Cynthia's Arctic Adventure

I can't believe that I haven't posted anything to this since October!! I also do not know how Paul's profile keeps coming up on my blog!

It has been totally non stop since my last posting. It seems that as soon as Thanksgiving ended we were hurled into a frenetic whirlwind headed towards report cards, long range curriculum planning,the Inuvik arrival of the Olympic Torch ( we prepared a 40 voice choir for the event), Christmas concerts( including the big Community Concert in the historic Igloo Church, where Paul performed on his newly refurbished flute),church services, and more recently a huge shooting of a commercial here by "Tropicana", which will air across North America starting in March. It is really funny that Paul was filmed by one of the producers as he was picking up his complimentary carton of juice at the local Northmart.(having been the first customer in the store on production day!!!)

We found our first Christmas in Inuvik to be VERY dark and certainly missed having family for the first time in our married lives. It has also made the time feel really long since our arrival in August.

We have a small cosy house here and actually cut down our own Arctic tree for Christmas. All of you who know what a typical "Maynard" tree looks like will find this truly hysterical. The trees grow like sticks here. We made the most of our time off, and glad to have gotten a good rest.

So far, the term has been busy with tons of activity. Paul drove to Tuktoyuktuk on the ice road a couple of weeks ago,( 3 hours north! of here ) to do Baptisms and Eucharist. This weekend I'm going with him to Aklavik. (another ice road adventure)He really enjoys his ministry in the small communities and thinks they are such wonderfully spiritual and warm people. We will take all of our "emergency" supplies in case of a breakdown, pack the dogs in the van, and head out on the ice!!

Life here continues to unfold as an experience I never dreamed I would have. I literally adore my teaching at SAMS school and every day the children give me true joy. There certainly are lots of challenges, but the work is rewarding and refreshing. Now that the sun is back the light seems to be blinding at times. I am told that this is a typical reaction, having not seen it for a couple of months.