Easter Monday - Fishing and Games

After the Kaffemik was over, one of the parents invited me out to go fishing. Ahhh that means I have to walk on the ice. I have a huge fear of ice that covers the water; especially after one of my sled dogs last year fell right into open water. When I was young I remember seeing part of a horror film where a bunch of kids were playing hockey on a pond or lake and one child falls through. The current takes him and as all the other children follow this child on top of the ice, all you can see is the desperation in the boy’s face. I will never forget those boy’s eyes through the ice, hopelessly drowning while the current swept him away. I can’t even remember that name of the film but that scene put a fear so imbedded into my mind and dreams that every time I go out onto the ice, I say a little prayer. Today was a little easier as the whole community was out there in one straight line about 10 feet apart fishing and then Easter games followed. There was a wonderful little tent set up, cooking up bacon, warming up a piece of whale meat, little hands and feet. For about a week I have been looking out of my window at the dark path on the ice, I could not figure out what it was. My fears were that it was melting or soft in that spot. But actually it was a crack in the ice that the locals kept the snow off of so they could easily drill by hand a hole to fish in. Now that makes scene, but of course my fears created all kinds of scenarios. The Easter games were great. The head masters husband, Ilannquaq was in charge of the games. They where really fun, the treats would be placed in the snow and then the children would race for them in many different competitions, like jumping on one foot or picking back riding race. My favorite two games consisted of the children being blindfolded and then they would search for the treats by crawling around on the ice and feeling for them by pushing the snow around. What I most enjoyed about this game was the honesty of the children. Again had we been in North America…most of the children would of cheated by peeking under their blindfolds. Now I know the kids were honest as the adults laughed their guts out while the children passed all the treats…after going about 20 feet too far, finally Ilannquaq told them to turn around. And the other fun game was the whip game. A DVD was placed in the snow and the kids lined up and took their chance of knocking over the DVD using a dogsled whip and who ever succeeded won the DVD. It was a great day and I was frozen like a Popsicle!

Kaffemik on Easter Monday

Kaffemik means a cozy gathering with coffee. Three boxes filled with cookies, fruit, popcorn, candy and many other things arrived on the helicopter on Good Friday. On Easter Monday I hosted my first Kaffemik at the school and invited the community to come down and visit the school to meet me and to see what we have been doing at the school. Many of the children came down early to help me prepare everything and to make everything look great. At one point I was worried that no one would show up. And then at 5 minutes to 2pm half the community showed up. It was wonderful and everyone was very impressed with the work that we have put into the “Minik” story. We will begin shooting outside this week and I hope to have the book complete before I leave Qaanaaq (which the next community south of Siorapaluk). By the end of the Kaffemik, everything had been eaten up. It was wonderful watching how polite the kids were, waiting so patiently to dive into the treats. Now if we were in North America…the first thing that would have disappeared would have been the candy but in the most northern community in the world … it was the pineapple that everyone desired. We take it for granted how fortunate we are to have a wide selection of fresh fruit right around the corner. A couple days before this when I was going through some of my food supplies, I found a lime that had blue mould on half of it…I was about to throw it out when I saw a little smile and sparkle in one of the kids faces. So I cut off the mould and cut it up. All the children were pleased as punch to have a slice. They love the tardy taste more than any other candy. And we all know how most adults in North America would of reacted…most would of thrown it out, some would of gagged and probably even a few parents would of called the school board, threatening to sue claiming I tried to kill their children. On the contrary the teacher thanked me for sharing.

Easter Sunday Mass

Now since I went to Christmas mass in Berlin, Germany, I thought it was fitting that I should experience Easter mass in Siorapaluk, Greenland. The protestant church had a very simple design of white walls with electric candleholders and a baby blue alter. The sermon was given by one of the local woman and the hymnbook was written in Greenlandic. I am always amazed how you can find church hymns in every language imaginable but yet the church was unable to respect the culture of indigenous people and stripped them of their traditional songs and drums (ahh don’t get me started!) At any rate it was beautiful and again supported my belief that we are all praying to the same God or Creator, we all wake up, go pee, get sick, put our pants on, eat and sleep, the same. That we are all 95% the same and the small 5% that distinguishes us from being different is often used as a means to create judgments about other people. What is educated, sophisticate, proper or acceptable. And why do the people in the south feel that their option on what people from the north eat or do is valid or even matters. When I explain to seal lovers that killing a cow or pig is no different, that the traditional foods from the north is what their body needs to survive…they still look at me and comment “it not right to kill baby seals!” And my response to that is “oh and how is veal any different?” And “from an environmental standpoint…does it make more sense to fly Alberta beef all the way up to Baffin Island when you can go out your back door and shoot a seal??? Duh think about that one. The judgment of others is our biggest fault as humans and if everyone could just accept everyone for who they are…well the world would be a much better and happier place to live in.

Walrus hunting and sledding with the kids!

Three dog sleds took off to go walrus hunting. They must take boats with them, as walrus like to hang out on large floating chunks of ice. So they put two boats onto the sleds and a third sled followed with all the supplies. Apparently when the walrus get scared they forget that they can dive deep into the water and stay under for up to 30 minutes so they are really easy to shoot. Walrus is also the best meat to feed the dogs as it has the least amount of fat, which is really funny because by looking at them, you would think exactly the opposite. While some of the family watched them leave I got a shot of one of the elderly woman showing me her skills at using a whip. And the day ended with me sledding around with the kids. They have some pretty cool trails that wind through the community and they steer using their feet. I thought I was going to die as we would just squeeze between buildings...lol... pretty challenging maneuvering those things around, so I let the experts drive.

Around Town

Here are a few shots of the main buildings around town like the fish racks, a view from the school with the church in the foreground, the school, general store and the inside of the community laundry and showers where a lot of people also clean their animal skins. The skin in the background is a Musk ox. Well it is time for Kaffemik, which is a little celebration with coffee, sweets and fruit. Kaffemik is usually held for someone's birthday and the one thing everyone wants the most is the fruit as that is something that is hard to come by. This time the Kaffemik is being held at the school and I don't know what for but everyone is usually on time and I can hear the door swinging right now.

Playing in the outdoors

I just love the fact that the kids play for hours on the swings and on their bikes in the winter.

Photos

So I thought I would catch up on posting some photos. I have not been able to sleep very well as there is sunlight till 1 am in the morning. And of course I forgot my little handy blinders. More to come.