PART III
- why did you opt to go to the Arctic? do you ever wish you went back to live/work or visit? why didn't you?
I had been teaching for four years and I seemed to be at a point where I was unsatisfied with teaching and I didn't know what I wanted to do. I knew I had to get back to university and finish a degree or get into something else.
I was at loose ends. I didn't have anything else in my mind. I knew that if I resigned and didn't teach I would end up back on the farm. I didn't want to go back to the farm. I guess I really wanted to stay teaching but didn't know it.
I got proper clothing and was ice fishing in November
I wanted to leave the little town I was teaching in. I'd been there three years and that was enough. The people were nice and they were supportive.
At that time the papers were full of advertisements for teachers. I always kept my eye on the ads. An ad that was in the paper every year was teach in Canada's North Lands. So on a whim I wrote and asked for application forms. I was not really sure that I really wanted to go. When the application came I thought well I'll fill this out and send it away. what have I got to lose. Surprise , surprise they wanted to interview me. I'd never heard if interviews for teachers before. So I thought let's check this interview thing out. I went to Regina for the interview. You guessed it. They hired me. They didn't give me the locations I asked for. They knew better and put me in Inuvik.
So there I was off to Inuvik. I had to really do some research quickly to get ready to live in the Arctic. Clothing is what concerned me most. So over the summer I made preparations. They put me in contact with a teacher who was in summer school and he was a great help. Grandma and Grandpa were pretty worried about me.
I had no intention of staying in Red Deer. I didn't get the transfer I wanted so I decided to go to Red Deer and apply for a transfer the next year. Well, we adopted Brian so that ended northern travels. By that time Red Deer started to look pretty good. After the first year in Red Deer I lost all interest in going back. It was challenging enough as a couple but with small kids it wouldn't have been enjoyable. Things change very rapidly so it would not be the same if I went back to work or visit. I kept up with some of my friends for a few years.
What you ask brings back good memories and I'm sure I never showed you these photos.
It's probably useful to be young when off on these sort of adventures. And yes, children do modify our plans.
ReplyDeleteInexperience and naivety is a hazard.
DeleteI would like visit the Arctic someday.
ReplyDeleteDo lots of research before you do anything. It's huge
DeleteIt's clear from all you said about your time in Inuvik that you enjoyed it. I think you were very smart and had this adventure at the right time in your life. It gave you good experiences and good memories. (Besides, didn't you meet the Micro-Manager there?) You were wisely in the right place when you began raising your family.
ReplyDeleteI had fun in Inuvik and yes I met the Micro Manager there.
DeleteThe things we do when we are young and slightly ignorant would probably never happen if we thought a whole lot. And that's as it should be.
ReplyDeleteWe look back on our trip up the Mackenzie River and see how risky it was. we should never have done it.
DeleteWonderful memories, your first year in Red Deer and living in the Arctic is an experience you will never forget. Have a great day and happy weekend!
ReplyDeletethe arctic changed my life forever.
DeleteThat would have been a very fine life experience for you.
ReplyDeleteIt's something that changed my life forever.
DeleteThe spirit of adventure when we are young takes us interesting places. Starting a family settles us usually.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure curiosity fits in thee somewhere too.
DeleteI'm enjoying these memories, too. This was a great idea! :-)
ReplyDeleteMy daughter might know some of this stuff but then again it's surprising what they don't know.
DeleteIt seems all the blogs I have read this morning involve memories of time long ago. Interesting. Must be the angle of the sun telling us another year is on its way out.
ReplyDeleteYou must be following old people!
DeleteI love this conversation you are having with your daughter. It's so good to read of your life experiences.
ReplyDeleteShe's always been a talker but well spoken.
DeleteYou have had many fun adventures with lots of terrific memories and I am glad that you share them with us!
ReplyDeleteI also met some very interesting and competent people.
DeleteIt is good to share your memories:)
ReplyDeleteI hope they make sense to readers.
ReplyDeleteI can understand wanting to stay in Red Deer after you'd settled down there, especially with kids. Your work in the Arctic was of its time and place -- kind of like my work in Morocco. I couldn't go back now and expect it to be the same, given all the changes in the intervening years.
ReplyDeleteWell, you’ve had me googling Inuvik and Nunavut and Red Deer today. I had no idea that Red Deer is so large. I thought you lived in a small town. Thank you for helping an old guy learn some new stuff!
ReplyDeleteYou certainly have had a lot of adventures. From everything I've read of your writings, I can see you are brave and resourceful. I'm so glad life turned out happily for you.
ReplyDeleteWhat special memories your time in the Arctic gave you Red. It was the adventure of a lifetime and you brought back a very nice souvenir - your lovely wife, Nurse Jean. I am a bit like you in that I had no career plan - I just bumbled along and let chance direct me. I guess most people's lives work out that way.
ReplyDeleteHow interesting. I have never known anyone to go to the Arctic…much less live and teach there! Isn't it funny how our lives at time change course? My sister let me and two girlfriends stay in her fancy apt. while she was on vacation. We went out the the airport terminal in Dallas …an exciting place if you were from a small town like me. Anyway we all asked for applications at the ticket counter to be stewardesses. My friends must have discarded theirs. I thought …why not, and filled it out. Yep…thus began a life in a whole different direction…Nuff about me…I have enjoyed the questions and answers.
ReplyDelete