the pre-game commercials came on. It’s no wonder so many people come here. The screen is so big that you can practically see it from every side of bar! The crowd started to get riled up a few minutes into the game, and we had to shout a little to make conversation so we decided to grab a real meal at the Frobisher dining room.

Eating Out

I’ve mentioned the food prices here. But last Wednesday (second Wednesday in Iqaluit) I had a real shocker. After wings and beer I was really craving a salad (weird, I know). After taking my time through the Frob’s menu I consulted the waiter on the two salad options I was decided on: a salad with crab meat and smoked salmon (17.99) and a salmon and avocado salad (18.99). The waiter really recommended the crab meat salad, and it was the cheaper price so I ordered just that. Lindsay ordered the salmon avocado salad, so I thought I could also compare for the future dinning out. Now, when our salads came, I was not impressed! My salad was smaller than half my fist! It looked very fancy, but it was essentially crab meat minced with leeks, and topped with salmon. There were no leafy greens… there were no greens at all. Hmph… I didn’t have the nerve to ask the waiter for another salad knowing that this would likely get thrown out, so I ate it anyways. It was suppperrrr rich, and my stomach was not happy with me afterwards to say the least.

Lindsay’s salad was full of greens, and vegetables, and salmon. She was kind enough (seeing my utter disappointment) to give me taste of her salad. It would have been totally worth the extra dollar and a few more questions for the waiter so that I would have ordered the same meal.
Another sweet place to eat out in town in a place called Yummy Shawarma. [Note: I ate a lot for my first week or so. I really hadn’t wrapped my head around where to buy stuff, what to make (plus the frustration with the grocery store prices had me avoiding the stores in general) but also I figured I could get by not buying and making my own food. Honestly, this week I did a sweet grocery run, bought a ton of vegetables and fruit – oh how I missed them – and am now making my own meals at home… I’m hoping this will help me eat better and prove to be more economical at the end of the day. Studying nutrition I’ve really felt some guilt by overanalyzing what I eat or don’t eat, and really frustration with my perceived inability to cook. I’m trying learn how to make creative meals, or at least ones that are tasty enough to eat. I’m getting some inspiration (and encouragement) from my friends Rob and Lindsay who cook all the time and make some delicious meals. A personal goal this summer: to learn how to cook, and make more time/be more organized to do so.].

As for Yummy Shawarma, it’s a Lebanese food joint that recently opened up in town. It’s run by a Lebanese family here from Ottawa. They have pretty much all that you can ask for with respect to a small-scale/fastfood Middle Eastern joint: Shawarma of all kinds, fettoush and tabouli salad, grape leaves, kebeh, potatos, hummus, and baklava, and the food is delicious. It’s a tab overpriced, as I’ve mentioned numerous times already with respect to all food here, but I wanted to share some of the prices so that friends at home have a greater appreciation for the sharwarma prices in the GTA, but also the luxury of home cooked food. A shawarma in a 6in pita 8.99+tax, with a 12in pita 11.99, my favourite fettoush salad (LOVE this salad, if you haven’t tried it, take your cute self over to an middle eastern restaurant right now, and indulge… seriously, you’re missing out if you haven’t tried this salad), small size is close to 7$ (that’s 1 cup of salad) and here’s the thing that got me the most, ONE meatless grape leave (one wareh enab) is 1$. Now if you were to have grape leaves at my family dinner you would know that you can’t have just one. You could easily have 10-15, 20, 25… okay maybe not that many. But you could have a lot. The nice guy at the shop offered me one for free (score!) when I ordered my first shawarma, but I really don’t think I’ll be coming back for more. It just seems crazy to me to spend that much on one meatless stuffed grape leave (http://www.foodpeoplewant.com/turkish-stuffed-grape-leaves/) . I jokingly asked the man where he got the leaves and he said Lebanon… then he admitted they were shipped to Ottawa first and brought up here. I might have to order some leaves on my own (online or something) and make them myself (with meat).

Hike on the Apex Trail

My first Saturday in Iqaluit I went on a hike towards Apex trail. It's about a 7km hike along the Frobisher Bay. Here are some shots of a gorgeous (early) June day.

Snowmobile crossing the Frobisher Bay

Raven :
The Bearer of Light, Wisdom, Trickery and Wit in Inuit Tradition

Frozen Bay in June
You could hear the ice breaking if you were quiet enough

Me and an Inukshuk

Rob and an Inukshuk

Homes on the Bay


Frozen Bay again

leaving Iqaluit behind (start of the trail)

The Sounds of Iqaluit (Part 1)

When the water hits the top of my head in the shower, it’s as if a large dragonfly is madly buzzing around my head. Must be the strangely powerful water pressure?

Children – everywhere, laughing, shouting, but not in masses, just two or three at a time.

My apartment is next to the elevator on this floor, and I share a wall with the elevator shaft. -- The rise and fall of the elevator sounds like a whale crying to it’s lover lost in the depths of the ocean. It’s as if I’m underwater.

Trucks with loud motors grumbling around town, and their heavy winter tires fighting through the dirty, dusty road.

Between the moaning of the elevator at night, the stretches of absolute silence, like nobody is within miles of room, and it’s just me and the rocky snow landscape outside my window. Silence.

The farting noises of my rubber boots sliding against the fake leather seats at the local bars (just for you Sarah A. and Lindsay :))

My slow but heavy breathing climbing up the hill as I carry a week’s worth of groceries.

Inuktitut Language – one of the 4 languages spoken in the territory (English, Inuktitut, French and Inuinnaqtun . Very interesting to hear people speak this language, especially the way the Qs and the Gs are used… I will need to pick up some of this language while I am here.

Indian music (not “native indian” or “red indian” *cringe* music), like Bollywood music playing outside of the Arctic Ventures grocery store. I’ve been told between the Hunter-esque war-time music… playing Indian music is a strategy used to scare away intoxicated loiterers outside the store’s entrance. Hmm…