After The Break

Legislative Assembly

The Christmas and New Year's Break were quite exciting since I spent my holidays with family and old friends.  The last time I saw everyone was during the summer.  There was a moment when I thought I would miss my flight to Ottawa on December 22 because the taxi I had called did not arrive to drive me to the airport.  I was glad that the second taxi came and got me there in time because boarding had just commenced.

            

After arriving in Ottawa, I greeted my parents at the airport, picked up my luggage, and was driven home.  All of Ottawa was covered in snow.  Upon stepping into my parent's house, I quickly unpacked everything and collapsed on my old bed.  It was good to be home.  I took things easy, keeping my mind clear of work, and just focused on recuperating.  Being in Ottawa also gave me time to reconnect with old friends.  They all wanted to know about my time in Iqaluit, how I liked teaching there, and future plans.  I told them I was enjoying every minute of it and that I was looking for ways to stay longer.  More on that later.

            

I wasn't confined to Ottawa during the Christmas Break.  My friends from New Zealand, Heather & Ben, were doing a road trip through the eastern United States and they decided to hop across the border and stay in Montreal for a few days.  Since the French Canadian city is not far from Ottawa, I agreed to meet them there on the 28 & 29th.  The last time I saw them was in June 2010.  Around this time, Montreal and the surrounding areas were blanketed by a lot of snow so I chose to travel by train.  Passenger trains in Canada are serviced by VIA Rail.

            

Upon arriving in Montreal, I had no choice but to agree with the weather networks; the city was buried in snow.  It was everywhere; even occupying the street lanes closest to the sidewalks!   Maneuvering around the mountains of snow took time but I safely made it to my hotel.  I met my friends at their hotel on the other side of downtown.  I made the mistake of walking down Saint Catherine street, the shopping/entertainment street.  Since it was a Friday night, the sidewalks and main road were congested with shoppers, party goers, and cars.

            

To celebrate our reunion, we had dinner at the restaurant L'Academie.  We chose it because it was a bring-your-own-wine establishment.  For starters, Heather & Ben ordered escargot and I had calamari.  Biting back my reservations, I tried escargot for the first time and it wasn't as bad as I thought.  For the main course, we had pasta.  Only I had enough room for dessert, so I went with a slice of chocolate mousse cake. 

            

While we ate, we talked about what we had missed in the last two years.  Heather & Ben were surprised by how far north Iqaluit was on the North American continent.  They had thought about visiting me in Iqaluit but after finding the location on Google Earth, they realized that it would be too expensive.  On the topic of Iqaluit, they were curious about life in true Great White North.  Ben was born and raised in New Zealand but Heather was raised in New Jersey.  Both areas deal with cold weather and snow but it does not compare to the barren tundra and cold Arctic winds of Nunavut.  I explained to them that once you get over all of that and the isolation, the living experience is quite fun.  You just have to be well prepared.    

            

Of course, they wanted me to come and visit them in Christchurch, New Zealand, and to see how much the city has changed since the deadly earthquake.  I assured them that I would make every effort to find the time to make my 'epic' return to Middle Earth.  When we finished eating dinner, we spent some time at the nearby Sir Winston Churchill Pub. 

            

The following day, I checked out of my hotel and walked over to meet Heather & Ben at their hotel.  We had breakfast at the nearby Eggspectation restaurant, dining on pancakes, eggs Benedict, BLT, and tropical fruit drinks.  After breakfast, we visited the Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal and explored downtown Montreal.  We also visited the Palais des Congres, the city's congress centre.  This was my second time at the centre, the first time being in 2006 when the Liberal Party of Canada was hosting its federal leadership convention. 

            

Before heading back to the train station to catch my ride back to Ottawa, I wished Heather & Ben all the best in their education and a safe continuation of their road trip.  Their next destination would be Niagara Falls.

            

I spent New Year's Eve with several of my old high school friends, a tradition for the last several years.  As always, our choice of pub was the Royal Oak.  We ordered nachos and chicken wings to go with our drinks.  Wanting a full meal, I ordered a steak and was shocked by how delicious it was.  I made sure to let the chef know that he did an excellent job.  My friends and I were glad that the performing rock band this year got the countdown right.  Last year's band was two minutes late.  When the clocks struck midnight, everyone was given complementary champagne.             

            

For the remaining days of the break, I hung out with friends from university and packed my bags for the flight back to Iqaluit.  I also helped my mother with the Christmas meal preparations.  My parents celebrate Christmas following the Julian Calendar (January 6 - 7).  For 2013, we chose to have the Christmas dinner a day earlier because I needed to be back in Iqaluit for the 6th.  As an added bonus, my older brother flew in from Australia to be with the family.  The last time I saw him was when he graduated from the Australian National University in Canberra two years ago.           

            

I woke up early on the morning of the 6th and had a quick breakfast before making sure all my bags were packed.  I bid farewell to my brother and was dropped off at the airport by my parents.   The lineup for the plane was surprisingly long; however, seeing so many faces that I recognized, didn't surprise me at all.  I passed the three hour journey talking to several teachers about their Christmas break and what would await them on the first day of school. 

            

When the plane touched down in Iqaluit, the flight crew informed us that the temperature outside was -31ºC.  I have to be honest, when I disembarked from the plane onto the open tarmac, it didn't feel that cold.  When I made it back to my apartment, I quickly unpacked and made my way to the high school to get my music room ready for Monday.  It wasn't until then that the bitter cold made its presence known.  In the following days, I would rely on my heavy outerwear (parka, snowpants, etc) to keep me warm. 

            

The first week of school focused on completing the course materials and preparing for final exams.  In English, we finished reading the Shakespearean play Macbeth and watched the movie.  My musicians received their final exam outlines and I gave them time to practice.  My junior band musicians will also have a theory test so we looked at the writing of major scales and their key signatures. 

            

With the first semester finishing in less than three weeks, there isn't any time to spare.  In fact, I need to have all my exams done and marks in a week early because my contract is ending on January 25th and I may be moving to a different community.  It's hard to believe that it's almost a year since I ventured up north to teach music & English to young Inuit & Qallunaaq minds.  With all the high school positions taken for next semester, I have begun looking for new employment opportunities in the North.  That's right - I don't want to return to the south just yet.  I enjoy teaching up here and I would also like to explore more of the northern territories.  So far, I've applied for teaching positions in Arctic Bay, Gjoa Haven, and Whitehorse, Yukon.  We'll see how it goes in the coming days.