Another Toonik Tyme, and another igloo building contest has come and gone in Iqaluit. This year I was able to see some of the igloo construction, and then play around in them later. They are really incredible - beautiful, cozy, genius shelters from the elements. The men who built them used varying techniques as they cut blocks from the snow they were standing on, then stacked and shaped them together. Strong enough for a grown man to stand on, windproof, and insulating, the igloo was traditionally used as a seasonal home, an emergency shelter, and a hunting blind. On a sunny day the light filters through the snow so that there's a magical blue glow when you're sitting inside. I've been told that the body heat from a single person can quickly raise the temperature inside a small igloo to a fairly comfortable level.
Another Toonik Tyme, and another igloo building contest has come and gone in Iqaluit. This year I was able to see some of the igloo construction, and then play around in them later. They are really incredible - beautiful, cozy, genius shelters from the elements. The men who built them used varying techniques as they cut blocks from the snow they were standing on, then stacked and shaped them together. Strong enough for a grown man to stand on, windproof, and insulating, the igloo was traditionally used as a seasonal home, an emergency shelter, and a hunting blind. On a sunny day the light filters through the snow so that there's a magical blue glow when you're sitting inside. I've been told that the body heat from a single person can quickly raise the temperature inside a small igloo to a fairly comfortable level.
All in all, I can't believe I've been here for a year already. It has really flown by - lots of work and lots of play. Going through some of my first posts on this blog, it really doesn't seem that long ago that I was marveling at all of the unfamiliar, unique and frustrating ways of life up here. While I do lament how far away from family and friends I am, I do not regret coming here. It has been an incredible adventure so far...