Eighth Blog

Sunset, most sunsets are spectacularly purple

Weather for th past few days has been fantastic, daytime high of 4, 5 and 6! I remember last year this time giant slabs of ice were floating in the river. It is supposed to get a bit cooler for the next week, and we might have just enjoyed our last plus temperature for the remainder of the year. Fishing has been pretty good, as everyone is catching lots of Northern Pikes. Yesterday after work I went for an hour of fishing with a couple of friends and ended up catching 15 relatively large Pikes in under an hour's time.

 Muskeg

     
  

This morning I ventured out with a couple of my local friends, Sheldon and his baby brother Wallace. They guided me in trails and areas that I would never have dared to explore on my own. It was a glorious day and I had to shed gloves, hat and the sweater in the first hour of the hike. I was under the impression that we were going for a maximum of 2-3 hour-hike. But it turned into a 7-hour hunting adventure. Luckily for me Sheldon came well prepared and had more than enough food, water, snacks and even instant coffee/hot chocolate for all of us. I owe him big! We stopped by the river and built a little fire to heat up the food and have hot drink.                                                                           

 Lunch

Wallace and his trophies

Sheldon & Wallace

Wallace & I

We managed to shoot three rabbits and two grouse. By we I mean the 17-year-old Wallace. He spotted and shot them all. It is almost impossible to see rabbit let alone shooting them but it was amazing how he managed the impossible. There are lots of rabbits up here, but they are nocturnal and rarely move during the day. Most people snare them, since it is very difficult to spot them during the day.

Sheldon leading the way

My new nameless buddy!

Seventh Blog

One of my fishing spots under a full moon

I feel somewhat refreshed after spending a few days in Winnipeg. Not that I really liked it there, but just being able to see and do more than what I can up here. Surprisingly enough I couldn't wait to get out of there, as it was neither Vancouver nor Shamattawa! The problem was that there wasnt much to do in Winnipeg. There is only one or two streets where you can find non-franchised cafes and restaurants. One thing that I have to admit is that people in Winnipeg are by far the friendliest I have encountered in Canada. I am not sure where Vancouver stands in a nationwide survey, but I wouldn't be surprised if it ranked somewhere near the bottom.

Same fishing spot after a few days of snow and rain

The workshops were quite informative and I am sure that they come handy me once I start teaching the relative clusters. The work has been just pretty uneventful, nothing out of the ordinary. Kids are excited about the Halloween. They were asking me whether they could start coloring or decorating the class. I refused and promised they would be able to do it tomorrow, Friday. I am planning to start Friday's classes with an Edgar Allen Poe story, The Mask of the Red Death. As for the festivities, I hear that the Halloween committee will turn the gym into a haunted house to scare the hell out of every visitor!

Town's dysfunctional ice rink

After school outings are getting shorter and shorter and by the time clock returns to its standard time I wont be able to venture out at all. I managed to get a couple of runs and fishing trips over the past few days. There is a buzz in town regarding the number of spotted caribous nearby. I plan to head out tomorrow afternoon with a local friend in hope of seeing a herd of the beasts. Today I managed to catch a small Northern Pike. I would normally let a fish of that size go but this time I kept it as I was eager to try my sushi making skill. I had bought some sushi rice, seaweed wraps, Soy sauce and Wasabi while in Winnipeg. And tonight I finally had sushi, as fresh as you can get! I caught the fish around 5:30 and it was nicely rolled in a nice sushi by 8:00pm. I thought the whole experience was a success except for the strength of Wasabi! It was so strong that I had to run around the room in order to relieve the burning feeling in my mouth and nose. I'll be so careful next time I am trying anything for the first time!
      

Town's convenience store

Sixth Blog

My buddy Husky patiently waiting while I pick berries

Well it has been a while since the last post. It was due to lack of internet and my laziness. To be fair to myself, we didn't have internet for one whole week and once we did get it back, it has been on and off most of the time. The only constant thing about the connection up here is its inconsistency!

As for life up here, it has been routine as usual. Work, fish, pick berries and run once in a while.

Red Sun, possibly due to a forest fire, over school

Work has been pretty good and I am delighted to have students who are ahead of the schedule and are always wanting more advanced materials to work with. The downside of it is that there are only four students who are the front runners and unfortunately the other fifteen who show up regularly are a few grades behind. Nonetheless I am pretty happy with the classes I have this year, I feel much more useful than I did at any time during the first year. I will be heading out for a couple of days of Professional Development training next week, and am looking forward to that.

Town's main Cemetery about 3km outside the twon

Town's Anglican church

I have kept up the routine of getting out of town as soon as I am done school every day. Luckily I have been catching fish regularly and if the trend continues, I should be able to catch enough in the next few weeks before the freeze -up to last me most of the year. Days are getting much shorter and colder as well. These days I only have enough time to either fish or go for a run/walk. Although I have been combining fishing with walking, as I go to further destinations to fish. Today, Saturday, I decided to go for a long walk in the morning. I explored a few trails which I hadn't dared to venture alone before. It was rewarding and nerve-racking at the same time. Fortunately I didn't come across any thing threatening. Disappointingly during three hours of walk in the cold wind and rain I only saw three stray dogs, I know they weren't wolves because one of them barked, and one rabbit. The rabbit ran right in front of me crossing the trail. It was mostly white with some grey spots, as they are losing their grey colour for their white winter coat. They will be completely white in two or three week's time ready for the snow surely to cover everywhere.

My buddy Husky watching me fish

Fifth Blog

Monday was a good day, as we have finalized our class lists and students are showing up regularly to their respective classes. I was amazed how well they all responded to the task at hand and how enthused they were about learning newer materials. As for the weather, it was grey day. It rained for most of the day and that creates such mess due to sticky mud. After work I went for a bit of fishing hoping to continue Sunday's good fortune. But unfortunately things turned quite the opposite. First of all it was raining when I headed out. Secondly as I walked down the the slope to the river bank, I noticed a young man of either late teens or early twenties was sniffing some substance from a plastic bag. I had to walk right by him to the water. I said hi, but he was too dazed to respond. He looked right through me. I started casting, and he kept gazing at me bewildered and confused. He then started running back and forth while throwing punches in the air. Blues Eyes, the dog with me, reacted very defensively charging within a feet of him while barking and growling. I had never seen her so angry, serious and scared at the same time. I tried to calm her down but it wasn't working. Realizing a possible fish was not worth risking a conflict I returned home. A very long evening!

Tuesday was even a better day of teaching. Not only the exchange of ideas were abundant they were also helping each other which is my ultimate goal. I hope I can continue like this for most of the year. It is a pleasure to see them so seriously at work, and enjoying it. I didn't have to do much but to run around and answer their questions once in a while.The best part was that they sometimes would go to the board and do the problems voluntarily. After school a few of them stayed in my class finishing off assignments, playing video games, and watching movie on the computer. Today was truly a great day to be a teacher! I have a photo of them in the class which I hope to upload here soon.

After school liaison

I headed to the river for a bit of fresh air and to fish of course. It was a cold day but at least it wasn't raining as much. It wasnt a productive day in terms of catch; I only caught a medium size Northern Pike which i released back to the river. There were a few kids hanging out there and would get so excited every time they would hear the geese flying overhead migrating south. I guess winter cant be far off as there were thousands of geese flying very high overhead with surprisingly loud calls. Kids would imitate their elders by calling back at geese in hope of luring them to lower heights so they could shoot them (toy guns of course).

Kids trying to shoot down geese migrating south

 

Fourth Blog

We have officially finished our first full week of school. It was a very busy week for me, as we were missing two teachers and just two of us were keeping kids busy with Math and language Art for the entire week! I know one of the two missing teachers has arrived but the other one is not here yet, and I may have to teach 5 hours and 20 minute days until he/she arrives. Something that I am not looking forward to at all!

On Thursday I headed for a long bike ride with my fishing rod and a couple of containers in hope of catching fish and picking berries. I was thinking of fishing first and picking berries on the way back. After an hour of riding I arrived at the fishing spot and started casting. Unfortunately it didnt last, as there was a truck stuck in the mud further on the river bank. I went over to give them a hand, but it was too late, the truck was already deep in the mud. After 30 minutes of trying I decided to head back to town and get them help. It was just about to get dark by the time I arrived back. I called the driver's father and told him about his son's situation. I saw the driver the next day, he was very grateful for my help.

My fishing buddies with Blue Eyes and catches of the day(Sunday)

Friday was beautiful day, sunny and warm. After work I was walking home when I came across Husky, our large male pack leader from last year. He looked so scruffy with big scar under his right eye. I think either the old age is catching up with him or the fight for dominance with so many other dogs in the village taking its toll. We were both so happy to see each other. He would not stop licking my face, which I am sure is his way of welcoming me back to his neighborhood. I am looking forward to having him for my walks, runs and bike rides as he is the only dog that I can rely on his experience and awareness when it comes to dealing with bears or wolves. Also waking up to his barks followed by howls in the middle of night at the sight or sound of slightest movement in front of my place. I cooked him some oatmeal mixed with tuna followed by some dog food which coincidentally had arrived that very same day.

Blue Eyes staring at the fish(Sunday)

Saturday was another beautiful day. I started the day with a walk for berries at 10:00 am with another teacher. We walked for an hour, picked berries for an hour and walked back for another hour. I then had to go to the airport to get the remaining groceries which I had ordered a few days earlier. I usually place an order for vegetables and fruits once a month from a Safeway in Thompson which is an hour flight away. By the time I made it to the airport I was disappointed to see only half of my cargo had arrived, the non-essential half! I'll have to do the same again on Sunday. After that I decided to take three new teachers for a water run and show them where the spring in. We did that and on the way back we stopped by the dump to show them the bears. We saw the same family of three plus a large male. I tried fishing two more times later that day, no luck what so ever.

Mama bear and her two cubs at the dump

Low bush cranberries

Sunday started as a very grey and gloomy day. It was raining for most of the day so I decided to stay indoor and do a few more lesson plans. At about 1:30pm I went to the airport (its not really an airport, a gravel runway and a trailer as the station, pictures to follow soon) again and was very happy to see the final load arrive. You would be surprised how happy a bag of tomatoes, potatoes, cucumbers, and vegetables can make someone! I stayed indoor and decided to bake my first bread of the season. Weather improved slightly so I decided to go for some fresh air and another try at fishing while the dough was rising. This time Gods of the God's River smiled at me and I managed to catch two Trouts and a relatively large Norther Pike. It ended up being a great afternoon/evening with the shining sun and the neighborhood kids company. The bread ended up being a success, and along with oven roasted fresh trout and some salad, it was a fantastic dinner!

Third Blog

Well on Tuesday I finally received my new phone number(land line) so I now feel a little more connected to the outside world than before. I however surprisingly don't miss carrying a mobile device with me any more and find it refreshing not to worry about answering calls while out of the house. On Tuesday we also got the chance to meet the Chief and councils of the Shamattawa. It was pretty nice, they treated us to dinner and an informal meet and greet. I was planning to head out for some fishing but the heavy wind combined with rain stopped me from venturing out. Stayed in all night long!

Wednesday was another strange day as I needed sunglasses one minute and umbrella the next. I am still trying to register kids in their respective classes while doing a math/science refresher at the same time. It has been my busiest week of teaching by far. After work I ventured out for another try at fishing at a near by spot which is not known for fishing. At last I did manage to catch the first Brooks trout of the season, it is being fried as I write this blog. And if the internet cooperates I might even be able to post its pictures soon!

Second Blog

The weekend was very strange in terms of weather; Saturday scorching hot about 28 degrees and Sunday cold and windy.

On Saturday I took a couple of new teachers and a returning colleague for a very long hike to pick berries and fish. The hike was about 12km one way. We did however stop on numerous occasions to pick blueberries and low bush cranberries. There are just so much of many varieties of berries up here. I dont know why on Earth I didnt hear about them last fall. All I had to do was wander off any trails and would have stepped on hundreds of berries! So we did make it to our destination after about three hours. It seemed that it was a bit of a stretch for some as it was too hot and too long of a hike. I volunteered to run back the distance after fishing and bring back the truck to drive the gang back to our compound. I kind of regret the suggestion as it was pretty hot and I struggled to make the distance non-stop. I cheated and walked a few times before I finally made it back to the school. On the drive back we decided to go by the dump and see if there were any bears. Sure enough there was mam bear with her two almost grown-up cubs. Took a few close shots from the truck and called it the day. No fish by the way. I think I will go hungry this winter!

Sunday was pretty cold and I only headed out a couple of times to try my luck with the river around the village, once again no luck. I did however lose three or four very expensive lures! I could have bought an expensive wild sockeye in Vancouver and still it would have been cheaper than those lures!

Monday September 12th. Our first official day of school. It was filled with excitement and I was so happy to see the new and old faces of the grade 9 class. predictably the new faces were happy to see me, and the returning students, well lets just say that they werent overly excited with the prospect of seeing me for another 10 months. We did spend most of the day registering them in their classes and groups and I am hoping they will respect our full day's work and come to their proper sessions tomorrow. After school I decided to go and get my bike back from a local friend's house who was nice enough to store it in their garage. I then headed out to pick berries with two other teachers who brought bikes with them. It was a very chilly day and by the time I made it back home my hands were almost frozen. I thought I was being a softy, but then when I checked at the forecast, it showed a mere 2 degrees for today's low.