Pssssh Mount Everest!

almost at the top!

We are champions of the wilderness. Not only do we have a nose for adventure but we also possess piercing eyes to see our goals, ears to hear the terrified scream of nature cowering before us and mouths to taste the oh so delicious taste of victory. With our (not so) bare hands, we engaged Mother Nature in an epic struggle for northern supremacy and came out not only alive but also slightly sun and wind burnt; proud scars of our triumph and also a humble reminder of nature’s 1-2 punch – the ferocious wind and the relentless sun. From here on forth, we shall be known as the ones that can leap large ravines in a single bound and make mountains look nothing more than what they are: large mounds of dirt. Someone better call animal control cause we are wild and free!

It may be surprising to know that this isn’t just the premise to the next Hollywood blockbuster but also the summary of our high flying, sweat inducing arctic adventure this weekend! And this wasn’t just any weekend. This was a rare and elusive type of break. The kind of vacation where senile folk would gather the young’uns around a fire and refer back to “the good’ol days” for years to come. It was a legend – wait for it – dary 4 day long weekend. For 4 days, the north was at the mercy of our unimaginable curiosity. (Also, most of the community members were away...)

weeeeeee!

We started off Friday by deciding to conquer the mountain that’s been staring down on us ever since the say we came to Resolute. Signal mountain was a large and intimidating mountain, its snow covered rock face deceivingly masking the steep incline that’s shaken the confidence of many mere mortals. But are not any mortals, we are Andrew and Andrea, the slightly above average mortals, and no matter how high the mountain was, it paled in comparison to the size of our will and determination. Aided by 3 local kids a dog, we made the perilous climb and were rewarded by the amazing view of the town from the top of a mountain.

The next day was more subdued as our bodies begged tried to recover from the vigorous climb. Even though not much adventuring was done, we still got a chance to go out as the teachers from Qarmartalik banded together to host a dinner for us. The fine food was accompanied by even finer company and we were very happy to leave stomachs and hearts feeling full.

Sunday was another busy day of preparation for our busy week ahead. We taught about mental health issues such as anger and grief management as well as sexual health. So Sunday was full glue sticks, markers and mastering the laminator machine making relevant posters and teaching tools for kids. This included a life-size pre-pubescent person with cut out body parts and words to stick on to depict the physical and emotional changes associated with puberty. Further, we made our “Did you know…?” posters to be placed around the community to promote healthy living as well as our Community Health Education Forum happening on Tuesday May 31^st!

Then came our last and final day of the long weekend. We knew it was going to be a big one but we just didn’t know how big. We started off our day with our most ambitious adventure yet. For the past few weeks we have been hearing legends of a mythical place known only as “the pocket”. After snow suiting up, we embarked on our expedition to find this mythical “pocket” and see it for ourselves. One and a half hours of trekking, climbing, crawling and clawing later, we found ourselves not at the pocket (though we didn’t know that yet). Instead found something even better; a magnificent ravine that made the perfect slide. After a few minutes of heart thromping rushes down the mountain we decided to return home. Nature was clearly not happy with our decision and decided to crank up the heat on us. Now this far north, you’d think that this change in weather would be welcomed like soy sauce on sushi but when you’re wearing all the clothing you’ve brought, a hike in the temperature is, well, uncomfortable. As we slow cooked ourselves walking home, Andrea realized she lost her gloves at “the pocket”. A half hour later and 5 layers less clothing, we finally found the gloves. Crisis avoided! But that wasn’t it for out epic day. Without a moments rest, we were hosting a BBQ for the kids to celebrate the long weekend and Victoria day. With Andrew manning the grill and Andrea managing the condiments, drink and snacks, the kids had finished the long weekend with burnt hotdogs in hand a smile on their face.

As for us, we ended our adventure with burnt faces (instead of hotdogs) and the warmth of knowing we were able to go out and have a once in a lifetime adventure (maybe the warmth’s just from Andrea’s still peeling face).

Keepin' it real,

Healthy Hikers

Lights, Camera, ACTION!

Love at first sight!

Their eyes met, the world melted and suddenly time seemed to stand still. Andrea now knew what had been absent from her life. Rainbow’s cream-colour fur felt soft as feathers in her hands as Andrea lifted the shivering puppy from the frozen earth. Rainbow licked her nose and instantly a friendship was born.  

But then disaster struck! Rainbow was missing! Lost in the bleak terrain without food, water or shelter. The puppy, gentle and meek, the runt of her family, was alone without protection. Andrea was beside herself with worry. Silently she thought about her new furry friend, hoping she was safe. Little did she know that Rainbow was not too far away and the two would be reunited once again…

***

This week’s lessons were centered around substance use and abuse and related issues such as peer pressure and bullying. We provided the facts about the harms of smoking, alcohol and drugs and used convincing materials borrowed from the health center---including a giant cigarette, cross-sectioned to show the disgusting chemicals inside! We also got to embrace our inner actors and provided compelling skits that highlighted the challenges of peer pressure (though Andrea struggled with acting as an intimidating bully). The students identified good and bad responses, speckled with Andrew fake sobbing, the activity was a big success!

After a discussion on the harms of smoking, some senior students at Qarmartalik decided to take their health into their own hands and quit smoking! Perhaps an upcoming Spielberg in our midst, one student took the initiative to not only quit herself but to make an anti-smoking movie to be shown to the younger students! So after a few hours on Tuesday evening, driven by a growing congregation of students, a movie was born that was designed to inspire.  There was drama! Action! Sentimental “d’awwww” moments! Traditional throat singing! And even some rapping to share our positive message of leaving the pack behind! The video was super successful and we played it in all the classes. The kids LOVED it, giggling with their friends and wanting to do their own version! Luckily that was exactly what we had planned---anti-smoking and drinking videos for each age group to encourage their classmates to quit or prevent them from starting!  The filming process went very smooth and students were attentive as ever, determined to produce a worthy product for their peers. However, during a particular outdoors recording session with the Grade 4-5 class, Andrew was perplexed by the unresponsive camera as the children stood at the ready, rehearsing their lines silently. After a few takes, Andrew came to the harsh realization that a key element was missing from the film---the camera’s memory card. Disappointed, the class returned inside, with a few pouts and grumbles. Andrew eventually came out on top however with an impromptu recording time that successfully completed that class’ movie.

"Don't Smoke!"

Anti-Smoking Rap

Outside of the classroom, we’ve been shootin’ hoops, playing volleyball, and embracing their beloved Game X. Within the community, this week we had the opportunity of meeting the Hamlet Council and DEA (District Educational Authority) to present the objectives, progress and future directions of our project. Both committees were extremely supportive!! The DEA even requested that we expand out sexual health education unit (exclusively for grades 8-12) to the younger students in grade 4-7, limiting the lessons to puberty. This is a huge step forward as this will be the first year that sexual health has been taught at Qarmartalik school since the arrival of QHO. We’re very excited to share our knowledge and debunk the myths that the students have accumulated from TV and the internet!

To wrap up a great week, while playing a modified round of Bananagrams with some kids (ie. spelling practice), we heard word of a wandering puppy outside the hotel. Forlorn by previous disappointment, Andrea and some children went to look at the puppy, expectations low that this was the affectionate furball, Rainbow. A young girl opened the back door of the hotel and Andrea peered across the white expanse strewn with automobile parts to meet eyes with a familiar face, framed by a puffs of ivory. It was Rainbow!!!! Ecstatic we all ran to see a tired, cold and hungry Rainbow perched outside the back door of our hotel. After extensive cuddling and petting, from all the kids (and a relieved Andrea) we returned the puppy back home, safe and sound!

Andrew's sentimental side

Miss you all,

Rainbow’s Rescuers

PS. Andrew feels indifferent about the dog…but he’s not afraid to use some key pics as leverage with the ladies.

I can't cook... Me neither... Let's have a feast!

Andrew trying to cope

Every time you do something for the first time, it’s a learning process. Every time you do something with kids for the first time, it’s a recovery process. We consider ourselves pretty active individuals; Andrea runs, does yoga and plays ultimate while being the object of every girl’s dreams keeps Andrew on his toes. However we both agree that teaching kids can make even the most gruelling of physical activities seem like a stroll in the park. And we wouldn’t have it any other way. These nuclear reactor infused miniature humanoids are even more rewarding to teach than they are to handle.

For the last 3 days of the week we wrapped up our unit of physical health with the always entertaining lesson on nutrition. From teaching the 4 food groups to explaining the dangers of diabetes, the kids were all eyes and ears as we did our best to fill their insatiable appetite for knowledge. To give the kids a more tangible lesson we also took them to the local co-op store where we helped the kids read labels and pick healthy alternatives to the teeth rotting, artery clogging junk food that frequent their diet (to those reading we’d like to clear the fact that no matter how fruity a slushy, that is NOT a healthy alternative to a can of coke and that a can of coke has 13 packets of sugar (42g)). That however, wasn’t our secret weapon (refer to previous post). No, our secretest of secret nutrition weaponry in our arsenal of extraordinary spur of the moment ideas was something so out of the ordinary it came back full circle and made itself ordinary again. Yes gentleladies and gentleman, tonight we dine at Qarmartalik School!!!

Physical Health Week Feast! A little chaos never hurt anyone...

It was a daunting task. Feeding 60 people is never easy. Having 2 people that don’t cook feed anybody is next to impossible (Andrew has a better shot at being the next Hollywood hulk than he does cooking a half decent meal). Our hours of planning were all for naught as we stared blankly at the short list of recipes we acquired and an even shorter list of available ingredients. As we were about to give up and diet Andrew make scrambled eggs for everyone (the only thing he can make “well”) a few of the older kids came through and offered to teach us how to make caribou stew! Not only that, one of the girls even offered a whole caribou leg! Imbued with new ingredients and some sense to not let Andrew serve 60 eggs worth of omelettes, we fashioned together a complete meal with all 4 food groups and specific dishes for each class to make. In the end we had the kindergartens to grade 3 kids making banana muffins, the grades 4 and 5’s making a veggie and cheese scrambler (yes Andrew got to have his eggs in the end), the grade 7 and 8 making pizza and bannock and the 8-12 making the caribou stew. In our attempt to keep the kids occupied, we had them chopping and dicing every vegetable they could find which made for some rather odd changes to the recipes (caribou stew became onion caribou stew and the veggie pizza became a cooked salad with bread dough, cheese and tomato sauce).

Senior students taking the lead on the caribou stew!

However, through sheer force of will and more blind luck, we and the kids pulled through and our feast at the end of the day was a huge success! The kids loved it and we were also able to try raw caribou meat (quite the delicacy I must say). All in all, it was a great way to end an excellent week!

We finally got a chance to talk to the local nurse who provided great insight on the needs of the community and projects which she thinks will be successful for us to implement.  Not only that but the health center has a wealth of resources that will aid us greatly in teaching our remaining heath lessons such as posters and handouts. SCORE!

Maria and Kendra measuring the ice 

thickness

Over the weekend, the local RCMP officer Maria was kind enough to take us out on the land in her ski-doo which we graciously accepted. The weather was quite brisk (by northern standards that means buttocks tightening cold) but nothing could put out our burning desire to go out on the land and see the north for what it is; a mesmerizing oasis of white, untouched by the struggles of humanity and filled with nature’s purest intentions. It is a beauty unlike any other and gives a sense of peace no meditation can achieve.

Our first week comes to an end but a new week is just peeking around the horizon. Our unit on mental health this week will prove to see whether or not we can take the lessons we learned last week and apply them to teaching this week (hopefully!). While our plans may be many many (senior research project and community education session) we believe our strive for success is more.

 

Saving the world, one healthy meal at a time,

Nutrition Ninjas

"I broke a kid's arm in 7 places cause I threw the ball too hard"

It was Monday. For those of you unaware, that’s the day that follows those 2 days where you tell yourself you’re going to be really productive and finish the things you had been putting off during the week only to realize that it’s dinner and you haven’t even finished your witty facebook post about how unproductive the previous day was (this of course didn’t happen to us as pointed out in the previous post). It’s also the day associated with new things; in most cases, a new week. In our case, the daunting scenario of having 12 perplexed faces staring back at you as you try in vain to decide which bacteria is “good” and which is “bad” from the 15 random photos you blindly pulled off the internet.

We decided to re-arrange the classroom

Never seen Andrea this excited

That’s right; this was going to be the first day the Resolute teaching crew of Andrew and Andrea took teaching health to a whole new taxa (see, biology joke cause we were teaching about germs and hygiene as our first lesson to the kids)! Our lesson plan was packed full of fun activities such as using glitter to show how germs can spread through handshaking, interactive hand washing and a game of Simon says to show how to brush your teeth properly. We even had a game where we hid pictures of bacteria around the room for the kids to find to emphasize that germs can be everywhere. The point of the activity was totally missed however when the kids wanted to know whether the bacteria they found was good or bad (this was after we explained that not all bacteria are bad – cause diseases and that some are good – those found in our colon). None-the-less, we held strong and our first teaching day with the kids was spotless (another awesome pun)! The younger kids were really receptive and seemed to already know everything we were teaching. For the older kids, we decided to stray a bit from the lesson plan (we’re dare devils – we know) and go more in-depth behind the science of germs and bacteria to keep it interesting. After school we decided to raid the school’s kitchen in hopes of supplementing our secret weapon for teaching nutrition to the kids (this hopefully will blow them away – we just made another hygiene joke, this time referencing sneezing). 

The kids loved B-ball

The next day was spent at the community gym where the kids normally have their physical education class. Outfitted in our gym attire (QHO t-shirt and a pair of shorts), we were ready to run our fitness lesson (we sorry, we can’t stop). Travelling to and from the school, we managed to gather all the balls and sports equipment we’d need for that day’s sweat inducing lesson.  Note to self, no matter how short the distance, it is NEVER a good idea to go outside in -15 degree weather with t-shirts and shorts – even Andrew’s burly man thighs were buckling from the frigid temps.

From the sparkle in their eyes as they entered the gym, we knew that gym period was the holy grail of the school day for these kids. The lesson on fitness and the importance of exercise went smoothly and the games we played even more so. We taught the kids the game of hand ball (which all the kids loved) and in return they taught us “Game X” – a version of the popular game ‘fireball’. The kids were all so active and excited that we barely got a moments rest the whole day. This resulted in our body raising a white flag and our nose telling us that it probably wasn’t going to be a good idea to wear our beloved qho t-shirts again tomorrow. At the end of class we made a stop at the school to talk to Craig, the principal’s husband and also the school’s IT manager and counsellor about getting videos cameras for a possible video project and also a projector. Craig was amazing and managed to get us everything we asked for AND a printer before the day was out! Before we left though, Andrew and Craig got into some much needed 1337 speak (or geek speak as Andrea saw it) to help deal with Andrew’s withdrawal from technology (Andrew would like tell his beloved computer OverDriveBeastX that he misses her lots).

It's alive! Yes, the projector works

Besides teaching, we also managed to contact the local nurses Mary and Cathy as well as the RCMP officer Maria to set up a time to meet them and discuss our program. More exciting however was the fact that we got in contact with Ipelee, the person who ran the youth program in the community and received a stack of logs of all the meetings they’ve had! This will go a long way in helping us re-establish the initiative in the community.

Our day ended much like it started; uncontainable excitement at our next chance to meet the kids and teach! As our weary bodies rest from the copious amounts of exercise after a rather long period of being stagnant, we can only hope that our next lesson on nutrition will be as delicious as the meals we have been enjoying here in Resolute.

Germ free since ’83,

The Gym Class Heroes 

p.s - the title is actually a quote from an older female student. Apparently she's really good at Game X...

Are you guys brother and sister? Boyfriend and girlfriend? Mother and son?

Hello friends!

It’s been a fun and exciting few days here in Resolute! Full days packed with new faces, inspiring discussions, and kids with limitless energy. Andrew and Andrea, who are typical night-owls, find themselves exhausted by 8pm.

View from Qarmartalik school

Upon arrival, we had heard word from the children that the Breakfast Club at Qarmartalik (the elementary/high school) was the place to be at 8:30am---which was great to hear!! So Friday morning, that’s where Andrew and Andrea were headed, grins broad, ready to help! Buttered-toast was piled to the rafters as dozens of hungry paws were raised asking for more! With the sun shining so bright all day and all night, the kids have endless energy at all hours of the day. After the breakfast club, Jennifer, Qarmartalik’s principal, graciously showed us around the school, introduced us to all the teachers and discussed typical school proceedings. The clean, welcoming school has everything a kid could want, including a supportive, friendly staff. The teachers were very flexible and had adapted their programming to accommodate our health course, which will be run for one period a day for each class. With a room in transition between the music room and next year’s daycare, there was a spare room which will be adopted as Andrea & Andrew’s Room of Health! 

The Classroom!!

After brief introductions with the community’s nurses, Cathy and Mary, and senior administrative officer, Martha, Andrew and Andrea attended a community meeting about the potential environmental impact of an iron ore mine that is being considered on Baffin Island. A really interesting discussion and presentation, Andrea and Andrew engaged in interesting discussions with the scientists and community members, including the most wise and thoughtful Louisa, a community elder. We are excited to get to know Louisa and other community members and continue to learn and develop a positive relationship with the people of Resolute Bay.

Saturday, Andrew and Andrea had a fascinating meeting with the local RCMP constable, Maria. She shared valuable insight about how to teach children and youth about serious issues such as substance abuse and sexual assault.  She runs a hockey program every Friday afternoon and makes pancakes for the kids at Wednesday’s Breakfast Club and will provide great support for our programming throughout our time here in Resolute.

After further exploration of the community, a few hours of tag and piggyback rides with the kids, Andrew and Andrea naturally were drawn to the most happenin’ place on Saturday night--- kids movie night at the Arctic College! With popcorn and pretzels galore and Yogi Bear and Booboo on the screen, who could ask for anything more? Andrea and Andrew jumped right in the front row with all the kids, experiencing Yogi’s roller coaster of emotions. Quite quickly though, Andrew noticed that though his own lap was drafty and vacant, Andrea had children climbing all over her with drawings and offerings of snow flakes, cookies, and even hand-made crowns. After many unsuccessful attempts at vying for the children’s attention, such as crying faces and offering secret toys and prizes, Andrew decided to give up and just sit back and enjoy the movie. Later we met a student, grade 12, who had been hunting a polar bear all day and would be going back out on the land early the next day. Really fascinating! After the movie, Andrew and Andrea quickly were transformed into zombies and played zombie tag for the rest of the evening as the sun "set"...

Nearly the darkest point of the day

The rest of the weekend was full of planning and decorating our classroom with human body posters and health-related signs. We hope to plaster the walls with the students’ artwork and creations and are extremely excited (and nervous!) for our first day of class!!

Ta-ta for now! :)

Esolute-Ray Angers-Ray (there's been lots of pig latin these days...)

PS- The title refers to the most common questions asked from the kids...

Warm Greetings from a Cold Climate

For 216 days we have been perspiring sweat, blood and tears preparing ourselves for our eventful trip north. In 215 seconds we were left befuddled at what kids these days considered “sick” (cool was so yesterday).

Ok, so maybe not the most dramatic series of events leading up to our trip to Resolute Bay but it really just goes to show that no matter how prepared you think you are, it’s the little things that always inevitably make you cock your head in an awkward manner and mutter an equally awkward “Wha?”. So after a frantic afternoon of northern gear shopping (thank you MEC), bank straightening (thank you TD), food gorging (thank you Costco) and prize buying (Mrs. Tiggy Winkle, we can only thank you so much – your exuberant amount of awesome stuff makes our prize budget look like a small packets of peanuts trying to feed the elephant herd in Tarzan) we were finally ready to pack our bags and head up the great white north. 

Our faithful journey started at the early hours of 9am from Ottawa airport to Iqaluit. Our check-in was uneventful save for the fact that the First Air service agent thought it amusing that the weight of Andrea’s bag was disproportionate to the remoteness of our destination. Let me tell you, 30 minutes before your flight departs is NOT a good time to be second guessing yourself. Andrew eventually soothed Andrea’s qualms and we were off for Iqaluit. Upon landing we had a 2 hour layover before our next flight to Artic Bay so we decided to be adventurous and endeavour out into the city. Our travels first led us to a map of the city – Jackpot. Except this was not map, it was a puzzle. Not only was it a puzzle, but an extremely confusing puzzle that after 15 minutes, we were more lost than when we hadn't looked at the map at all. We eventually stumbled in the right direction and found ourselves at the local supermarket / tim hortons (we believe this is the exact same place that the pond inlet team also visited on their layover so check out their blog!). What we also found at the supermarket was culture shock in the form of sticker shock. Milk you ask? Well you’re in luck cause this week it’s on sale for 12 dollars a bag! 2 things this made us realize 1) how lucky we are to have such low food prices back in Ontario and 2) The amazing power that is planning and Costco – right now we’d choose them over batman and robin any day.

Like finding waldo - except he's not there

Apples, a pricey commodity

Our curiosity while in Iqaluit also proved to be one of the best traits we brought along with us. Whoever said that curiosity killed the cat didn’t hear about how these 2 kitties’ inquisitiveness led them to discover the purpose of the white, oddly shaped building in front of them. As we approached the windowless structure it turned out to be a local elementary school – Nakasuk Elementary school. We decided to enter and were floored when we talked to the principal. Turns out the principal, Brian Manning, was the previous principal of the school in Resolute and the person that brought QHO (Queen’s Medical Outreach at the time) into the community! While we sat there in awe and disbelief, Brian was very informative in telling us the history of the community and the lifestyle of the Inuit people. Not only did he prep us on what to expect when we got there but also gave us a very moving speech about the principles the Inuit lived by and how their way of life is the way of life that best fits them in their environment. After wishing us luck and answering our questions, he sent us on our way with some keepsakes and even an Inuktitut phrase book! See, curiosity didn’t kill the cat - the neighbour’s van did…Kidding!

Brian, the most pleasant surprise in Iqaluit

Andrea and our 3 new friends

Back on the plane we were, heading to resolute. On the way we stopped at Arctic Bay and picked up several cool magazines reporting about life up north. Around 7 o’clock local time (8 EST) we touched down in Resolute! Here we were picked up by our hotel manager Ozzy and driven back to our hotel. After hastily throwing our luggage into our rooms, we came down to the kitchen for our meal where we were greeted by 2 of the local kids. Having nothing better to do after dinner, we decided to go outside and play with them. It wasn’t long before their friends took notice of the 2 newcomers within the community and before we knew it we were swamped with kids – the community’s warm way of saying hello. Our adventure took us into the wee hours of the night (it was 10 o’clock but up here it’s currently 24 daylight season so 10 o’clock at night looked no different from 2 in the afternoon) before our exhaustion got the better of us and we were forced to retire. If our first 3 hours within the community was any indication of the rest of our stay, we were in for a very rewarding, very exhausting and absolutely amazing time.

In Resolute, everyone's family!

Just keep on going and going,

The world’s longest lasting AA crew