Monday, December 13, 2010

Deer Lake Musings

So we don't have any new pictures to post, more on that later, but decided to write about our experiences over the past weekend. We woke up Satruday morning and pretty soon were left without power as the entire community's power went out. It lasted for 2 and a half hours. Since it was morning, we didn't need to find candles, but not having water and heat was hard to get over. At night, we made our way over to the school to setup for the School Christmas party. In the middle of setting up with Tracy (Gr. 8 TA, and a new found friend) the power went out again at 4:30. People started to come to the school because the dinner was supposed to start at 7:00. Some brought food that they were still able to make (potato and macaroni salad). Eventually the principal and director decided to eat whatever food was brought at 9:00 and call it a night. Ironically the power came back on at 8:52.



The power outage did provide a new experience as we learned how resourceful you need to be to survive up here. Within hours of the power being out, the school was already cold (Claire had to get her winter coat) and our teacherage was 15. That night, when playing a game involving presents, many people had purchased comforters or throw blankets. They were the hot ticket items. We learned that day why.



Brings us to a new topic as our thinking about certain life needs and life itself has changed in the last several months. As mentioned, everything up here is in terms of survival. Everything you do is to survive. Not to worry parents, as we have plenty of food and water and will not waste away, but small things like gathering enough containers to hold water, both for drinking and plumbing for when the power goes out. I have taken this last one a little excessive as I am reusing any container deemed large enough (general rule is anything 1L or bigger). Last week I was laughed at because I washed a large ketchup container and filled it with water. When asked why, I reasoned that it would be at least two flushes. After Saturday, people weren't laughing anymore.



Another area of different thinking is in common sayings. We have mentioned this to some people but the term north has a new meaning. Back at home, north generally refers to anything higher than Toronto. Our definition of north now refers to Santa's workshop. As well, the term, "there is nothing to do." You do not understand this until you have experienced a Friday night in Deer Lake or an afternoon without power here. Stuck in the dark with no light/heat/running water creates a boring evening. But even when the power is working there are times when watching paint dry would be a hit. The one store closes at around 6, so there is literally no where to go after that. And with the weather approaching -40, we have stopped our late night walks, or any optional outside time.



A final way in which our attitude has changed is our resourcefulness. With things being so expensive or non-existent we have had to make due for several things. One example involves a rolling pin. We now have one thanks to our Thunder Bay outing, but we didn't at first. Claire was making butter tarts and started kneading the dough. After realizing we didn't have a rolling pin, we looked high and low for anything that would work. I, being a good Dutchman at heart, remembered we had been keeping some recycling and retrieved the inner cardboard roll from the aluminum foil. Worked like a charm. You would be amazed at how many items can be used more than once or could serve two purposes (candy tubs as tupperware and cheese bags as sandwich bags).

Back to the staff dinner, it was quite something. We didn't end up eating until 9:45 at the earliest. The one turkey that arrived cooked (there were four that were supposed to come) had been sitting out for over three hours. The food wasn't anything to write home about (can I still say that, after I had just written about it). What was good to see was the resilience the people have. People kept coming with the food they had been assigned to cook late into the night. A cooked turkey arrived at midnight. Down south many, if not all, people would have not come after the power came back on. After eating everyone played a couple christmas games. We didn't get back home until 2:00 am.

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Christmas Festivities in Deer Lake



On Friday, December 9 the community had a Christmas Parade. It was quite different, but something Claire and I are thankful to experience and will never forget. There was no school that day for students. The teachers split into two teams, boys and girls, and dressed up two busses. The girls, being more astute planners, had several meetings weeks before to plan and prepare. On the other hand, the men, being more confident in their ability, decided to wait until the night before to get started. The girls, who ended up as the winners, disguised their bus as a gingerbread house. It was quite good and reflected their hardwork. We, the men, used the school's ATV and trailer to build a sleigh pulled by reindeer. Quite ingenius I know, but apparently the girls were quite upset with us bending the rules (we were ONLY supposed to use the bus).

After the busses were decorated the entire staff went to the Band Office and lined-up with the rest of the floats. In all there were 9 floats. The Band Office built one, health services and several other groups had others. The school had the advantage of having big busses, while the other 7 floats were trucks with Christmas lights or something like that. The parade was supposed to start at 2:00, but of course with this being Native Country it didn't actually start until 3:00. So we sat on the bus, in -30 weather waiting.

Next, the NAPS (local policeman) drove the truck and led us through the community. Everyone, and I mean everyone was lined up outside their houses with grocery bags waiting for us to throw out bags of candy. This event wasn't just for children, as adults, and even the elders were outside in wheelchairs watching and collecting the goodies. It was really something to see the entire community, both young and old, get into the festivities.

The winning girl's float. Now there was no actual prize, rather bragging rights, so the competiveness seemed out of place.


This is the girl's mascot, Crystal. She is the Grade 7 TA and one who we have really connected with.



The men's sleigh is made up of the bus and the ATV/trailer. The bus was the sleigh, with the ATV being th reindeer.




In discussions with students and staff we have learned of some neat Christmas traditions in Deer Lake. Some sound really neat and we are disappointed that we won't be here. The one everyone talks about involves Christmas Eve and is called Mukshey. On Christmas Eve, people go door to door to everyone's house and visit/eat food. It starts at dinner time and goes till the wee hours of the morning. No times or booking, simply walking door to door and spending five-10 minutes visiting with everyone. What makes this even better is the attitude and significance it has to the people.
When we ask the students what they are looking forward to most about Christmas, almost 100% of the time, their answers are the same, Mukshey of course. Their excitement does not lie under the tree but around eating and visiting with elders/cousins/family. Not quite the same attitude as the kids have down south.