I had the opportunity to move to a bigger, newer house up the road which after some debate, I took. I am all settled in after a long week and weekend of moving, unpacking, cleaning and setting up. I have all my pictures on the wall, laundry done, chachkies on display and have spent the first night in my new home! It is probably 3 times the size of my old place on Beaver Road which is fantastic for someone who owns SO MUCH STUFF like me, but also sucky because it there is so much more to clean! However, it is brighter, newer, no mold, 2 bedrooms, an open concept living room, kitchen and dining area and best of all there is a wood burning stove! Awesome! I can't wait to use it in the winter. I also have a nice big deck the wraps around the front and side of the house, a large supply of cut firewood thanks to the previous owners, a place to put my BBQ (newly acquired, best investment of my life!) and a beautiful private backyard. There is, however, a treehouse to the side of my yard which I found out I have a perfect view of when I STEP OUT OF THE SHOWER so I am either going to have to sadly tear it down (I also want to avoid having to be the first responder to a broken neck/skin tear from a rust nail situation) or leave it up and risk the kids from all over the town seeing my goodies when I forget to close the curtains (bound to happen at least once!!).
I am also taking off back to Ontario this week to participate in my friend's wedding! I am a bridesmaid and while I am only in town for the weekend, I plan on making the most of it!! I am super excited to have an awesome time at this wedding and plan on partying like its 1999 at the reception. I fly back on Sunday afternoon, spend the night in Montreal and will make it back to Wemindji and RIGHT back to work Monday afternoon! It is going to be a long week but the countdown is on for the last day of school. It will be a mad dash to fit all the rest of the curriculum in while we also conduct some Cree School board standardized tests during class time over the next 2 weeks. We shall see just how far we get but I have some really fun Fairy Tale stuff planned so I hope to get to it!
Otherwise things are generally the same. It is still very frosty but some nice temperatures are predicted this week so I hope to get the class outside for some deserved fresh air after their tests.
Last week the school and community also celebrated Annie Whiskeychan Day which is a day that recognizes the efforts and contributions to Cree Language and Culture of a now-deceased Cree Language activist. The school worked hard to set up a nice display of Cree culture through children's dancing, teepee building, a walking out ceremony, cooking and feasts. I was able to witness the Walking Out Ceremony for 3 children of the community. The Walking Out Ceremony is supposed to celebrate the first steps a child takes on the Earth as they exit a teepee in traditional dress with their parent. Until that moment, children are either too young to walk or walk on protected ground (the daycare actually has a wooden structure built to elevate the children from the Earth so they don't take their first official steps on Earth until the ceremony.) There is a mock hunt where the children (sometimes still very young) pretend to shoot a goose and then pass cigarettes and candy around to the crowd (cigarettes, LOL I KNOW). Anyways it was really adorable to watch and even the dead geese being propped up, while revolting, was cool. The geese are propped up on sticks and a piece of twine is tied to them and when the child pretends to shoot the goose, the father or family member will pull the cord and the goose will fall. Super cute.
Anyways, overall an eventful and busy week and I can't wait to come home to Oakville and celebrate my lovely, beautiful friend Clair and her man Ryan's wedding. Enjoy the pictures!
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| My new school jacket! It also says my name in Cree on the arm |
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| Morning of Annie Whiskeychan Day |
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| The day's schedule |
A regular old Swiss Chalet up in this teepee!
Carmen thoroughly disgusted by the goose being speared!
A bebe walking out!
Girl's night of creeping on Facebook
A neat shot of Wemindji stolen from somebody's facebook
A hare on my front lawn!
At first glance it looks like a lake of geese. But in fact it is a lake full of DECOYS. Mission accomplished, I was fooled!
My new house!
Kitchen/dining room!
Living room!
My wood buring stooooooove!
Snow. AGAIN
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