Saturday January 21, 2023: Happy Lunar New Year!!

 Hello

Yes, I am back in the saddle, so to speak.  Already  a month since Christmas.  Where does the time go when you are having fun!! 

We were hit by a severe blizzard last week, closing the school because of the high winds, over 100 k an hour, cold temperatures of up to minus 50 and blinding snow.  It took one full day for the loader to clear the roads so that the water trucks could run, so, we were out for 3 days.  I can not imagine what it was like before our modern way of living.  The Inuit were tough people!!

I have a new neighbour, and his name is not Jaques or Pierre--I can hardly believe it.  He is Germaine!! Germaine is the new, trained, maintenance guy--how lucky he lives next door.  He wants to use my internet--sure--fine--but--I want him to drive me to get groceries and water--fair trade, don't you think!

There are 4 trucks here.  In the past, it has been very easy to use the truck--kind of the honor system.  When you need it, you just get it.  I don't use it because I hate driving--I just find out who is going out and I join--no biggy.  But now, the prince has changed the rules.  Teachers no longer can use the vehicles.  We are subject to walking or calling the community bus--which is $2 a ride.  I don't really know how that works--but oh well!!

Next week we will start our kitchen program again.  Thanks to Raida at Bodynetix, and my dear friend Grace who donated the material, we will don our new aprons.  Our first class will be smoothies!!  My greens are almost ready!!  YAHOO.  Tomatoes on the way as well!!

This is my first weekend off in the year and a half that I have been here.  I finally have my self organized, and planned--thanks to the blizzard!!

It was fun communicating with my friends in China--they mostly have survived the covid, except for the grandparents, sadly.  But, we look forward to a better new year.

Sledding yesterday.  This is Chris, the art teacher with his puppy.

These are the Inuit primary teachers.

Having fun slidding.

Etua and Sandy are now in grade 5.  But, yesterday, we combined the classes for a lesson with visiting science teachers.

This was an experiment about water.

Susie Mae and Penina really enjoyed it.

This was the instructor and he was excellent.  We are in the Secondary Science room.  It was a real privilege  to be there.

The truck was stuck here for the 3 days of the blizzard.  This is the hill up my house.  My house is to the far right, not in the picture.

Nice picture of the science lab.  Nice picture of our kids.  Only 3 out of 9 from my class--Susie Mae, Penina and Ahoyak, and only 2 out of six for the other class, Etua and Sandy.  Attendance is the number one problem.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Saturday May 25, 20204 Graduation

Image
 Hello all Graduation night!!  Wow.  Two young ladies and one gentleman.  I didn't know any of them, as I wasn't teaching the senior grades.  I also don't really know anything about them, where they are from, their parents or relatives.  But I must tell you it was the most dramatic graduation I have ever witnessed. About 200 villagers, and youth gathered in the decorated gym about 4:00 PM, this Saturday afternoon.  The graduates came into the space  where everyone was standing, clapping and cheering.  They took their seats, and the principal began the ceremony. There wasn't a sound as she spoke. She told the audience how proud she was of the students, and how their hard work, commitment to study, and regular school attendance  had paid off.  One by one each graduate was introduced by a parent, teacher, and a mother and daughter team.  It was clear that these speakers were bursting with pride as they introduced their graduate....
Read more

Revisiting China--2024

Image
 Hello friends I had hoped to keep you all up to speed on my trip to China, but I was not able to access blogger because it is a google thing.  China does not do google.  I also had no shaw the whole time away, so I had to rely in Gmail--at least that sort of worked. It was so wonderful to see so many people after four years.  I set up a daily schedule of visitations, and made over 23 visits to families, former students and colleagues.  The trip took me to Fuzhou, where Bert had rented me a one bedroom apartment.  I used that as my headquarters, and traveled to Ningde, Xiamen, Quanghou, Beijing and Huiyang. My friends helped me immensely by booking the tickets for me, and it was easy to pay them, using transfer, on my Chinese Bank account.  They also helped me to book the taxi rides in and around the cities I visited.  Taxi is very cheap.  Lili, in Fuzhou, took me out to the university, and took me around a lot to visit.  Sharron, in Bei...
Read more

Food in China!!

Image
 Hi again This blog will try to explain how important food is in China.  During the Cultural Revolution, many people died of starvation.  Since then, having enough food to eat has been a number one focus. Food is the center of celebrations, marriages, holidays, birthdays and funerals.  It is a huge industry!  In Fuzhou, seafood is the special.  Other parts of the country specialize in other things--hot, spicy and so on. When you go out for dinner, the host orders.  They get there ahead of everyone else, and go to the food room.  All of the dishes sold at that restaurant are displayed around a room.  Large tanks with fish, crab and any other sea food are also there.  You go with a restaurant person and order the dishes.  Usually between 12 and 13.  Sometimes, you have a private dining room with your own wait staff, bathroom, and sitting room.  At less expensive places, you sit at a round table in a large dining room with ot...
Read more