Day 2 in Iqaluit

We've had a busy day so far in Iqaluit. This morning we had a 7:00am wake up call to be over at Inuksuk High School at 8:00am for breakfast. At 9:00am, we took a tour of Iqaluit via bus for two hours stopping off at some places of interest. We first visited "The Apex" which was the first settlement of Iqaluit and the location of the original Hudson's Bay Trading Company in 1640. Next we arrived at Silvia Grinell Park where we experienced the cold winds and breath-taking views of the frozen water and arctic landscape. We drove up to the plateau where we saw modern Iqaluit housing being built and excellent views from above the city. Lastly, we ventured out to Breakwater Bay to walk on the frozen water.We all got some great photos and memories we'll never forget.

In the afternoon, we returned to the school for a light sandwich lunch and played some Arctic Baseball in the gym with some local high school students. Many of our students were naturals! It's played much like our version of baseball but you run the bases backwards. The school is very nice and modern which took most of our students by surprise. The computers all are brand new and clean. Although the internet runs at snail speed, we're even amazed they can get internet all the way up here! The classrooms are medium sized with clean desks and most have some form of technology (SMART Boards mostly). Every room has whiteboards rather than blackboards. One difference that our students enjoy is that they are allowed to wear their hats in school! Their classes also start at 8:05am due to busing restrictions. The high school students are picked up first, then the middle school, then elementary. Class periods run 90 minutes (15 more than ours), however the students get a 15 minute recess between period 1 and 2 and a 1 hour lunch (20 more than ours).  Classes at 3:00pm.

We watched a documentary on the history of Nunavut in the afternoon which was very informative. We also took part in a seminar where we learned all about dog sledding from a local teacher and even got to meet one of the teacher's dog sledding dogs "Saiku". All of our students got to pet the dog if they wanted to. The afternoon continued with a scavenger hunt put on by the Inuksuk students. The students were split into 4 teams and were instructed to decode Inutituk symbols all around the school to discover a secret code.

This evening, we are seeing another documentary about Toonik Tyme, the huge celebration going on around town. After, we are having dinner at one of our host teacher's houses up on the plateau. All 22 students in one house! Yikes!

Photos will be posted later when we return to the college residence. Throughout the week, 8:00pm seems to be the time we return, so check back on the website around 8:30pm for updates. The students and staff are having a blast and getting to know a little more about what it's like to be submerged within a new culture and society.