(From left to right: Johnny, Chris, Angie [me], Alex, Lynann [front])
If you've been wondering how this opportunity came about, here is a short description: At Mount Saint Vincent University (MSVU), in the Education program, the second year allows you to select some courses from a list of electives. A professor named, Nick Newbery, runs a course on Nunavut, having lived there for about 30 years. Each year, he dedicates himself to raising funds with several sponsors, so that 5 students in his course may have the chance to complete their practicum time (teaching in the school) in Nunavut through a scholarship (thank you so much, Nick and sponsors!). I believe that he sees this as a chance to educate the Southerners (people in Canada, who live south of Nunavut) about the reality of the North and to prepare future educators for teaching there. Generally, our southern perception of the North is limited, at best, and oftentimes, is skewed by misinformation from inexperienced, or self-inflated "qallunaat" (the Inuktitut word for white people, or foreign people to the North).
The 5 of us worked very hard (though, so did many other people in the course; I'm pretty sure we must have been the lucky names drawn from a hat!) and through our demonstrated merit in the course and throughout the Education program, were selected. We have dreams of learning so much while we're up there; enough to ready us for employment opportunities in Nunavut which may present themselves over the next few months. For myself, I am excited to see a way of living that is different from the materialistic hustle and bustle that seems to be so common in the South. I wonder, what will happiness look like and be for me when I get to take away all of the material and unnecessary "things" that I've been told will make me happy?
No comments:
Post a Comment