Field Trip

Salaams and Good evening to all!

I went on a field trip with my Blossoms and Butterfly course...the flowers were nice and all but the bugs (mosquitos and blackflies) were horrid! I mean, enough to make you crazy; I brought bug spray with me but tried to avoid using it as much as possible but I finally gave in and sprayed myself.

The mosquitos are big and hungry and they travel in packs and attack unsuspecting former city girls (me!). Furthermore, they get into your house and keep you awake at night for hours with their constant whinning and buzzing. Apart from that they are major carries of horrible diseases (such as malaria) that cause crippling morbidity and mortality to many areas of the world. So, needless to say, I dislike mosquitos (with a passion!).

The last few days have been hot! A lot hotter than I like, in fact I have been miserable with this heat. It is a lot different from Montreal heat. Montreal (and Eastern Canada) is humid, whereas here it is hot and dry (much more bearable but still!). I have to get over being miserable about it because, for one, it makes no sense to be angry at the weather and, for two, if I ever want to go live in a country to do Islamic studies (Jordan, Spain, Saudi....) I have to get over my dislike of hot weather.

I took this pic (and the one on top) while on the Niven lake trail. These are wild strawberry flowers. I am also working on a painting of wild flowers of the North, however I am going quite slowly so I may have to speed things up.

I think some people from back home are a little confused about a few issues so I am going to clarify some things:

-I live with my aunt here in Yellowknife. When I was in British Columbia I also stayed with an aunt. My mom has 5 sisters spread around Canada, so I am lucky that way. I flew here by plane; I left home 1 1/2 months ago and I don't know when I am going back. I don't have a return ticket and I am thinking I will stay for at least a year.

-Life here in Yellowknife is very different from life in Montreal. Some things are just normal 'differences' when you leave home...you don't have your parents around, you cook more, you have to be a bit more responsible about things. Some things are different because Yellowknife is different from Montreal. The weather, the amount of daylight, the city. Yellowknife has about 20 000 people, so it is small. There are 3 major grocery stores, where you can find most things that you would find in Montreal or anywhere in Canada. There aren't any "ethnic" type stores, but the city is pretty multicultural anyway.

-I live in a trailer, a lot of people do. It isn't on wheels or anything, it is on the ground. There are many trailer parks around, some apartment buildings and many nice houses. Construction is difficult because of many factors, which I already blogged about so you can check out my previous posts.

Okay, I think things are clearer now, feel free to email me with any other questions. I like it here, it has been a good change for the most part. A few funny things happened to me in the last two days:

-I got locked inside the house. This is too long to explain, but anyway the door is getting repaired this month. I ended up being 1/2 hour late for work as a result of my door issues.

-Remember that old drunk lady at the picnic? Well, I saw her again when I was walking to work and she tried to follow me, but then she got distracted by someone else.

-I now have 3 personal chauffeur offers...the other day my bike broke down (the day after I got it repaired), so I left the bike at a repair shop and called a cab. Who shows up, but a nice Muslim cabbie who immediately asks me where I am from (uh Canada?...Montreal? No, not good enough? My mother is Canadian German and my father is Haitian...yes, I'm that sure I am not Arab, and please don't speak to me in Arabic because I don't speak it. Thankyou.)

Good night, until the next time!