Northern Youth Abroad

Kraig Tatti from Deline hosted in Comox BC

Hi my name is Kraig Tatti and I am Northern Youth Abroad participant. I am from a town of 1200 people called “Deline”. It is located near Great Bear Lake, NT. My experiences with the NYA program has been a life changing experience and I would definitely come back one day. My placement was in Comox BC, on Vancouver Island. My work placement was the Courtney Recreational Centre. I worked with kids and did lots of fun activities. I have a lot of fun experiences to remember. One of my favourites was going to Mount Washington –I’m afraid of heights so it was more fun that way. Rebecca and Naomi came to my work and it was a surprise to see them. They took me and my host brother to a restaurant but the problem was we don’t even know where it was. Later we planned to go to the theatre and we were off. We were talking and talking on our way to the theatre until Rebecca asked where it was, and again the problem was we didn’t even know where it is. We drove around in a big circle until Bryan asked for directions but there wasn’t a single person on the road. So we had to go back to where we started. We stopped at a stop sign and asked the guy beside us who was waiting at the light to help us with directions and all he said was “It’s way the hell down there.” So all we knew was that we were going way the hell down there. Me and Bryan focused our 20/20 vision until I noticed these bright lights and yelled “stop I see it” but we had already drove past. But we found our way and watched Inception. It was a really good movie. I loved it. Thank you Rebecca and Naomi for this best memory and the staff for this life changing experience.

Chantelle Kablutsiak

Cassel Kapolak from Cambridge Bay hosted in Orleans, Ontario

My name is Cassel Kapolak. I'm from Cambridge Bay, Nunavut and my placement is in Orleans, Ontario. The first couple weeks were a struggle but the good thing is Chantelle and I got through it. My placement is at the Fallingbrook School Age Program. It's a summer daycare for kids aged from 3 to 6. I enjoy playing with the kids and keeping them busy during the day. We've done activites such as water days, crafts, field trips, and basically daycare stuff. They're smart kids for their age. It's not what I expected to happen this summer and I get a kick out of where I work.
 
Chantelle and I have became close friends, close enough to call each other best friends. We tried everything together, from trying new foods, to "you walkin or walkin?", to trading shoes on the sidewalk, and to basically anything you can think of. Our host mum, Jean Hugh is an extraordinary woman. A simple question can take you to many stories, which I find interesting. Where I'm staying I feel like I'm at home, I appreciate Jean for taking myself and Chantelle to her home and making us feel welcome.
 
This was such a great experience, although I have been down south before already knowing what the major cultural change was a good preperation for myself. Therefore I am glad I took this course and I can't wait to see everybody back at reorientation. See you guys soon!
 
Sincerely, Cassel... aka Cassie. :)

 

 

Erin Nadli from Fort Providence hosted in Surrey, BC

Hey im Erin Nadli and I'm placed in Surrey, Britsh Columbia. My placement buddy is Kyra Sangris.we're having alot of fun!! The first couple days of our stay was good. we didn't work right away

cause we had to 'settle'. kyra and I pretty much worked at the same place all summer. Which is pretty good. as of staying in a big city of course we got lost a couple times on the city transit lol.

When we got here, it was so hot. the heat wave hit surrey. On the 17th of july Kyra and I went over to Brian & Jacobs for a birthday party.It was so much fun. one of the best nights in surrey. Saw most of the people i've missed alot. Saturday July 31st we went to PLAYLAND! The day was really fun, went on alot of scaaarrry rides. THE best day ever!

My favorite thing i've done while being here has to be shoppping! My workplacement's were at summercamps. The first one was with Delta Camps & Recs. worked with Brendon,Ann,Parker,Larisa and ,Chantel.those 2 weeks there was so much fun, yet tiring. but i liked it :D The last 2 weeks we've been working at the Boys & Girls club in Lander, its more relaxing than the first 2 weeks. Our vist with Rebecca and Naomi was really good. YUMMMY we had Boston Pizza. while here Kyra and i saw Eclipse it was freaking awesome i love it!!!! We're hoping to see step up today. There is two Korea girls staying with us, they dont speak much English but they are learning which is very good. I MISS HOME ALOT!! But enjoying my time here. I also met up with my mentor Jim Snider twice, once fun lunch then he took me to a soccer game. I loved the socce game though the wheather was really hot!! Maria our hostmom had alot planned. only 3 days until Reo ! YAY!!! im really stoked. So with that, im going to end this verry long blog saying " REO I CANNNNOOOT WAIT!!! '

see everyone there!!

 

Erin Nadli (:

Wendy Katokra from Repulse Bay hosted in Maun Botswana

Wendy Katokra; representing Repulse Bay, Nunavut and Canada. It’s been my 4^th week here in Africa with Northern Youth Abroad 2010 International phase.  We are volunteering at BOFWA building a parking garage and at WAR building a play ground for children. Just 2 more weeks till we leave the country to go back to Canada. It has been hard living with people I didn’t know  and at times I wasn’t sure I was going to make it  but I still enjoy being around them and have created some good friendships along the way.

I do my laundry with my hands which isn’t my thing and was never in my list and probably never will be again after I leave Africa. And we have a healthy lifestyle here too. Not to drink a can of coke for the week and allowed to drink or eat junk food only on weekends. That will  absolutely not be on my list too when I get back home.  

We’ve been going out of Maun every weekend and have amazing weekends since we got here. I, myself don’t really enjoy my time during the days ‘cause I’m not an outdoor person. But last weekend we were in Moremi and spent 2 days outside in game reserve which was pretty awesome. 3 out of 5 seeing the big five here in Africa. And saw a lot of animals that I’ve never seen plus I slept right where all the animals are. Getting up in the morning was so great to know that I was still alive. That will be a great story to tell my family and friends. I also enjoyed my time in Ghanzi and learned about San people and how they have some traditional ways of life and what their traditional dance is like.

People here in Botswana are so welcoming and thankful that we are here to work with two different organizations. This trip I took will be in my thoughts and often think about how life is like here. I have only 2 more weeks to live here and I’m sure it will be good and I don’t know where the last 4 weeks went. How time goes by so fast. And in the blink of an eye I will be home to see my baby, to tell him how my trip went and what I’ve done here. There will be many different stories that I can tell him now. Not just stories but what I’ve seen with my eyes and what I did while spending my time here in Botswana.

First time I thought of Africa, I didn’t think how developed it was going to be. But all they need is washing machine. Over all I’m please that I came here. And I thank NYA for giving me this opportunity.

Lavinia Flaherty from Grise Fiord and Iqaluit hosted in Maun Botswana

My name is Lavinia Flaherty and I’m a 2010 International participant of Northern Youth Abroad. My placement is in Maun, Botswana.  

 

Maun is awesome so far. I’m having a lot of fun at work, with my mates and when we travel to places like Ghanzi, Okavango Delta and Moremi Game Reserve. On our first trip, which was to Ghanzi, we went for a bush walk and they danced for us in their own traditional way. It was so cool to see it in person for the first time. I’ve seen it a lot on the television and always wanted to see the San people in person and I did, it was so awesome. When we went for a bush walk, they showed us what they use for medicine and food. I was very amused. I’m happy we went on that trip.

 

Second trip was to Okavango Delta. On that trip we went on a mokoro to get to the Island where we were going to walk the circle island and see animals. My favorite part was when we were on the mokoro. There was an elder who brought us to the island by pushing along the mokoro. I was very amazed at how the elders were so strong and brave to do that for us. I couldn’t believe how they stood up the whole time without complaining and they were more than happy to do all the work for us.  On our way to the island, we saw two hippopotamus’ and I’m 100% sure that I was the most scared person during that time. On the walk, we saw zebras, giraffes, wildebeests, lots of birds and more bugs than anything else. The walk was very tiring and too hot. I felt like I was going to collapse and dry up from the sun. The amount of the water I had wasn’t good enough for me. But the trip was very much worth it.

 

The last trip we took was to the Moremi Game Reserve. This was my favorite. We stayed there for one night and 2 days. The whole time during the days, we drove around looking for animals for at least 5 to 6 hours. We saw a bunch of the same animals that we saw during the walk at the Delta but for the first time ever in my life, I saw Lions and Cheetahs. It was the coolest thing to see! I couldn’t get my eyes off the Lions. When I was growing up, my favorite movie was Lion King and I’ve always wanted to see the animals. Now I can finally happily say that I did see all the animals. My favorite part of that time was when we watched the Cheetah hunt for the antelopes. But we didn’t see it catch anything because we started driving back to Maun. Our driver was very friendly and always energetic, our cook always made sure we ate and got full. Out of all the trips we went on Moremi was my favorite.

 

We have only 2 and a half weeks until we get home to Canada now and I want to make the last couple weeks the best time because I don’t think I’ll ever come to Africa again. This trip is probably going to be the best time of my life and I’m so happy that we, as a group, have almost completed this amazing trip. My friends and group leaders have been so helpful to me when I got homesick for my friends and family back home.  I couldn’t have moved on from it any other way if it weren’t for them. I love my international group; we’re nicely growing like one big family. We’re all missing the other group who are in Shakawe and were very excited to see them and hear their own stories. My biggest thanks go to Rebecca Bisson and the crew for believing that we all have the ability to do this kind of thing in our life and knowing we all can make it through. NYA is the best thing that happened to me!

Alma Itkilik from Baker Lake hosted in Maun Botswana

My name is Alma Itkilik from Baker Lake, Nunavut. I am an International participant. I have gone for my Canadian phase last summer 2009. My summer placement for this summer is in Maun, Botswana, Africa. Being an international participant is awesome! You get to travel to someplace where you wouldn’t ever believe where you actually are, until you’re really thinking about it. I’m having the greatest summer ever! The experiences I’m having will never be forgotten. The day after we arrived in Maun, we started work at BOFWA(Botswana Family Welfare Association) Which is a really good work place. All the people that we work with are friendly! We also work at WAR(Women Against Rape) and the ladies there are awesome!

 

My group and I first stopped in Paris for 12 hours. Which was so cool!! We got to go see the Eiffel Tower. While we were there, we’ve seen 4 guys doing an awesome hip hop dance and a lot of awesome other things. After Paris, we went to Johannesburg, South Africa. Being at their airport was very nice.  It was something I thought I’d never see in Africa. Then after a few hours in Johannesburg, we went to Gaborone, Botswana and spent the weekend there. I enjoyed a lot of the things and the orientation we had there. We met a bunch of cool people in Gaborone. Africa is way more developed than I thought it would be.  I’ve met so many people since we arrived in Maun. All the things that we have done here are awesome. The first weekend we were here, we traveled to Ghanzi.  We stayed at The Trail Blazers for the weekend. It was so cool!! We got to see the San People do their dance and the next morning, we went for a walk with them. They had shown us what they used for medicine and materials with plants. The way they do their talks are with clicks which are so cool. They are so fun to hang around and listen to. The same afternoon, we went over to The Quarry. It is so gorgeous! I was very afraid to swim and thought I’d never jump in there, but I did! That was such a great weekend. The next weekend, we went to the Okavango Delta. We went for the mokoro ride and saw some giraffes, zebras, baboons and hippos. The weekend after that, we went to go play roller-skating hockey. The next day, we went on an overnight safari to the Moremi Game Reserve. We all enjoyed it so much! After lunch, we started heading out for the ride. It was so exciting to see elephants, more giraffes, baboons, impalas, antelopes, wildebeests, and all kinds of different birds. One of the neatest things that had happen was an elephant walking along the road, not in a good mood tried to come towards us and scare us, but it didn’t get too close. We sure did get pretty close to it though and got great shots of it. The following night, we had a very delicious dinner. We were all worried because of all the hyenas kept coming to the camp site. The next morning, we were going on another ride to see if we could find some lions and other animals that we haven’t seen. Just before we were heading back, we were informed about lions and cheetahs a few minutes away. That’s when the ride started getting very interesting. We saw about 6 lions and we got very close to them! It was totally amazing!! That really made my weekend and trip to Botswana. Before we saw the lions, we saw a cheetah waiting to eat an impala. On our way to the end of the ride, we also spotted another cheetah. We got so close to what we’ve been waiting to see. I loved and enjoyed everything about the safari. Now I’ve got the most amazing photos and videos to take home.  It was so fun. It’s something that I thought I wouldn’t do here. We did so many things that I thought we wouldn’t do here. Being in Maun is totally awesome!! We have yet another couple weekends to do stuff and to see a lot of other animals and places. I wish to do another year of NYA. You get to live with other people from other places and just have tons of fun and get to really know them. NYA is one of the best things that have happened to me. It has made me stronger and more independent. It is one in a life time thing that has made a big difference in my life. All the great memories and all the people that I’ve met has made my summer fun!. One of the coolest places I stayed at for any summer. All the friendly people and the great environment made it special to me. I know I’ll totally miss Maun, Botswana, Africa and the people that I lived with and worked with. Hope you enjoyed my story about my summer in Africa!

Kyra Sangris from Yellowknife hosted in Surrey BC

So, my name is Kyra Sangris and I'm placed in Surrey, B.C my placement buddy is Erin Nadli . we are having sooo much fun!! we didn't work the first few days we got here because we had to get "settled" but we both pretty much work at the same places together. as expected, we got lost on the city buses a few times lol we got here when the heat wave broke so i'm pretty sure i got browner :P i am working at a day camp and it's pretty easy and fun ,i love it ! I dont miss home as much as i used to. i try to keep myself busy (: it took me awhile to actually get used to the time change, its gonna be harder since ottawa is like three hours ahead :P so shopping is pretty much the most favorite thing i have done so far :D I miss a bunch of NYA participants and i cant wait to see them back at re-orientation! Me and Erin watched Eclipse two weeks ago , it was frickin awesome!! we're gonna watch Step-Up 3-D next week! two weeks ago we went to Brian and Jacob's birthday party :D I'm so glad i saw a bunch of people that i've missed. on saturday we're gonna meet up at Playland, its gonna be unbelievable! our host mom also has two girls from Korea staying with us. They don't speak too much english but oh well :) also yesterday; Rebecca and Naomi visited us at work then took us our for dinner at Boston Pizza! yumm yummm.. sadly, i have broken my camera :( it sucks big time. this summer has been my most favorite summer in my whole life! too bad it's going to be ending soon . Being homesick, is so worth it! The people I met on this trip, i will never forget! i hope i get to see them after the program is over! :D well me and my host family have alot planned, so I get pretty tired easily. well, I don't know what else to say but.. I CAN'T WAIT FOR RE-ORIENTATION! :D see you guys there!!

Arielle Tinqui from Behchokö hosted in Victoria, BC

Oh how beautiful it is to be here, I remember the day when I was getting ready to board my first flight and thinking, 'this is only the beginning of great things to come'. I have had a blast meeting all the wonderful people in Ottawa, I've met many great people there, it was awesome!! I can feel it in the fresh ocean air that is surrounding me, that this was a great choice. I got to place my feet into the pacific ocean, and I love the fact that I could do it again!!
 
So my community placement is in a town called Colwood, B.C. which is part of the greater Victoria area. It is so beautiful here, there is a lot of things to do here then there is to do back home. I've met many people here, they're the nicest people ever. There's so much diversity here, there are people from all over and you don't really get to see that in Nunavut/NWT until you actually get to see another part of Canada. My placement family has been terrific!! My host mom is Shelly, she has a daughter name Kelsea and they are an awesome family to stay with! Shelly's place has been fantastic to stay at. I would most definitely come back for another visit sometime in the future, cause they're that awesome.

My work/volunteer placement is at a place called West Shore Parks & Recreation/Jaun de Fuca, I work with children, which has given me something (some day) to look back on and smile, because the kids are so cute! I like going to the different camps that Jaun de Fuca have here, the kids are totally worth all the free hours of work. :D I got to work with a few different camps, One week I'm with the Crafty Kids, then the next week I'm with the little guys, Kinder Kids (5 year old campers) and the next I'm with the Sports Camp.
 
Now a little message to the boys and girls who aren't participants. If your thinking about joining Northern Youth Abroad, You have to be determined to stick out with it, NYA is a great way to explore this beautiful country of ours and hopefully Africa. It is a great opportunity to meet a lot of strangers, who will eventually bring you lasting memories for years to come. I have to add that this is not all fun and games, there is a lot of work to be put into this. The thing that I would say that has been the hardest to adjust to is homesickness, It is going to be tough and it is. I've been missing home so much lately, there were a few times when I thought about giving up. Though after all the weeks that has passed, I thought that when I do get to go home, I'll be more appreciative of the people in my life, my community, and this world where we call home. In the end it'll all be worth it, NYA has inspired me to go for my big dreams!!
 
That is all I have to say... I cannot wait for Re-Orientation!! I can't believe that it is only days away. I'm very happy that I've come so far, have a great day to whoever you are, thanks for taking the time for reading this.

 

PEACE ~Arielle~

Kristine Watsko from Grise Fiord hosted in Halifax, Nova Scotia

Hello Everyone :)

 

 

Well my work placement is awesome! We do different activities everyday, and on rainy days we do crafts and other activities. If it's nice weather we often go out to the beach. We recently went to a play land.. the kids loved it! I love the work placement... and the city! So glad i got placed here. We live just downtown, we can pretty much walk down and eat out.. or go buy grocerys! Best thing is.. my work placement is only a walking distance! 

Last 10 days here!.. gonna make the best of it! Host parents are super supportive!.. Went to a black eyed peas concert!!! it was super awesome! DANNNY, i thought of you, if you read this. hahahah!

 

So can't wait until re-o! And see all of the participants!:) Well this is kind of late cause i was out camping.

It was a 8 hour drive from Halifax, and we camped out for one night :)

It was alright.. 

LONG weekend! yay!

 

Well I am tired, sorry its kind of short. I was a little late so I'm doing this before going to bed.

 

Take care!!!

 

Kristine