We (my husband Michael and I) arrived in Iqaluit on May 20th knowing next to nothing about this capital city of Nunavut. A little over six weeks later, I still don’t know much but, what I have been able to absorb I’m willing to share.
Taxi Service
You’d better put your boots and your coat on before you make the call to order a cab. They’re at your door as quick as quick can be. They all seem to know where Baha’i House is located so we never have to tell them our house number. The reason for that could be because, I’ve been told, when the cab drivers take the test for their cab license they have to find three houses.
This is not easy. Houses in Iqaluit are given a number at the time they are built so, the numbers are not in any kind of order. Baha’i House is numbered 112. It was built in the late 60’s and the numbering now is up in the thousands. However, another house close in number to 112 may be at the other end of town. Yes, it’s confusing to someone like me. If you guessed that one of the three houses the poor cab drivers must find to get their license is Baha’i House, then you guessed correctly.
You can go anywhere in Iqaluit for a flat fee. $7, or for us elderly types it’s a bargain $5. Now, if you want to stop somewhere to pick something up and then continue you pay another fare. When we’re out walking and I get tired it’s always easy to find a cab. They are literally everywhere. I enjoy getting into a conversation with the drivers, they seem to come from far and wide and, as I’ve heard so often, many came for a short period of time but are still here years later.
Shopping
We heard there was only one grocery store in town, NorthMart, and that prices were sky high. Well, it appears there are three grocery stores and for us coming from small-town Ontario the prices, for the most part, aren’t as high as we had anticipated. We have trouble in our own home town finding value in the mart we frequent and believing, as we do, in shopping locally our grocery bill can sometimes sting.
Everything seems to be available here including fresh fruit and veggies but ‘fresh’ is certainly the key word. Our housemate when she left was expressing a desire to have a fresh salad. Yes, we do have salads but they lack something. Is it freshness? I’ve noticed that even my home cooking isn’t as tasty as it once was. I think if the ingredients are not really fresh something in the taste is lost.
The most delicious food I’ve eaten in Iqaluit is just two doors west at the Grind & Brew … PIZZA! They were reported to have the best pizza in town and I’d have to add anywhere. I’ve never had pizza this good. We especially like the Grind & Brew Special without the green peppers. I’m drooling on my keyboard just writing about this. Friday is normally pizza day but last night, Thursday, we jumped ahead. YUM!
Adoption
This subject fascinates me, having raised two adopted kids and given a child up for adoption myself but, I fear, I’ve got a lot to learn about how it works here to write about it. What I have been told is this. It’s so normal in the north to be adopted that adoption does not come with the same abandonment issues as southern kids. More about this when I’m better informed.
Here I am with the son I gave up for adoption at birth in 1972.
We were reunited in April of 2002. One of the happiest days
of my life. It was like a piece of me had gone missing for 30 years.
This is a fairly recent photo.
Summer
They say it’s summer here now. Really? We were out walking last night about eight o’clock. The sun was shining and providing a good amount of warmth. Many windows were open in the houses we passed. Not so in Baha'i House. Northerners were passing us as we walked wearing flip-flops and thin jackets. We must look so obviously southern still in our winter coats. Our noses were cold and we could not imagine our feet being bare to the crisp air. It was 5C.
At the moment of writing this it’s 3C and has been drizzling all day. I just checked my weather app and hope it’s wrong. It’s calling for nine solid days of drizzle reaching between 4-8C. Oh my! Summer here is more like early spring in Ontario. The house and shed need staining and new roof covering needs to be applied to the leaky shed. The window of opportunity has not yet opened.
Sidewalks
Haven’t seen one yet however, paths have been worn into the ground everywhere. For the most part residents do not own the land their house sits on and as no one owns land cutting through, around and in between houses is quite common. Did you notice I said “for the most part”? Baha’i House is an exception and the property around this historic house is larger than most and is indeed owned by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of Canada. There are multiple paths cutting across and around us.
At some point large rocks were brought in and placed around the perimeter because cars were also cutting through the property. The unfortunate side to the rutted paths is that what little growth there might have been has been worn away. Michael, on his off-the-beaten-trail walks has taken pictures of beautiful flowers. When I figure out how to get his shots from his phone and into my computer I’ll post them on my Facebook page. I don’t think you have to join Facebook to see our photos. They’ve been marked for ‘public’ display so just do a Google search for Marlene Turner Russell and you should get to photos we’ve taken with a little something I’ve said about almost every shot.
Learning
Finally, the most important thing I’ve learned is that the Inuit way of learning has traditionally been from watching and listening to parents and elders. One man explained, “Our parents did not teach us. We watched them and listened to what they were saying. It is not the Inuit way to learn from paper”. Interesting. I must keep this in mind at Arts and Crafts classes and work quietly along with the kids saying as little by way of instruction as possible. And you know that won’t be easy.
