If I thought the Winnipeg airport was small, the few airports after that were even smaller. The Baker Lake airport was a counter and a couple seats...and that was pretty much it. You get on/off the plane outside and have to walk into the airport from the runway.
When we landed, I was anxious to see what Baker Lake was like, but also to meet my new boss and co-worker, who were coming to pick us up. I shouldn't have worried though, because we got into the airport and I was greeted with the warmest hug from them and I immediately started to relax. We didn't have to wait for any luggage, so we got into the truck (the extremely high truck that Jeff had to push me up into) and drove the few minutes into town.
I admit it all went by so fast that I didn't really get a good look at everything. I did note that although it was after 8pm it was still bright and sunny out - and was told that this was about as dark as it got these days because of the 24 hour light during the spring/summer. Well, I'll be darned!
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
In...
Before I was officially offered the job, my new company flew the both of us up to Baker Lake to come meet the people and see where we would be staying. To say that it was a quick trip would be an understatatement - we were in and out in the blink of an eye.
Our trip started bright and early one morning where we caught a flight from Toronto to Winnipeg, which was followed by a 5 hour layover in the Winnipeg airport. I thought/hoped that it was similar to the Toronto airport and figured I'd grab some Starbucks, maybe get a massage and my nails done...boy, was I disappointed. The airport had a Starbucks, and even a Tim Horton's, but that was pretty much it. There was 4 or 5 places to eat and...nothing else to do. We contemplated leaving the aiport and going to the downtown area because we heard it was only about a 15 minute cab ride, but we didn't really feel like leaving the secure area and having to go back through security and such later. So we stuck it out mainly in the Starbucks area and played on the iPad, read some books...wrote our Pros & Cons to Moving to Nunavut list...it was a long 5 hours to say the least.
Our trip started bright and early one morning where we caught a flight from Toronto to Winnipeg, which was followed by a 5 hour layover in the Winnipeg airport. I thought/hoped that it was similar to the Toronto airport and figured I'd grab some Starbucks, maybe get a massage and my nails done...boy, was I disappointed. The airport had a Starbucks, and even a Tim Horton's, but that was pretty much it. There was 4 or 5 places to eat and...nothing else to do. We contemplated leaving the aiport and going to the downtown area because we heard it was only about a 15 minute cab ride, but we didn't really feel like leaving the secure area and having to go back through security and such later. So we stuck it out mainly in the Starbucks area and played on the iPad, read some books...wrote our Pros & Cons to Moving to Nunavut list...it was a long 5 hours to say the least.
Baker Lake?
A lot of people have asked us where exactly in Nunavut we're staying, so I thought I'd take a really quick second and tell you about our soon-to-be home.
Baker Lake is a hamlet (about 1,800 people) on the inland part of Nunavut. I believe I read somewhere that it's the Canadian Arctic's only inland community, because all the other areas are along the ocean and Baker Lake is about 20km from it. Baker Lake is also the community closest to the geographical centre of Canada...which, to be honest, I never would have guessed was so North. Clearly, I am no geography expert! We were also told that of the small population, about 20% are "Southerners" (anyone not from Nunavut is considered a Southener!), so there are plenty of people who went through the same thing we're going through right now. Solidarity, FTW!
Why did we decide to embark on this adventure? It really came about on a whim to be honest (I know, life-changing decisions shouldn't start on a whim, but hear me out). An opportunity came up that was honestly too good to be passed up, so after a lot - and I do mean a lot - of discussions with our families, we figured we were at a good point in our lives to try it out. We don't have any kids yet, we're relatively young (depends on the day though, somedays I hobble around like I'm 90 years old!) and everything was pointing towards going. So...we're going. It's been a whirldwind since we've made the decision and I flip-flop between getting really excited, to getting really depressed, to just all-out freaking out. An emotional rollercoaster for sure. I will say that I am glad that the opportunity has come at this point in my life because I don't think I could do it if I was single and making the move on my own. I'm way too much of a homebody for that.
So that's why it's happening and where we're going. Next up, I'll tell you about our lightning-fast visit over the course of a weekend. My head still spins!
-L
Baker Lake is a hamlet (about 1,800 people) on the inland part of Nunavut. I believe I read somewhere that it's the Canadian Arctic's only inland community, because all the other areas are along the ocean and Baker Lake is about 20km from it. Baker Lake is also the community closest to the geographical centre of Canada...which, to be honest, I never would have guessed was so North. Clearly, I am no geography expert! We were also told that of the small population, about 20% are "Southerners" (anyone not from Nunavut is considered a Southener!), so there are plenty of people who went through the same thing we're going through right now. Solidarity, FTW!
Why did we decide to embark on this adventure? It really came about on a whim to be honest (I know, life-changing decisions shouldn't start on a whim, but hear me out). An opportunity came up that was honestly too good to be passed up, so after a lot - and I do mean a lot - of discussions with our families, we figured we were at a good point in our lives to try it out. We don't have any kids yet, we're relatively young (depends on the day though, somedays I hobble around like I'm 90 years old!) and everything was pointing towards going. So...we're going. It's been a whirldwind since we've made the decision and I flip-flop between getting really excited, to getting really depressed, to just all-out freaking out. An emotional rollercoaster for sure. I will say that I am glad that the opportunity has come at this point in my life because I don't think I could do it if I was single and making the move on my own. I'm way too much of a homebody for that.
So that's why it's happening and where we're going. Next up, I'll tell you about our lightning-fast visit over the course of a weekend. My head still spins!
-L
Come Chill Out with Us!
Welcome to our blog! I assume that if you have made your way to our little corner of the internet, you are either a friend or family member checking up on how we're doing - or perhaps you were like us, and you're contemplating a move to Nunavut and you're looking for some "real life" stories! Either way, welcome and nice to meet you!
We are moving to Baker Lake in about 7 weeks and wanted to use this as a tool to chronicle not only our move and our journey, but to share our experiences with everyone at home. Hopefully it will ease anyone's anxiousness about life away from our family & friends, but I also hope that maybe we can help others in similar positions later on. And if anyone's coming to Baker Lake, we really are friendly people - and I will lure you in with fresh baked treats! :)
A little about us, we are originally (and still) from Southwestern Ontario, on the outer edge of the GTA. We got married a few months ago after a whirlwind romance, and are blissfully enjoying life as newlyweds. Lily (that's me) is a self-proclaimed foodie and a lover of all things pink. Jeff is a walking library with razor-sharp wit. This blog is guaranteed to be peppered with our cheesy senses of homour and sarcasm. You've been warned!
-L
We are moving to Baker Lake in about 7 weeks and wanted to use this as a tool to chronicle not only our move and our journey, but to share our experiences with everyone at home. Hopefully it will ease anyone's anxiousness about life away from our family & friends, but I also hope that maybe we can help others in similar positions later on. And if anyone's coming to Baker Lake, we really are friendly people - and I will lure you in with fresh baked treats! :)
A little about us, we are originally (and still) from Southwestern Ontario, on the outer edge of the GTA. We got married a few months ago after a whirlwind romance, and are blissfully enjoying life as newlyweds. Lily (that's me) is a self-proclaimed foodie and a lover of all things pink. Jeff is a walking library with razor-sharp wit. This blog is guaranteed to be peppered with our cheesy senses of homour and sarcasm. You've been warned!
-L
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