Sundogs and Rainbows over Gjoa Haven :)

I didn't have my camera with me Monday so these pictures are pirated from my buddy, Adam.  I give him and his Iphone full credit for the following pictures. Their scientific name is Parhelia but they are commonly known as Sundogs. 

At this point we were walking around like fools quoting the Crazy Double Rainbow Guy.

It was about 4pm when these pictures were taken Monday.

 According to Wikipedia they are made by refraction of light through ice crystals called diamond dust. The crystals act as prisms, bending the light with a minimum deflection of 22 degrees. Sundogs are not exclusive to the Arctic but they are most commonly found here.  I'm tired and I'm having a hard time stringing words together into sentences, so I'm going to keep this short and sweet, allowing the photos (that I stole) to speak for themselves. Enjoy!

Sundogs and rainbows over Gjoa Haven :)

Just another reason you should probably come to the Arctic :)

Square Dance Showdown, Gjoa Haven 2013

The kids at school have been JACKED for the past two weeks.  Counting down the number of sleeps until the Square Dance Showdown has preoccupied their every waking moment.  They have been vibrating with anticipation, unable to focus on anything else.  All the cool kids especially the boys (and I'm not being sarcastic) are on dance teams.  They have been practicing their hearts out.  Teachers have been both frustrated and baffled by this phenomena. I mean, I say square dance and my first thought is some old Hungarians at the cottage dancing around the living room in front of the fire to accordion music.  The idea that the social leaders at school all actively practice square dancing and promote the participation of family and friends is mind boggling to me. And yet, no teacher in their right mind would ever discourage students taking pride in something. It would be nice though, if the kids would also participate in school with the same enthusiasm...

One of the visiting teams.  They had really great kamiks (seal skin boots).

I have been craving live music. Like, missing it with my whole heart - craving. I didn't realize that I had been missing it until I sat down at the Square Dance Showdown this weekend and heard the band.  I literally welled up and got goosebumps... for square dance music.  That's how much I missed live music.

The band.  The guy with the fiddle alternated between that and the accordion.  These guys were CHAMPS with some routines running as long as 40 minutes.

The Square Dance Showdown is an intense three day competition that I don't think can accurately be described in words but I will try my best.  

Dance teams come in from all over the Kitikmeot region.  They don't fly in, no, they skidoo hundreds of miles from their own communities to dance.  Baker Lake, Taloyoak, Kugaruk, Kugluktuk, and Rankin Inlet all had teams come to compete. Most communities are a 2-3 day skidoo trip away and most communities sent skidoo caravans with 14+ machines and fully loaded kamatiks (wooden sleds).  Gjoa Haven's population increased by several hundred this weekend with all our guests bunking with friends and family - no one stayed at the hotel.  We actually cancelled school for kids the Monday and Tuesday after The Showdown because of how intense it is... at least we have realistic expectations.  Heck, the  dancing probably won't stop until 3am Sunday night/Monday morning.   

You can see the judges to the right of the spinning couple.

This was an intense fusion between traditional drum dancing that you see in Aboriginal ceremonies, traditional Inuit clothing, and European Folk dancing.  There isn't a caller like in American versions of square dance but a lot of the spins and hand positions are similar to the American Style. 

 Starting at 5pm the dancing goes allll night.  The pictures are from Saturday night and early Sunday morning.  The last team took the floor at 2am... and after that there was a couples square dance competition that each couple paid 5 bucks to dance in.  We didn't stay for that because I heard it wouldn't be over until at least 4am and after sitting on the gym floor for 8 hours I just couldn't do it.  My core hurt from bopping around to the music and my butt hurt from being so closely acquainted with the gym floor for so long.  My hands hurt from clapping to the beat for 8 hours straight and my jaw hurt from biting back the words I really really wanted to use on the children.  Ohhhhh the children.  

Gjoa Haven's youth team made up of kids from grade 6-8

 This event was simultaneously incredible and a nightmare (for a teacher or someone with first aid).  The dancing was incredible. The tiny tot fight club that took place in between dances stressed me right the hell out.  The dance crew would take a bow and leave the floor and at that very moment when the band played their last prolonged note, hundreds of kids would rush the floor and proceed to go B-A-N-A-N-A-S.  Full out youth mosh-pits filled with angry aggressive 4 and 5 year olds where kids would literally be dropped on their heads, get up close-line the dropper and fight club it out all without any parental intervention despite them being conveniently seated within arms reach. My weekend mantra went something like: "I'm not in charge, they are not my kids.  I'm not in charge, they are not my kids."  At one point I had to cover my eyes and my housemate Kelli leaned over and asked me which part was affecting me: the fist fights? or one kid strangling another kid?  
Picture a conga line with mixed martial arts liberally sprinkled in.

I had a hard time articulating. But I was somewhat calmed by the fact I wasn't the only one mentally climbing the walls at the live portrayal of The Hunger Games during intermissions.      

Gjoa Haven's Adult Team. Instead of Seal Skin Kamiks, these dancers favoured Dene style moccasins.

Overall it was an incredible weekend.  The music and dancing gave me some much needed excitement. My entire body hurts today and I didn't even dance. I'm really glad I got to see The Square Dance Showdown 2013.

You know it's gonna be alright!

I'm smiling today:  not a cloud in the sky, negative 10 with a breeze from the north north west, and sunshine.  I headed to the school just after lunch to get crackin' on some paperwork and I walked the whole way with the wind at my back, the sun on my face, and a great big grin. I've been lamenting about the quality of the sunshine here in the Arctic since 2008; it makes everything look like it is part of some ethereal winter fairy land.  Yes, I said ethereal winter fairy land.  I have an English degree that I use intermittently but mostly I just forget the commas, and run my sentences together.  This is quite possibly the best argument for me to go back to school: my mental degradation.   

Back to my point about the light - Look back at my pictures from 2008 and see for yourself or maybe just look at my profile picture for proof.  It's straight up magic and it makes me happy.  Anyway, I'm also smiling because I got some great news about my tax return - I'm not going to say much but just know that you should all come work in the north because the T2222 form is all sorts of awesome and yet another reason why I'm smiling.

We decided to stay in tonight - the hustle and bustle of Gjoa Haven's night life was almost too much to handle...  I kid! I kid!  Other than some intense radio BINGO and a teen dance, nightlife in Gjoa is relegated to kitchen dance parties and card games. So I got crazy and Frankensteined a pot of chili (which was all sorts of yummy) and talked Kelli into watching Across The Universe and Silver Lining's Play Book.  I love belting out Beatles songs but I get a bit itchy when I watch things about mental illness :s So it was a draw on the movies. The only reason I'm admitting to watching either of these movies is because of the pictures that follow.  In between the movies (see, I have a point), I took Nigel the dog out and then promptly forced my housemate Kelli to get her coat on and bring out her Ipad for a photo op.  Poor girl was a bit shell shocked when she stepped of the plane in August so I go out of my way whenever possible to show her the beauty of the north.  It was just after 10pm here in Gjoa Haven, minus 24 with windchill and a clear sky, perfect for taking pictures of civil twilight. 

First we have a view of down town.  No light pollution here, folks.  We are the only 1200 people on the island of King William in the North West Passage.  Not quite the top of the world, but pretty darn close.  To orient all you map lovers out there, the pictures is shot facing south from across a ravine that separates up-town and down-town.  

This next photo is my favourite of the three.  Facing west-south-west at 10pm Saturday April 6th you can see some of (because it never really translates properly in photos) the pretty colours of our civil twilight and one star for good measure.  

And finally, facing west into the civil twilight with our neighbour's house to the right.  Look at all the light!  And here you felt sorry for us when I posted those pictures of the pitch black at 3pm just before Christmas.  I was talking to Kelli about the light here, and I actually feel as though there is more light than dark here. 

Now before you go getting all scientific on me about the earth's rotation and actual hours of daylight bla bla bla, hear me out.  It FEELS like there is more light.  Sure the darkness is disorienting but at night we sleep through it and during the day we work through it.  Leaving the school in the pitch black in December isn't so bad, not any worse than it being dark by 5pm in the south or on days that it's overcast and grey.  Point being, you miss most of the darkness because of work and sleep and it's not unheard of for it to be dark during the day.  But if feels like there is more light because of the 10pm sunsets in April, and the midnight sun in May.  You get up to pee in the middle of the night and you have to squint into the daylight streaming through the bathroom window.   The light is everywhere all the time for a good part of the year.  Suntans in the middle of the night are not possible in the south.  Daylight at night is weird, hence why it FEELS like there is more of it.

An analogy if you will: my perception of the amount of darkness is like sitting beside a big man on an air plane in coach who sits still during the red eye and reads his book, uncomfortable but relatively unremarkable. Now my perception of the amount of daylight in the north is like sitting beside that same big man in coach but instead of quietly reading his book he talks you into drinking the complementary red wine and singing show tunes with him for the duration of the night flight - significantly more noticeable and frankly out of place because really, what airline doles out complementary ANYTHING never mind red wine?

So yeah, there's more light.  

Cheers to tax returns, Beatles songs, and daylight!  
Smile!
You know it's going to be alright!