Way behind the times

Well I just realized how far behind the times we truly are with the blog. So here goes some fast updating...
Our last post was in the middle of Professional Improvement week. So we both made it through! Lisa and I managed to finish our Kamiqs and they are gorgeous! I'll post pictures at some point but I have to learn how because the system has changed so for now just information. (Sorry.) We may have had no children but the week was jam-packed and tiring. On March 25th Sam Pudlat had a carnival in the afternoon. Arranged by Scott one of our grade 4 teachers the kids were so excited. It was hectic and chaotic but fun for all. I was in the 'chill zone' where we were showing a movie or colouring or just playing while others were at the carnival. The kindergartens came in the later afternoon and I actually had 2 fall asleep sitting colouring at desks. On the 26th Lisa and I organized a penny sale which very well thanks to the help of so many people at school. Our staff really is great about pitching in when needed.
On to April. April 1st is the day that Nunavut became a territory. Apparently someone has decided that it should be celebrated in July so April 1st is no longer Nunavut day BUT...it is now Hamlet Day. So either way we got the day off work. On top of that they had another round of outdoor games like we did at Christmas. This time however Richard and I competed. I started with a crawl across the field and back race. We like to think it was a polar bear race. I was convinced by the children to participate and as I was standing at the start line waiting to go I noticed that everyone else was wearing snow pants and I was not! Uh oh! Anyway off we went. I was doing pretty well until I was attacked from behind. A crazy Lily decided that not only should she run with me but jump on me and sit on my foot. I continued anyway dragging her along with me. I lost terribly but she thought it was great and asked to do it again. My next event was the harpoon throw. I got up there and just threw it. But then was told my throw was disqualified as I had been using two hands. The down side of not knowing the rules is: you don't know the rules. So I got to try again (after asking for the rules again) and threw it as hard as I could. Many, many women competed but in the end I WON!!! Amazing! Plus I won $40.00. The last competition I did was sort of like a tug of war. Only two people compete at a time and you have your backs to each other with a rope around the back of your neck and under your arms. It was very hard especially as half way through I realized that wearing my Kamiqs was a big mistakes. They have no treads and are just bare leather so I was slipping and sliding all over the place. I gave a valiant effort but definitely lost! Richard had been keeping an eye on Lily most of the time but after each lady's event was the men's. He tried the harpoon throw but lost however he was the champ of strange tug of war. He had to defeat lots of people but did it with Lily and I cheering him on. Days later you should have seen the bruises on his arms where the rope was pulling. That evening there were more games at the Community Hall. We went down for a while and took Amy with us. Lily loves it there with all the people and the freedom to play and play and play. We all tried a few things but were knocked out pretty early until Richard and the dice game. He made it down to 5 people and because he was the last man he WON. He was especially excited as he won a Qamatiq hitch. Yeah. Didn't mean much to me either but Richard has recently built a Qamatiq (a sled for behind a snowmobile) and this hitch is worth $250.00. So YEAH Richard!!! We were just beginning to talk about leaving when another strength competition started. Some of the young people were encouraging Richard to try it. So after watching for a bit (and learning the rules) he decided to compete. We were a little bit worried about offending anyone with our winning but as he was being pushed into it he decided to give it his all. So Richard beat 4 men (16 and over) by sitting feet to feet and holding onto a broomstick between them and trying to pull each other over. He was finally beat by a young man. So we thought it was over but then our lack of understanding of the rules became obvious again. No it was not over because the man who beat Richard also beat 4 men he and Richard had to battle one more time. And...Richard WON!!! No doubt about how people felt as Richard was cheered in riotous fashion and swarmed by well wishers. He was pushed towards the stage where he was given his prize of $60.00. So all in all not a bad day. Tones of fun and $140.00 and a hitch to boot!!
Birthday notices: Happy Birthday (in date order not importance) Kala, Rosamond, Joy and Grandpa!!! The beginning of April has been busy for me as it is report card season. They were due last week. It is only my second round and I was very concerned if I was doing them right and if they would get done and make sense. But they got done and my principal was extremely complimentary of my work so all is well after all. On Friday April 8th the staffs of both Sam Pudlat Elementary and Peter Pitseolak High School went out on the land for a 'cultural day'. It was amazing. We drove for a good 40 minutes out over the water and over the land and over the water and on and on. We got out to a lake and set up camp. A tent was pitched with a stove to heat up caribou stew. Holes were dug with the auger for fishing and we all got to it. We followed the others lead and Richard brought on of our machines over beside the hole where we sat on it and fished. Nothing was biting despite my using all the Inuktitut I knew and learning more to try and get the fish to bite. I said the straight forward Qaigit (pronounced hi-gee meaning come here), the unusual Nagligivagit (pronounced Na-lee-gee-za-geet meaning I love you and here it is in sylabics ᓇᒡᓕᒋᕙᒋᑦ) and following Ernie's lead I yelled Iqalamai (I made up the spelling but it is pronounced EE-ha-la-may) or here fishy, fishy, fishy!! That got a lot of laughs but not a single fish. Lily was very disappointed that there were no fish and we had to go home and pull the two out of the deep freeze so she could poke them. The day was great but I am hoping that when we go next time we will actually catch something! The next night we went to a good old fashioned Kitchen Party. Ahh, the legacy of the Newfies. Actually very, very fun as our student teacher Jennifer is a harpist and she played as did David, a GN employee, Scott, one of our grade 4 teachers, and Richard. (They were all playing the guitar.) Everyone chatted and ate and drank and listened and sang. A very good time and a good send off to Jennifer who after being here for a month is headed back to Halifax. There I end this very, very long post as the next saga is the arrival of Richard's parents.... later I promise but it is bedtime now...
Goodnight to all and thanks for reading.
Margot