Around Town

Hello Again,
So, I finally went down to the high school to give them my resume at the end of last week.  It was quite the trek.  First, I had to walk down to the RCMP office to get  a criminal background check.  I met one of the local RCMP officers; he was really friendly. However, since I am an American, it takes a week (it can be done overnight for Canadians) to get the check completed.  Technically, I can pick it up Friday but I don't know if that's going to happen.  Then, I went down to the high school.  The doors which appear to be the main entrance are not accessible from the outside so  I walked around a few times.  Even though I realize that it's a bit different up here, I was somewhat concerned about just wandering around the halls of the high school (I didn't want my (hopefully) future co-workers thinking I was some sort of creeper).  I did, however, finally find someone to ask directions to the main office.  The students were REALLY friendly; I got several "Hellos" and "Good Mornings" as I aimlessly wandered the halls.  I was kind of surprised by this because...well frankly because they're teenagers and we all know what teenagers are like.  I'm curious as to whether they thought they should suck up (if I'm going to be a faculty member) or maybe they are just a bunch of really friendly kids.  Either way, it seems like a good environment to work in.  I met the principal and one of the office ladies.  They seemed really eager to help me out in terms of getting a job (and the work visa I need to work). So, here's hoping that it all works out.

Then, after that was done, I had to pick up some groceries at the Northern Store.  Since I had been walking all morning and was quite tired, I decided that I wanted to take the cab back home.  However, the store was CRAZY busy (I guess because it was lunchtime on a  Friday) and I couldn't figure out how to get someone to call the cab for me (that's what you have to do since there's no payphone or anything).  So I went outside and figured I would wait for a few minutes and if the cab didn't come by, I would just walk home.  As I was waiting, a man idling his Suburban outside the store asked me where I was going and if I wanted a ride.  Now, I have to say that if I were in the south, I would not have jumped in a strange man's car.  But, this is a small town and I've been told to get to know people (and there were a few other people in the car anyways) so I jumped in.  Everyone was very nice, and one of the passengers (his nickname is Pav or Pov, I'm still trying to wrap my head and mouth around some of the Inuit names up here) told me he has worked in Colorado in the past.  Who knew?  So, all in all, I got a free ride home and made some new friends.  This is one of the things I have learned to love about the North.

Then, this weekend, D. and  I were invited to go to a "Craft Fair" at the community hall.  We thought it would be a good place to pick up some Christmas presents.  However, when we got there, we discovered it was more of a community rummage sale.  I remember helping out at church rummage sales when I was a kid.  We were a bit disappointed because we had hoped to get some of our Christmas shopping done, but I'm glad we went anyways.  I got hit in the torso by a stray hockey puck (it was soft and didn't hurt but I did think the kids playing hockey outside were pretty hilarious).  I am glad we went though, even just to participate in a community event. 

Well friends, that's about it for now.  Since I'm still jobless I spend most of my days doing housework and watching Star Trek (Next Generation) since we have it on the hard drive.  D. and I are leaving for Pangnirtung next week to visit his parents for Christmas so I'm pretty excited for that.  I hope you all have an excellent holiday season. 

LOVE!
Ash