Arctic fact: Because of the unseasonably warm temperatures close to 0C, Paul has had to plug in his freezer (outside in the uninsulated shed) early.

Can you imagine? The freezer only gets turned on for 4 months of the year.

Today I went to volunteer at the Aboriginal Headstart program, which is like preschool. I didn't actually work with the kids but the functions of the program were explained to me. Everyone speaks Inuktitut there (although most of the staff can speak English as well) so I got used to hearing the different sounds of the language and actually managed to recognize a couple of words in flows of speech. Also, I learned how to write my name in Inuktitut, and how to say, "my name is…" which will be all I say to the little ones until I get some vocab and the crazy grammar down, if I can do so. [note: I never did, just a few words here and there.]

As for the Headstart program, it's a program to get kids used to going to school, as attendance is not the greatest up here, so they're trying to get them into it when they're really young. It's also educational for the children, of course. They also try to educate the mothers on nutrition and childcare, and last month one high school class came in twice a week and learned about childcare and did some other educational and self-esteem building exercises. A great group of women work there and they do very interesting work.

For those of you that asked, we get CBC, and that's it, so if the hockey game isn't on the CBC, I'm not seeing it. Feel free to keep me up to date on the playoffs.

Also, someone asked about the houses. They're all made of wood (which, of course, has to be shipped up, because we're WAY above the treeline here) and they're all on stilts. Because of the permafrost, I guess you don't want any buildings touching the ground.

As far as the sleeping while it's light out, I think people stay up pretty late and then just sleep when they're tired. School attendance starts to get atrocious in May, when it's light for nearly 24 hrs and the weather is getting nice --- just like the weather we're having now, spring's come early, or so it seems. So, hockey games till 4am, you know... Well, maybe you don't. The man who took me out on his dogsled the other day, Michael, said that come June, he sleeps during the day and is up at night, because the light is so nice then.

So, I don't think the clock means a lot up here.

What else? School goes from 9am to 4pm, with 75 minute lunch. As far as what people do here, there are some that live off the land. A shack out in the middle of the Arctic wilderness, and they hunt, fish, and use traditional skills to subsist. Paul tells me that the kids who have lived off the land are much more mature, as they've had an adult figure to look up to and learn from, sadly not always the case in town. Also, no television and nintendo out there.

Oh EXCELLENT! Corson just got his 2nd --- now it's 3-1 Montreal! By the way, it doesn't matter what part of Canada you're from, or what part of Canada you're in, or what your cultural differences, you ALWAYS have the love of hockey in common. I even saw the other day, much to my dismay (I know I'm a turncoat, but they just had such a crappy season, who in their right mind would back them?) a Canuck jacket.

What were your other questions? Oh, as far as newspapers go, I know you can get them same day in Iqaluit (I stayed with someone who got the Ottawa Citizen everyday), but not here, as I think there are only 3 flights weekly. Mail takes a bit longer to arrive, maybe 2 weeks from the south. Quicker going down than coming up, I believe.

More on the Arctic adventure tomorrow.

Lynn