Games Night and Qamutiik Ride

Saturday:

Mandy and I went to play board games with a group of teachers. It was a good way to pass the night. Highlight of the evening was while we were playing the game Taboo. It's a word game where you are given a card with a word on it, and you have to try to get your team to guess the word, but there is also a list of words you are not allowed to use to describe your word. It's a really fun game. Well we had played several rounds when it was my turn again; I went through 5 cards and every time I was "buzzed" for saying one of the illegal words. I was so frustrated! When it was my turn again during the next round, I made up for my mistake by getting my team to guess 7 words.

Sunday:

I woke up with one thing on my mind - lesson planning. I had to get ready to teach on Monday. I'm taking over Donna's English class. I am beginning with lessons on writing paragraphs. It was hard to prepare for the lessons since I don't really know where my students are with their writing. So, I found some worksheets, writing prompts and examples to start with. Before I give them work to do I will talk to them and assess what level they are at - that's diagnostic testing (Sue would be proud). After lunch Dave asked us if we were interested in going on skidoo ride. Mandy and I were so excited. We bundled up in all our warmest clothes and set out.

Dave had set up the qamutiik with caribou skins, a sleeping back and a foam mattress to cushion the sled. It had bungee cords wrapped around it for us to hold on to. It was still a bumpy ride, but our backsides were comfortable. We brought hot chocolate and cookie to enjoy once we stopped. They were a refreshing snack, but we were anxious to get going. We continued driving towards the iceberg. It was about an hour-long drive out. Since we were sitting on the side of the sled we couldn't see what we were driving towards. All of a sudden the sun disappeared. As I turned my head I was astounded to see a massive chunk of ice.

It's no wonder that the Titanic sunk after hitting an iceberg. They are massive pieces of compacted snow. Dave told us that this iceberg is a chunk off of a glacier that could be thousands of years old. During the summer months this will travel through the bay around Pond Inlet, and will eventually make its way down to Newfoundland and out into the Atlantic Ocean where it will eventually melt. It was amazing to see. A lot of the towns people come to this iceberg to chip off ice and bring it home to drink. Everyday I have iceberg water and it tastes so cold and pure.

On our way home I felt like my toes may fall off. I began questioning which toes could I live without. I told David how cold I was and he suggested that we run to get the circulation flowing through our bodies. I started off sprinting - it would have been quite a scene. I didn't realize how heavy my boots and layers were until I woke up this morning. I was so sore. When we got back to the house Mandy and I took off our layers and spent the rest of the evening under blankets close to the fire. We were chilled to the bone - it was a feeling that wouldn't go away.

Overall it was an amazing experience. I have been on many skidoo drives with Uncle Don, but never have I been so cold. I hope you're able to see my photos of my adventure (it's in the slideshow above) but if you'd rather see a larger picture, check out: http://s1178.photobucket.com/albums/x364/mpinket/My%20Trip/

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“The mind is like an iceberg, it floats with one-seventh of its bulk above water.” - Sigmund Freud