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B-Street is cute. |
Enter the travels
In the morning I'm on my way to northern Labrador - no, not Newfoundland, Labrador, bitches - there's a difference.
Myself and two of my old co-councillors, Mara and Cody, from SuperNOVA (hell ya, I used to work at science camp) are venturing to the Great White North for two weeks to deliver health based workshops in five remote Aboriginal communities. From HappyValley-Goose Bay we bush-plane/snow-mobile it up to Rigolet, Nain, Hopedale, Postville, and Makkovik, delivering workshops on nutrition and digestion, occupational therapy, and microscope skills to kindergarten - grade nine students. I've got a lot going on right now what with selling sexy yoga attire, doing childcare, and doula-ing, but what can I say? I'm kind of a jack-of-all-trades, and when Mara calls you up and says, "Wanna go to Labrador in February?!" you say "YUP!".
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You know where Labrador is... |
In the time leading up to this trip I've been so damn excited that I haven't been able to keep my little mouth shut about it and, via my annoying blabber, I've come to realize that Labrador gets no love. Responses like, "What contest did you lose to end up on that trip?" or "Teaching in Labrador? Lesson #1, kids: Don't huff gas." made me feel a little taken aback. Whenever mentioning my own possible travels, or friends' trips to Newfoundland people overwhelmingly gush about how beautiful it is, how great their own experiences on The Rock where, and how warm and friendly the people are. Why don't my mentions of the brother next door prompt such reactions? A number of people have also mentioned that I'm the first person they've ever met who has travelled to the dark side of Canada. So, if so few people have visited, why such strong opinions?
Some Labrador facts:
- Labrador has 7 886 km of coastline along three of its four boarders.
- The co-province has a population of only 26 364 (the remaining 479 105 live on the island of Newfoundland).
- The long, thin northern tip of Labrador holds the Torngat Mountains, named after an Inuit spirit believed to inhabit them.
- Nain is the northernmost community of "substantial size" in Labrador. Its population is 1159.
- Goose Bay is an alternate landing site for the Space Shuttle.
- The area I'm travelling within is called Nunatsiavut. It's run by its own autonomous Inuit government - not the provincial government of NL.
- The unemployment rate is 19.1% (Canada's overall unemployment rate is 7.4%).
I'm most excited about finally travelling to a place that's officially Arctic territory. While southern Labrador is considered a subarctic climate, my path takes me to polar tundra. The weather forecast for Nain tomorrow: Sunny. Wind west 30 km/h gusting to 50. High minus 27. Cold wind chill minus 44 (Nain, NL Weather). Cold.
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It all fit with plenty of room to spare. |