The call for teachers to return to work came Sunday night - so as of Monday that's where I've been. Admittedly, most staff seem quite content to be back at school, though the week's gone by exceedingly slowly.
The Causeway's still flooded and frozen over so no one's easily able to get to the mainland. They've got the helicopter going back and forth constantly though and when I say constantly, I mean all the time. As the landing base on this side is the school, we've got a helicopter flying past our classroom window every 15 minutes or so. It was an exciting distraction on Monday but by today it was just another reason to roll the eyes.. for me and the kids.
Monday evening there was a sweat lodge ceremony in behind the teachers' units. Due to what seems like an escelation in poor timing throughout the year, it hasn't been possible for me to participate before now. It lasted for just over two hours, though it felt like less than one. Once everything got started, the hut inside the lodge was filled to the max with hot, hot steam and was made pitch black. It really didn't matter most of the time whether my eyes were open or closed. At its most intense I kept them closed and breathed as little as possible so I wouldn't feel the burning to such a degree. They use cedar water to sprinkle over the hot rocks making the steam smell sweet but very refreshing as you might imagine. There were three 'rounds', each getting more intense than the previous one. I wasn't sure if I'd have been able to last through a fourth and was very grateful it stopped when it did.
Unfortunately we chose that night to make a turkey dinner and stuck it in the oven before going to the sweat. The last lady that joined us came it a bit late with the unwelcome information that the power had just gone out. Needless to say, the turkey dinner wasn't ready until about 10:30pm. It tasted all the better for having the extra wait time.
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