Long Week

Still in Iqaluit, but  I'm ready to go home. It's been a good trip and the training that I came here for has been really informative, but I miss being around my stuff and seeing my husband every day! We actually figured that we will likely run into each other at the airport in Rankin, so it will be nice to see each other even before we get home!

As I'm writing this on Thursday night, I still haven't gone on my tour yet so I don't really have much to share (being in training all day, every day, kind of limits that). I'll try to share what's been going on for the past couple of days as best I can and hopefully not bore you too much! :)


One of the big weekly "events" in town is Wednesday Wing night at the Store House. Let me tell you, I was impressed with the Store House (also part of the hotel complex, so again, we don't have to leave the building to go! Yay!) - the place is pretty big with pool tables, dart boards, big fireplaces and cozy chairs, a big circular bar, and a dance floor. Before we came up here, everyone kept talking about Wednesday Wing night and how it's *the* thing to do in town. The doors opened at 5, and there was a long line forming at 4:45, so people weren't kidding when they said it got busy! However, for $6 (taxes in) you get 10 wings and that is a ridiculously low price for food here (hell, that'd be a decent price in Ontario!); though $8.50 for a mixed drink is pretty reminiscent of a night out in Toronto (one thing I actually don't miss). After 9pm, the lights go down and the music goes up - and it turns into a true bar.

It was nice to have a night out with my work people - there was a good group of over a dozen of us who made it out for wings, and it was nice to unwind after long training days and get to socialize for a bit. Then, when the music started and the dance floor filled up (after a couple of drinks), you almost forgot where you were and it felt...normal. A very late night indeed, but worth the tired and slow start the next day.

The weather's been pretty nice for most of the week. I've heard Iqaluit compared to the London of the world because it's usually cloudy and wet here, and it's been pretty true since we landed. The sun was out briefly on Monday but that's been kind of it. However, I was in for a surprise this morning when I woke up after going to bed to a very clear, still night. Here's what the view from my room looked like on Wednesday morning:

When I opened up my shades this morning, this is what I saw:

It was snowing like crazy all morning and changed to rain around lunch so things started to melt, but stayed really slippery. I still can't get over how the weather changes on a dime here. Unfortunately for us, the fire alarm went off late in the afternoon and we had to stand outside for a bit without our jackets, but at least the snow was gone by then! People were saying they hoped it wouldn't change to freezing rain or we may have trouble flying out. Eek!

Tomorrow, I'm hopefully going to go around the town for a bit and see what's going on. Hopefully the weather will be clear enough that I get some good pictures and get to experience it without worrying about slipping and falling the whole time! Then, we're going to get on a plane and fly problem-free home to Baker Lake (which apparently has lots of snow on the ground because it's been snowing since Wednesday too!). Fingers crossed it all goes according to plan!!!

-L