Iqaluit

so I have now been in the north for about 4 days, and for the most part things are going very well. The town of Iqaluit is a strange place. You are in Canada kind of. The money and government buildings are the only things that really remind you that you are still in Canada every thing Else is a little different. Almost all the signage is in English and Inuktiut, witch has its on Alphabet, you are as likely to meet a Skidoo at an intersection as a car, and for the most part lots of the little laws that we normally fallow like seat belts either don't exist or there just not enforced. Its an interesting place.
As for work, its rather basic and boring. I am essentially building additional basement suits into some new townhouses. For the most part its a good crew that I'm working with and there easy to get along with. For the time being I have a house to myself. The weather has been chilly by local standards (-30ish most days) but not really that cold. Having the sun shine ever day makes a big difference. Im going to see if I can borrow a camera tomorrow and get some photos to post, as well Im planning to go check out the local gym.

Boz

The Journey continues with an early start. leaving my Mothers house around 545 this morning was a little harsh on my normal wake up routine but none the less it was ok. I arrived to the Edmonton air port to find that the place was a total zoo. I have never seen such a long lineup for airport security. That being said I have also never seen such an efficient airport security. So I was off. My flight to Yellowknife was uneventful. In Yellowknife i changed flights and was seated beside a lovely lady who spent 7 years in Iqaluit during the late 70s and early 80s. During her time there she was nurse and eventually became a Counselor/social worker. She has been full of interesting facts and stories about the area and I feel that I am a little more prepared for what to expect. At the moment she is returning to the area working with the Government delegates working on the public school fiasco.
I am currently flying over the Hudson's bay, after a quick stop in Rankin Inlet. Given that it was -30 outside and we were only going to be on the ground for about 20minutes i didn't bother to go outside. My quick view of Rankin is that its cold and, flat and windy. Maybe on my way back I will get to spend a few minutes there. Since leaving Edmonton the land scape has gone from wide open prairie to wide open tundra. I cant describe how big and open the north is. Everything is still fully frozen and I cant tell if its tundra or frozen ocean that we are flying over. Its just all white and flat. Its one of the craziest landscapes that I have ever seen.
One a quick note, I must say that First Air has to be one of the only full service airlines left. Between Edmonton and Yellowknife I was served a lovely breakfast, and then offered another between Yellowknife and Rankin. Now I was just served lunch with the offer of complimentary wine. If you ever find yourself needing to fly some were in the Artic I have to highly recommend First Air.

Boz

so it begins,

less than 48hrs ago if you would have asked me were I would be sitting right now I would have told you that I would be in hanging out at the crew house in Whitehorse of my now ex employer. But I'm not. I'm sitting in the Edmonton international air port, waiting for my Mom to come and pick me up. Let me start from the beginning.

Yesterday around 1130 in the morning I was starting to get my self packed for a summer of working in the bush in the northern Yukon. My phone beeped to tell me I had an email, It was from my employer. It was more or less saying that things I had been offered were no longer going to happen. After several conversations it became obvious that we were not going to come to some sort of a contract agreement in the next 24hrs, and that I wouldn't be getting on my flight to Whitehorse. This was a very hard decision for me to make for many reasons. First I was walking away from allot of money, and had no other job to go to. And second I have some good personal friends that worked there that are going to be affected by my decision. But at the end of the day I have to look out for myself . So in a flurry of stress and emotions I managed to find a 8-10 week contract up in Iqaluit Nunavut. This is were my adventure begins.

Since I was more or less ready to go to some other cold place in the north, it didn't take me long to pack my things, leaving me some time to hang out with my Girl Friend and my dog before drifting off. When I awoke I had confirmed flights, going from Vancouver to Cow Town Cow town to Edmonton, (were I am now), and then tomorrow i will be off to Yellowknife, Rankin Inlet and then finally Iqaluit were I will be for the next 8-10 weeks. Lucky for me my mother lives here in Edmonton so I get to spend a few hours with her before heading back to the airport early tomorrow..... Truthfully I don't know what to expect or what to think of this trip. Its long enough that leaving Kellie at the airport was one of the hardest things Ive had to do but short enough that there is already a light at the end of the tunnel. Wish me luck and who knows maybe Iqaluit is a cool town, and this turns into something more, maybe its a quick solution to a current problem.

Boz