Our First Build Day – Let the Games Begin!

Day 2 – Sunday 11 August

Content by joanne

We woke up to another beautiful day in Iqaluit – and yes, the sky was pretty much full-light by 4 AM. Our official build-day started at 1 PM, so we had the morning to finish unpacking, get settled, and try to satisfy our addiction to … internet!

As advertised, cell phones with providers other than Bell do not work. Also as advertised, people with Bell cell service and smartphone data access do not work. The thing that did not sink in, though, was that you had to have a phone that used older technology – which none of us have. One by one people checked their phones when we arrived, and one by one, people stated they were ‘out’. The only cellular communication we have had is when Rogers customers were sent a text message to tell them they were out of the Rogers service are – not quite what we were looking for. So Sunday morning people went out looking for their ‘fix’. Tim Horton’s – no wi-fi. Local café – yes… but only if you stay at the hotel. Market (where you can get access if you hang around the peanut butter) – closed. How about this local school with the gym door open … nope. We did get one hint about the library – that there was a picnic table just outside that we may be able to get a signal at – and we were ultimately successful.  Fortunately the Visitor Center was open, so we did not have to sit outside, and we ended up huddling around the door to the library (also closed)  until everyone was able to check in with home. Just one of our own particular challenges with ‘living in the North’ I guess.

Internet...finally !

We arrived at the build site and were all very keen to get started. After a brief safety talk and choosing our own personal hard-hats, we were off to work. This house is being built over a number of months by local volunteers and Global Village groups, so the walls were up and it was roof-tight. Our tasks today included working on the railings, some remaining siding, and insulation and vapour barrier in the crawl space.

Matthew hard at work in the back section crawl space.

 

Alex and Charlene - Party in the Crawl Space!

 

Houses in Iqaluit are built on stilts – metal poles driven down to the perma-frost. This is done because cement will not cure well, and under the extreme cold will eventually crack. The houses are also built up off the ground, to allow easier access for maintenance. Since our house is in Apex which is ‘truck-fill’, there is both a water tank and a septic tank in the bottom section of the house. To accommodate these big tanks, they have this quite large ‘crawl space’, which needs to be protected from the elements. Most of our team (Alex, Paige, Jill, Charlene, and Matthew) worked on this task – those who were not concerned with claustrophobia went into the far back area, while the rest worked on the area closer to the opening.  Marrissa and Paul worked on the railings (although there was some dancing and general merriment up there on the scaffolding as well). Caroline (our card-carrying carpenter) and Joanne M (a.k.a. Maggie Bridget) were all kitted up with fall harnesses and worked on the upper parts of the house, and Joanne S (aka Jo) and Cathy worked the cutting table. Johanna (our fearless leader) helped out everywhere and made sure everyone was happy.

As you can tell, we have a bit of an issue with the name Joanne – so we now have Joanna (our home-owner), Johanna (our fearless leader), Joanne S (Jo) and Joanne M (Maggie Bridget – it’s a long story).

Our fearless leader - with a very sharp knife!

Cathy the cutting table master!

We made excellent progress, and were surprised to see it was already 4:15 when we got a delivery of lemon squares from another fried of home-owner Joanna’s. They were delicious!

Supper was ‘build your own fajitas’, and after a quick team meeting our intrepid driver Marrissa took us all on a drive ‘to the end of the road to nowhere’. We were really intrigued to see what was there! A bumpy road, some beautiful views, and a nice photo-stop along the way to see the Nunavut version of Stonehenge. Photo-ops galore, until the mosquitoes found us – we were swarmed!!! Our first group photo was taken with us all doing the Mosquito-Avoidance Dance (MAD). A bit further down the road we came to the end of the road and found…. A burned-out van and a shooting range. Now you know what is at the end of the road to nowhere.

Alex - stoic in the face of mosquito attack!

Marrissa - our chauffeur to...nowhere!


 

 

Paul, Jill, and Caroline went up the hill to see the amazing view, while the rest of us retreated to the van to avoid the bugs. A short stop on the way back to see some kids playing in a lake, and we were off home for some rest.

The view from the road to nowhere.

An excellent first day.