Sunday, January 30, 2011

Indian Recylcing: Recycle, Reuse, Reduce to Ashes?

So it has been a little too long since we last posted but Claire and I have been busy with the Grade 9 midterms. Every night this past week, we would come home and mark/plan from 5:00pm straight to about 11:30pm. Good news to report though. Only 1 student failed the two classes that were ending, Science and Visual Arts. No surprise to the student, but it was nice to see the rest of the class pass.

Last Saturday, the SRC, our student council that Amanda, Claire and I run, held a floor hockey tournament for the Grade 7-9 students. It was a success and all the students that came had fun. It turned out to be a long day, but was worthwhile. Afterwards, two students were going to go home via snowmobile. They couldn't get their machine work and so we tried everything. My first comment when I went outside was if their was any gas. The machine's owner said yes, of course. 15 minutes later, RJ came out and asked the first obvious question, "Is there any gas?' Again the student replied with yes. Several minutes went by and I then decided to make him check the gas situation. He stuck a stick down the tank and checked it, again replying that it was three-quarters full. Alrighty then. Finally about an hour after we started trying anything he phoned home and his mom came and picked up the two students. The next day, I asked him what the problem was and he sheepishly replied, "Ran out of gas."

On Friday night, we went to the school for Bingo. I helped Amanda run the evening while Claire tried out her new bingo dabbers. It was a good night, as Amanda and I had everything smoothly run, and Claire even managed to win a game. Must have been the christmas present.

As our year end trip draws closer, fundraising is picking up at the school. Bingos are now held every week and a fundraising lunch or food related thing is run on a weekly basis. Down south, it is not unheard of to hear schools have a fundraising lunch for the students. Be it pizza, subs or even hot dogs. Not up here. While pizza is somewhat popular, the school is getting ready for a rabbit lunch this week. Yes, you heard it right, rabbit. There is an advertisement on our school bulletin board from the coordinator, asking for teachers to donate any rabbits. Claire and I have discussed it, and are deciding to keep ours for ourselves. (I am only joking of course, about even having any rabbit).

Also, the grade 6s had their cultural program this week and did something new this year. They school had been given three geese and the grade 6s were the 'lucky' ones to pluck and cook the birds. Because this activity takes a while and the birds would need to cook, they started in the morning. And because it was too cold to do it outside, they did it in our Home-Ec room. This room is situated in the middle of the school at the intersection, meaning all day you had to walk by it to to go basically anywhere. As well, apparently the room is connected directly to the air venting system as the smell of goose guts and blood was carried to every room in the school. Yah, that's what you want to smell on a Friday morning at 10:00am, goose blood and guts mixed with hot air being pumped into your classroom.

Last bit of sad news, our head maintenance man suffered a major heart attack on Friday morning while still at home. He went to the Nursing Station and was waiting to be airlifted to a major health facility. After at least 6 hours, he was still waiting, just laying on a bed. For all of us from the outside, situations like this remind us of how secluded we are and to be safe.


Claire and I watching the floor hockey tournament. We had three teams, 6 per team, compete.
The winning team: (L to R, Grade): Jon (9), Krista (7), Chantelle (9), Huntter (9), Evan (8), Grant (seated 8).


The teacherages borrowed a spade from the school to clear off the 4 inches or so of compacted snow that had raised all our decks/porches. Amanda working on hers.

Me working on ours.

And now to our title reference. We don't have any recycling program and so our cardboard or big boxes have added up over our time. To get rid of it, we needed to burn the boxes. So I lit the boxes full of cardboard and watch it burn.




Monday, January 24, 2011

No fuel, No cash, No problem

Our first cancellation was today. We were warned at the beginning of the year to be prepared for constant cancellations due to weather/hydro/water and a host of other unforseen issues. We haven't been as lucky, that is until today. We got to school this morning and it was cool inside. After about 20 minutes, while students started arriving, they figured out that the broiler wasn't working. This happened last week, so there was nothing to worry about. After the announcements though, Julia came on the intercom and said the broiler was out of fuel and they were going to try and fill them soon.

After only a minute or so, Julia found out that they couldn't be replenished until at least the afternoon. So the students were dismissed and we had our first cancellation. Claire and I stayed at the school for an hour or so to photocopy midterm exams that the Grade 9s are writing this week.

Today was acutally a gorgeous day out. We had a high today of -15, which is warmer than most of you reading this. In fact looking at weather forecasts for later this week, we might actually experience a single digit (albeit still minus).

Interesting shopping note from tonight. We went to the store to pick up a few things, one of which was toilet paper. Ended up paying $16.99 for 12 double rolls. Yikes! Most of the prices don't shock us anymore, but this is the first time we have had to buy toilet paper up here. For more clarification, it is because we have usually brought plenty back with us, but were unable to after christmas.

Also, last thursday Mission Air came to the school to sell meat and groceries (a man who used to teach in Northern Manitoba and Ontario, who flys into communities on paydays to sell fresh groceries) . We normally buy something from him, and this time put through an order:

4L Skim Milk Jug
1L Chocolate Milk
1 lb Bacon
32 hot dogs

All of this for $45. Anyways, he told me that the community was out of cash, so he offered to sell me some. He has a debit machine he sets up and charged me an ammount and then handed me cash. A great man, and someone I look forward to meeting every other week. Hard to imagine living in a place where there is no money. Again, to live in the North, the thought of survival and the near future MUST always be in the back of your mind.

Thursday, January 20, 2011

The One with the Sweater

So there aren't any new pictures to add, but a few interesting stories to relay. Last week, we went to the Brown Store (the small shop open opposite the Northern and run by a man who flies in every couple of weeks or so) for a bite to eat. While waiting for our food, a someone came into the store and approached the counter. The woman asked the man if he had any floss. He wasn't quite sure he heard her right and asked her multiple times in a variety of ways to ensure that is what he heard. After realizing so, he then noted to her that in the six years he has run the store, this is the first time someone has asked him for that particular item.

Another story involved Claire and the Grade 2 teacher, Marla. During a lunch break, Marla broached the subject of children. Claire noted that no we don't have kids yet and she is 23. Marla, seemed shocked and replied that a typical rez kid would have already had 3 children by 18. In fact, Marla, a single mom, is already impatient that her 17 year-old daughter has yet to have children.

Tonight we went to the store and while shopping, Claire was approached by two people who stopped and said hello. We really do feel part of the fabric and comfortable out and about in Deer Lake.

Also to relay, are a couple of observations we've made lately. Firstly, we have noticed that money is the motor behind anything that runs, something that is true anywhere. But in Deer Lake, money is the source of everything. School functions are built around paydays. The whole community, no matter the few occupations people have, get paid the same day. When the school organizes anything, it is always with a calendar in hand, with pay weeks circled. Second, and something that hit me last week, was that many people (and this observation is based mainly on students) do not know how to shop. Down south we have the luxury of having multiple stores and sources to purchase items. Up here, the Northern is the final stop for all purchases. If you want a pair of shoes, you go to the one store and buy the pair. Down south you might shop for a deal or look for sales.

Last bit of news. For those of who don't know, Claire bought me a sweater for Christmas that is gray with yellow and red stripes. I was hesitant at first about the sweater because the red looks very close to pink, which is something that is not me. I am not a manly man by any means, but I am not that comfortable with my feminine side to pull off pink or purple clothes. Anyways, tonight at the Flea Market I was wearing the sweater and a Grade 7 girl came up to me and asked very innocently, "Are you wearing a girl sweater?" I turned right around to Claire and started taking it off right then and there, with a look of 'I told you so!'

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

-37 and Wolves

Well it has been very interesting and different around here lately. The weather has been pretty cold. Yesterday it was -37 without the wind chill. At -40 they close the school. It was so cold walking to school daily now our warm breath turns our eyelashes and hair white from condensation freezing. If our head aren't covered completely with a hat you will get a headache from the cold against your for head. The air just hurts everything it touches, if you are out in it to long.

Two of our students came to school after the weekend this week with frostbite on their faces, from being outside playing hockey. Greg and I have a thermometer that we look at constantly to find out what the temperature is. We are the only people in the teacherages with a thermometer so I think we are the unofficial ones who run over to the principals house to let them know it is -40.

It seems that daily now we are hearing sighting of wolves. They are seen all through the day too, often times by what the locals call the lagoon. The lagoon is half way between town and Duck Lake (we live in Duck Lake). I keep hearing out this big black wolf hanging around. Thankfully we have not come across it yet, and I hope we don't. Greg, Amanda and I walk around here so much going back and forth from the school all the time, so I am a little nervous that we might run across it. The students show no fear about them, but I am sure they are putting up a front too.

Anyways I just thought I would share a little bit about what life is like in Deer Lake in the winter.

Story from Greg this week. The school is having a raffle for a car they have purchased from Red Lake. The car is a 1998 Chevrolet. He was telling the grade 9s about it, as they were going to be selling the car. Immediately some students started saying that they were going to buy tickets, because, well at 14 it's time to look for a cheap car. Anyways, he just told them they were selling a car. For us typical first responses down south may include questions about make/model/year/colour. One student immediately asked, "Is the car rezzed out?" After asking her, he found out that it meant a car that has seen any length of time on a Northern Reserve.

Monday, January 17, 2011

Life is a Highway

On Saturday, Greg, Amanda and I had the opportunity to do something we had never done before and that made us a little nervous (Amanda and I more so then Greg). We went out for a drive on the WINTER ROAD! For those of you who don't know what the winter road is, it is a road over the lakes. Basically it is a plowed strip going across the lakes, leading all over northern Ontario and down to the connecting highway in Red Lake.

The thought of driving on ice made me alittle nervous, and of course I think about all the things that could happen (like the ice breaking). However, it was pretty solid only a few places looked a little iffy. The winter road actually isn't even officially open yet. The locals are waiting for it to be officially opened any time. For them the winter road means they can get out and go visiting to other communities. The closest community to us is about an hour and half drive away (North Spirit). To get to Sandy Lake (20 minutes by plane) takes approximately 4 hours to drive.

Anyways the road was really neat, it was pretty smooth. Our part of the winter road is really wide but I have been told that other parts in other communities is really small. Also cars drive really really fast on here, I couldn't believe it. In Deer Lake there are two parts to the winter road. The first part is leading from Duck Lake into town (this is the part we travelled). The second part is leading into the wide open north, going to other communities (we didn't go on this part because we were still to nervous and it hasn't been officially opened). Once it is opened things will really start happening in the community. Things will start coming in like gas and oil, trailers (for homes), wood etc. All the bigger things that is difficult to fly in. Also weekends will have a lot of comings and going, people will be travelling from community to community. Needless to say, the winter road creates a lot of excitement in Deer Lake.

On another side note. On Saturday evening we had a knock at our door around 10:00pm, we opened our door and found 3 of our students standing there. The wanted to know if we would go snowmobiling with them. So we did. They drove and we sat in the sled behind the snowmobile. The sled is basically ply wood made into four walls and a bottom. This was a very painful experience and I am still bruised from going over all the bumps. We went a long the trails in the dark and I will not lie the thought of wolves crossed my mind (there have been a lot of sightings lately), on Sunday morning Crystal (grade 7 TA) opened her front door and found a wolf outside her front door. We then went snowmobiling around the school where we met up with other students having fun late at night, they seemed really excited to know we were out bombing around. Anyways it was fun snowmobiling, however it wasn't a great first snowmobiling experience for Greg.
The students were surprised he had never been.

The Winter Road.
Greg and Amanda in front of the vehicle on the Winter Road. Julia is in the background by Amanda's head.

Greg and I, we were both dressed in all our winter gear. The next day Greg was wearing his shorts around town. He definitely got a lot of comments from people.



More of the winter road. The little pine trees show its sides along the way.

We also went to the Dam for a quick visit. This is a picture of the water and ice. This is no where near the winter road.

Saturday, January 15, 2011

The Wheels on the Bus, do not go ♫♪♫

On Friday afternoon, I and the Grade 8s had our cultural program. We went to check someone's fishing net. We started out driving to the beach and unloaded there. I found out that the beach is called Little Bears Beach. It is called that because some years ago, there were these cubs that lived there. To get to the nets, we walked for roughly 3 km,with all but 1 km on the frozen lake.

In my short life, I have been privy to a number of great views/experiences. Through Scouts, I have hiked the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon, New York's Fingerlakes and Ontario's Algonquin Park to name a few. The hike through the woods and on the lake, with fresh snow, has to be near the top of the list. The day was cool (-16) but not cold and there was not a cloud in the sky.

The process of checking fishing nets during winter is quite fascinating. The net is approx. 50 feet long and placed near the shore, stretching out over a deep part of the lake. As mentioned, we started by digging out one hole, and then the other. Vicky's husband, there to help, brought a long rope with him, which we tied to one end of the net. Then, we pulled up the net and took out the fish. After all 50 feet were out, we went back to the other hole and pulled the rope back, dragging the net back into place under the ice. This method was quick, efficient and required little work.

Over all, we only caught 7 fish, although a couple were massive. Dad you'll like this. One fish we caught was a Jackfish, or a Northern Pike. We didn't measure it, but it had to be at least 50 inches long (no word of a lie). The largest pike, or fish, I have ever seen come out of a lake.

Afterwards, we went back to the school and had Indian Tacos again.

After school, we had a bit of excitement. Ordinarily there are three busses that take home the students. Only one was operational, as the other two wouldn't turn on. To note, our busses are also only three-quarter length and hold roughly 30-40 students. One bus, had to drop off 200 students. Staff were loading students into their cars/trucks/vans and driving them home. I was given the key to the school vehicle and asked to drive six students home. Thinking back to it afterwards, we were amazed at how different things operate here. For example:

In the North, teachers were bringing students home. At home, the school would need permission forms/signatures to allow teachers to drive.

In the North, the principal told me to fit two girls in the front seat and have four boys in the back seat. The two girls were sitting on each other, while one of the boys was sprawled out over the other three boys. Different attitude up North.



Two girls taking a break during the hike to the net.

Like we have said before, the trees up here are not thick, and under great weight bend.


The 2 km hike on the lake to the net. The hike was good, but pretty exhausting as we hiked through 1 foot of snow the entire time.


Sunshine found the spine of a fish, that had been picked apart from wolves/birds/other scavengers.




One of the openings to the net.




Pulling the net out.




Some of the fish we caught. Some jackfish, suckerfish and whitefish.

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

When 250+ is Cheaper than 15

We have started our first full week of school. Getting back into the swing of things. Amazing how routines pick up as if there was no time off. Days are going by quickly, as workloads are getting bigger. Some interesting news this week.

Last Thursday we went to the store with a local teacher and her grown daughter. On the way back, at around 6:00 pm, Claire noticed some lights in the sky. Claire asked if they were the Northern lights and the two passengers said yes. Claire and I were ecstatic, having seen nothing like them before. The two people in the back were surprised that we had never seen them before and told us to wait until they get better later this month or in February. Needless to say, Claire and I are in for a treat some time later this winter.

Another tidbit of information came yesterday morning. All the students go home or lunch as no one, which includes all staff, stays at school. Claire, Amanda, and I are the only ones left, save a couple others who decide to stay that day. Before lunch the principal came on the intercom and told us that there is a Wolf Alert for Deer Lake as a big black wolf was seen about 100m from school and looked hungry. Our students have told us, since we returned that they have seen wolves running through town. Interesting side note, Amanda told one student who typically walks that they needed to take the bus and he replied by pulling out a pocket knife saying, "Don't worry, I always come prepared." Must have been a boy scout in a previous life. His older brother in grade nine told Claire, "It wouldn't be the first wolf I've killed."

Other bit of news involves the satellite. We finally installed it over the weekend and have enjoyed its many channels. Good timing as the cable added 5 new channels (Discovery, Animal, Bravo and two others) but is raising their bills by $10. Meaning, our satellite bill will be $9 cheaper than cable. Weird to think that over 250 channels is almost $10 cheaper than just 15 channels. After the satellite was installed, I had to phone Shaw Direct and activate the receivers. A man, by the name of Stephen (french spelling/sounding) answered and walked me through the order and what not. Reading down my order he stopped at the movie package and noted that I had ordered the Women's Movie Package. He paused and asked if I had made a mistake and if I was aware of what type of movies the channel played.

A picture indicating the depth of the snow. I am installing a thermometer my parents got me for Christmas.
Snow is quite deep and yes they are indeed shorts. Since this picture, we have received another 4 inches or so of snow.


The back door of each of our places is covered with snow and icicles. Doesn't mean much for Claire and I, but Amanda takes Dexter outside everyday. Some of those icicles could kill.

Installing the satellite. The school let us borrow their drill and gave an extra battery. We started Saturday afternoon at 3:30 and by 3:37, the batteries had already run out.




Claire in proper winter attire standing behind our house.




Hard to tell here, but all we see outside is white. All the branches are covered with layers of snow. It looks really dark out too. Must be a bad camera.





My fine handy work. Thanks for the thermometer, works great!





Saturday, January 8, 2011

More than teacher

If you (readers) would allow, I would like to post about something different from what our typical blogs have been about. Claire and I focus our writing about experiences we have living in Deer Lake and interactions we have with students or staff. Today I would like to write about something quite different, and definitely more important, Claire's successes.

As you readers have learned through our blogs and talking to either of us during our Christmas break, we have experienced many things. What some or many of you don't know is that Claire has emerged as a great teacher, friend, mentor and missionary. I laugh as I write this because I noticed on Thursday, that Claire has developed a teacher walk. Sounds strange, but it's true. She walks the halls of the school and aisles of the classroom with the confidence of a teacher, saying a friendly 'hello' to any who pass her way (even the students in grade six). The walk is quick, but not fast.

I want to say a little about each success (teacher, friend, mentor and missionary) and I'll start with teacher. Claire is prepared for each lesson, after having spent countless hours at school and home with resources and her laptop. She finds time to utilize all resources and cover a host of topics. She crafts her lessons to make them entertaining for the students. One key area is her bravery in the classroom. She has not been afraid to try new things and challenge the students. She single handily preps, instructs, and cleans up the grade 9 classroom from a variety of art projects. Another area in which she has emerged as a successful teacher has been her work with the students. Students are not afraid to approach Claire with questions/concerns, or offer opinions during class.

The second area of success has been as a friend. For anyone reading this, it will be of no surprise for me to say that Claire cares, and that is really and understatement. My family likes to bug Claire that she asks a lot of questions, but it is only because she cares. When Claire asks how your day was, she isn't being polite, rather she is sincere. She really cares about other people. This sincerity is on display everyday at school. At the beginning of the year, Claire would say to one particular girl, "Good Morning." The girl never replied. Before Christmas break the girl started opening up and now replies with a opening salutation. Another example that comes to mind (and there are plenty) involves her growing relationship with one of the grade 8 girls. With Claire as a teacher, this girl has matured and grown. Obviously the work isn't done, but Claire has already changed this girl's life. Amazing!

The third area is as a mentor. The secret in becoming a great teacher is in your ability to steal. Sounds wrong, but let me explain. Great teachers are able to pull and extract plans/ideas/resources from others teachers or any other source possible. While Claire does this, she has come up with great ideas for me and I am sure Amanda as well. The three of us often discuss ideas or bounce opinions off the other two.

The last area has been as a missionary. Many of our students come from broken or mixed homes. In grade nine, our of 17 students, roughly 5 come from a traditional home. Women commonly aren't not viewed as an equal. Claire is a strong Christian woman, and this has been evident. We accepted our positions in Deer Lake knowing this is where God wanted us. We believe that the people who have entered our lives, have been placed and prepared by God. With the female staff at work, Claire has quickly become friends with a handful. Claire has ministered to them through the way she carries herself and her daily interactions.

Claire asked me how she has helped me and I couldn't put my thumbs on any, not because there aren't any rather trying to pick the right ones. I have given it some thought any picked two key areas. One has been in Claire's courage to socialize or approach others. On Thursday, we went to the Northern and were waiting in line when Claire saw a group of grade nine boys, with one or two new faces. Claire, fearing nothing, went up to them and started a conversation. No matter the place, no matter the situation, Claire, thanks to her ability to care, will talk to anyone, and I mean anyone. A second area is her ability to play with the students. She is not afraid to make herself the butt of any joke, if it results in connecting with the students. Last night, Claire and I were sitting with roughly six grade 8 and 9s at bingo. She told them that we had seen the Northern lights and that they were amazing. The students were clearly surprised but it made no difference to Claire.

Thank you for your time. We are enjoying ourselves in Deer Lake and, as the above notes, are succeeding. Claire, due to her sincerity and love of others, has become more than just the grade 8/9 teacher.

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

First Day

So, our first day back was pretty uneventful. Every student came back to school, which may sound weird but we were warned that a handful might drop out over the break. Routines were quickly picked up as if we had just returned from a weekend.

Nothing much has changed since we left in mid-December. There is probably another foot of snow (3-4 feet in all) and the temperature is a cozy -25. Snowmobiles have replaced vehicles as the mode of transportation. We did find out that someone's dog froze because the owners locked him in the shed, because he had fleas.

Good news! The number of T.V. stations we have has increased by one. We now have Peachtree which is a nice addition. Oh and Global Toronto has also decided to rejoin us.

Interesting side note from today. In grade 8 geography the students are learning about quality of life and standard of living. I asked the question, "Who thinks they have a high quality of life?" No one raised their hand. Then I asked, "Who thinks they have a low quality of life?" Roughly half the students raised their hands. We then learned that Canada's life expectancy is hovering around 80. The students could not grasp the concept as people do not often live past 65 in Deer Lake.

Claire also had an interesting story from today. She was teaching about nouns and looking closer at compound nouns (goldfish). In the work book she was using the students were assigned to take the compound nouns and put them into sentences. One of the compound nouns was Bare Naked Ladies. The students had no clue who they were, Claire explained, but some students were still unsure. Tonight when she was marking she read me some interesting sentences they made up. Here are a few examples: " If I saw Bare Naked Ladies I would run the other way", " Bare Naked Ladies walk across the street". We had a good chuckle out of it. The students take everything so literally, to the point that if I tell a student to go sit in their desk, they will reply "I won't fit".

We will post some pictures soon of the snow and scenery.

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

We're Back

Well we made it back to Deer Lake safe and sound. We had a great Christmas and enjoyed visiting with many friends and family. While we were home we were so busy visiting and getting some shopping done that we did not have much down time. I wasn't quite ready to come back, and I definitely could have used another week, but I am thankful for the time we had.

Yesterday was our big travel day and we made it back, but to say it was an uneventful trip would not be true. We left home at 8:10 am and made it to the airport by 9:15 am, traffic was amazing. We caught up with Amanda no problem, got our luggage checked in and off we went.

Our flight was delayed a bit. We were supposed to be at gate 112 and about 15 minutes before we were allowed to board they told us we had changed gates to 142 (which is on the other side of the terminal) so we walked quickly to get there. Once we were there waiting, mine and Greg's name was called over the PA system asking us to report to the desk at the gate. So we went, we thought that maybe they couldn't fit us on that flight so they were going to delay it. Turns out they just had to give us our seat number (they didn't do that when we checked in for some reason). Just before we were supposed to load an announcement came over the PA saying our plane is delayed (the plane was late getting to the airport). When we finally did load the plane Greg, Amanda and I were scattered all over the plane. I sat in the front, Amanda in the middle and Greg was bringing up the rear. When everyone had boarded there was announcement saying we were going to be delayed even further due to something not right in the cargo area, I am not sure what it was but some maintenance guys came and fixed it. Our flight finally left at 12:30 (we were supposed to leave at 11:30).

We finally reached Thunder Bay at 2:10. Our flight from Thunder Bay to Red Lake was scheduled to leave at 4:00. Amanda and I needed to go grocery shopping and Greg being the organized person he is had scheduled us a taxi for 1:30. Needless to say it was gone. Once we got off our plane we realized there was 8 taxi's lined up outside waiting to take people places. So Amanda and I booted it to a taxi while Greg waited with Dexter and they collected our bags.

Grocery shopping was fine. I was running around the store like crazy and was all over the place. I am a slow grocery shopper and like to take my time so I was really out of my element rushing around. We got all the groceries we needed and called the taxi for a pick up. They were at the store really quick. We were back to the airport by 3:20pm. We made great timing.

When we went to get Greg to come help us pack the groceries into the Rubbermaids we discovered that the Rubbermaids never made it to Thunder Bay from Toronto. Unfortunately, one of Amanda's boxes never made it either and hers had a lot of stuff she need it in. Our missing baggageereas just 3 empty Rubbermaids. Hopefully Amanda's box will be here in Deer by the end of the week, we are told that our stuff is in Thunder Bay now.

Due to Air Canada not bringing our Rubbermaids they gave us 3 cardboard boxes. Thankfully we brought tape (thanks Grandma and Grandpa) with us to help keep them together, but I still was not happy with the boxes they just seemed way to flimsy. All our food fit in the boxes and we taped them up and got checked into our next flight. Our flight was scheduled to leave at 4:00 and 3:50 an announcement came on saying that our flight was delayed until 4:15. At 4:10, another announcement was made saying it was delayed until 5:00. At this point we went upstairs in the airport and got something to eat. At 4:55, we watched our stuff being loaded on to the plane. They were just throwing our boxes of food around, I was a little worried about the glass bottles and things that could break. We finally began boarding our plane at 5:15.

We had to fly to Sioux Lookout and then catch a connecting flight in Red Lake. Our connecting flight was scheduled to leave at 5:45, we thought we were going to miss our fight and have to spend the night in Red Lake. We made it to Red Lake at 5:55 and found that our plane was still there. They waited for us because there was so many people on our flight connecting to the other flight. We got all our luggage and checked in again to our other flight and got loaded on for our last leg of the journey.

The last 20 minutes of our flight to Deer Lake had a lot of turbulence, but it was alright. We finally made to Deer by 7:45pm.

Everything was fine when we got back. We were able to catch the last period of the Canada vs. USA World Junior game and watch Canada beat the USA, which made Greg very happy. After the hockey game ended we unpacked our stuff and began to relax a little bit. It was definitely a long and tiring day.

This is a picture of the state of our boxes by the time they reached Deer Lake. These things were definitely abused along the way.

I am surprised at how well everything travelled, even after they were thrown around, nothing was broken.