cindyloohoo's TravelStream™ — Recent TravelPod.com entries TravelStream™ news feed for member cindyloohoo on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/cindyloohoo en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Tue, 12 May 2009 12:18:45 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com Crystal Light — Inuvik, Northwest Territories, Canada http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/cindyloohoo/2/1241712900/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/cindyloohoo/2/1241712900/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/cindyloohoo/2/1241712900/tpod.html Tue, 12 May 2009 12:18:45 -0400 Dancing Under the Midnight Sun
Inuvik, Northwest Territories, Canada

The water is yellow. I've heard not to eat yellow snow - but what about when the water is yellow?

The TOI (Town of Inuvik) gets its water from the Mackenzie River in the winter. In the summer it comes from Hidden Lake (at least I think that's the name of the lake). During both transition periods the water is a bit odd. It is safe to drink - don't get me wrong; but right now it smells of bleach and doesn't taste very good. Hence - the using of Cystal Light to flavour the water. I just bought a new box of the stuff. Got to keep hydrated.
]]> Sparks — Inuvik, Northwest Territories, Canada http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/cindyloohoo/2/1236696060/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/cindyloohoo/2/1236696060/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/cindyloohoo/2/1236696060/tpod.html Tue, 10 Mar 2009 10:49:34 -0400 Dancing Under the Midnight Sun
Inuvik, Northwest Territories, Canada

Sparks fly around here. Not with upset or whatnot - but with electricity. The place is DRY. I have taken to moving across my classroom by touching metal bits on desks and chairs in order not to shock myself by the minute. If I forget (or in too much of a hurry) I get a shock from my computer keyboard and my chalkboard ledge. Ugh. Another favourite spot is if you mistakenly touch the screw on a lightswitch plate. Yummy. And then there is crossing from the carpeted living room to the kitchen and touching water in the sink. Oh joy! I have my exercise bike in the living room and it is next to the chair I use to watch TV. Clever me touches the bike AS I get up from the chair and keeps a finger on the bike until I have taken a step away from the chair. Yippee. There is also a weird spot at the top of the stairs at the high school. Just from walking down the hall you build up enough static electricity that when you touch the handrail (which, obviously, has metal in it) you spark. Cheery. The never-ending thrills of the North.
]]> Anyone Out There? — Inuvik, Northwest Territories, Canada http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/cindyloohoo/2/1236695940/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/cindyloohoo/2/1236695940/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/cindyloohoo/2/1236695940/tpod.html Tue, 10 Mar 2009 10:41:28 -0400 Dancing Under the Midnight Sun
Inuvik, Northwest Territories, Canada

Is anyone reading this blog?

I've been away from a computer for over a month (with an injury) and I haven't seen any messages in my inbox wondering where I went.


Just curious.

Cindy
]]> Nip and Bite — Inuvik, Northwest Territories, Canada http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/cindyloohoo/2/1232467320/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/cindyloohoo/2/1232467320/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/cindyloohoo/2/1232467320/tpod.html Tue, 20 Jan 2009 11:12:48 -0500 Dancing Under the Midnight Sun
Inuvik, Northwest Territories, Canada

Yesterday I learned a new word: "frostnip". CBC Radio out of Yellowknife did a piece on the difference between frostbite and frostnip. I think it is like people saying they have the flu - when all they really have is a cold. They feel unwell. When you say you have "flu" you get the furrowed eyebrows and head nods. People feel for your pain. Same for frostbite. I learned that the difference between frostNIP and frostBITE is dead cells. With frostbite the skin cells actually die - and that is why the bitten body parts often fall off. I know, gross. With frostnip the cells do not die: they are damaged, but they can recover. It has to do with blood leaving the affected area...which is why warming the area is the cure (it brings the blood back and thus can once more nourish the cells). So chances are that people who tell you they had frostbite really had frostnip. Can't blame them, though. Who ever heard of frostnip before this?
]]> Melting — Inuvik, Northwest Territories, Canada http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/cindyloohoo/2/1232143140/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/cindyloohoo/2/1232143140/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/cindyloohoo/2/1232143140/tpod.html Fri, 16 Jan 2009 19:01:31 -0500 Dancing Under the Midnight Sun
Inuvik, Northwest Territories, Canada

It is so wawrm today that the ice rink is closed. It is +5 and they had to close the rink. This is the Arctic. We are above the Arctic Circle.......and they shut down the ice rink in January!!

There is no way the Global Warming is a myth.
]]> Hot Hot Heat — Inuvik, Northwest Territories, Canada http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/cindyloohoo/2/1232122260/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/cindyloohoo/2/1232122260/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/cindyloohoo/2/1232122260/tpod.html Fri, 16 Jan 2009 11:31:57 -0500 Dancing Under the Midnight Sun
Inuvik, Northwest Territories, Canada

Hooeee - it's hot today. We are sitting at +5. I phoned mom in Ottawa and they are suffering at -38. Not that we didn't have the same temperature 3 days ago. It's gone from -38 (and wind chill is never included) to -23 (which felt balmy after the last two weeks with over -30s and into the -40s) to +5. Walking home last night at 10:30 (yes, I am still setting exams; it's taking forever) I could feel the snow was getting soft under my feet. Kids were out without hats -- so was the RCMP officer I met on the road (someone had car trouble). Everyone is in a good mood today. I'll be better when my Math exam and then the practice exam are both set. After that it's smooth sailing for me for a full week!. Kind of like a holiday in the middle of January. Party time for us on the 23rd. It's the first day of exams AND my birthday! Mike has already lined up the sorts of drinks he will be making for me. Oh yeah, and a bunch of us are going to dinner. Shouldn't let the drinking games overshadow the meal.
]]> Hockey — Inuvik, Northwest Territories, Canada http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/cindyloohoo/2/1229014680/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/cindyloohoo/2/1229014680/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/cindyloohoo/2/1229014680/tpod.html Sat, 10 Jan 2009 22:38:44 -0500 Dancing Under the Midnight Sun
Inuvik, Northwest Territories, Canada

Today was very exciting. Bryan Trottier and Sigmund Brouwer, former NHL players, made a visit to Inuvik and spoke at an assembly this morning. I must thank Sigmund for planning my next few lessons: he offered the kids I-pod Shuffles if they sent him stories that he used in his next book. If that can't get some of them writing, nothing will. This is a hockey-crazy town and the kids were the most attentive I have ever seen. Mind you, they also love listening to stories and Sigmund read from his new book -- new as in in the middle of being written. Even better - it is set in Inuvik and he uses the name of our high school. The kids are hooked. As we left the gym we all got copies of his latest book, Oil Kings Glory.
]]> Fox - Part 2 — Inuvik, Northwest Territories, Canada http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/cindyloohoo/2/1231447980/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/cindyloohoo/2/1231447980/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/cindyloohoo/2/1231447980/tpod.html Sat, 10 Jan 2009 22:36:44 -0500 Dancing Under the Midnight Sun
Inuvik, Northwest Territories, Canada

Dan and I went to Danny and Peter's place to watch a movie. We sat about and chatted and then Danny brought out truffles she had made. Decadent. We had a good time, but it was a school night and three of the four of us had to teach in the morning.

Dan walked me home most of the way, but Kodojin was really pulling on his arm, so he left me at the corner and backtracked to his place. Kodo is getting really strong. He has a harness for her and finally got the sled he had ordered months ago. He takes her out to pull almost every day; if they are not pulling then they are at least running. When he walks her on a leash she is tugging so hard that his shoulder is getting sore. I was fine to walk the rest of the way alone; this is a pretty safe place to live.

Tununuk Place is a cul de sac off Makenzie Street and I live near the end of it. The road dips down, curves to the right, and then goes up a bit of a hill and there are three apartment buildings once it levels off. I was just coming to the curve when a fox darted in front of me across the street and into some apartments on the right. I thought it was a dog, but the huge bushy tail changed my mind. It also moved in the most unusual pattern; it zigzagged but with a sideways twist. It made me think of a sidewinder (snake). I froze to the spot, terrified it might turn around and come back. How long was I going to stand there? I made a beeline for my place, just walking a little faster than before.
]]> Return of the Sun — Inuvik, Northwest Territories, Canada http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/cindyloohoo/2/1231633680/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/cindyloohoo/2/1231633680/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/cindyloohoo/2/1231633680/tpod.html Sat, 10 Jan 2009 21:48:01 -0500 Dancing Under the Midnight Sun
Inuvik, Northwest Territories, Canada

I just finished watching a half hour fireworks display out my classroom window.

Up here they have a festival celebrating the return of the sun. It is now popping over the horizon around 2PM. I thought the festival was tomorrow so I was in my classroom setting my two mid-term exams. I heard some kids in the hallway and thought maybe someone had broken in (it has happened). My room was invaded by a troop of cadets under the command of Second Lieutenant Paul MacDonald. Paul is a nurse at the hospital and the Cadet leader here in Inuvik. They use the school for training and stayed overnight during the holidays. (A fair number of my Grade 8s are in the troop.) Paul had brought them upstairs to see if they could find a window out of which to watch the fireworks. I would have missed the display completely, I am sure. The drilling of the pilings for the new school is still going on (all day and all night so it seems) and the noise of the machinery drowned out the popping of the fireworks. Serendipidous for sure that I was here working and they were looking for a window. We all gathered at my two windows and Paul brought out a box of donuts. He had just arrived back from Yellowknife so the donuts were fresh from this morning. That's as good as you can get up here! There were about 12 of us ooohing and aahhhing and eating donuts. There is a bonfire the size of a school bus down at a park and I was dreading freezing my thighs off to watch the fireworks tomorrow night. I am so glad I got the date wrong! We were nice and warm, and like Christmas, it was more fun sharing it with kids.
]]> What I Did on My Vacation — Inuvik, Northwest Territories, Canada http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/cindyloohoo/2/1231198620/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/cindyloohoo/2/1231198620/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/cindyloohoo/2/1231198620/tpod.html Mon, 05 Jan 2009 18:49:46 -0500 Dancing Under the Midnight Sun
Inuvik, Northwest Territories, Canada

How rude of me. People have been asking what I did on the holidays - mostly wanting to know if I stayed in Inuvik or went away.

Lots of people left for the South, but traveling in the winter is not my idea of a good time. (One of the teachers spent 3 days in the Toronto airport before making it to Newfoundland.) I stayed in Inuvik and had a very relaxing Break. Danny (the Foods teacher) invited me to her place for Xmas dinner. She is an excellent cook. I played with her three children and when she went to settle them in her husband (Peter) and I played Wii.

Mostly, I watched movies, ate too much, and slept at really odd hours. We had one day and a half of ice fog and a few days below -38. I only got out of my PJs to go to the video store. My new Best Picks are:
- The Visitor (loved this movie for lots of reasons)
- Young @ Heart
- Bella (for the positive portrayal of Latin peoples, especially Mexican and PR)
I also really liked The Hammer. Being a "boxing movie" you wouldn't think it would rate with me - but it is a delightful story. Check out the interview on the Special Features. It won't spoil anything to tell you that the guy who plays the Mexican friend is a first-time actor. He really was a tradesman and friend of Adam Carolla!

I hope each of you had a nice holiday. Happy New Year!!
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