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My
Life in the Northwest
Territories
Takashi
Shii from Japan
Since
I was born and brought up in a rural town,
I have a great interest in nature. Using
the chance of study abroad in my second
year at college, I decided to go to Canada
just because I wanted to see different
kinds of vegetation there.
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Photo:
Takashi Shii
I wanted to see the aurora
borealis, which is called the
"northern lights."
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Additionally,
I wanted to see the aurora borealis, which
is called the "northern lights." After I
finished the study abroad program , I went
to Yellowknife in the North West
Territories. Living
in the severe climate which was completely
different from the climate in Japan, I had
great experiences.
I
saw a dog sled race—actually
experienced it with my friends, saw
aboriginal people, volunteered at the
after-school program of the YWCA, went to
the library to study about aboriginal
people, and took pictures of the northern
lights at midnight. Everything was new to
me.
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Photo:
Takashi Shii
I had great experiences. For
example, I saw a dog sled
race—actually experienced it
with my friends
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Lots
of incidents impressed me while other
things made me feel upset, sad, or
pleased. In one month, from the beginning
of February to its end, I experienced
magnificent things which I can't
experience in Japan. I won't ever forget
my life in Yellowknife in the North West
Territories.
People
say that the Northwest Territories is not
a land of eternal ice and snow, although
there are permanent ice caps on the far
northern islands. For the most
part, however,
the climate of the Northwest Territories
can be described as dry and cold.
My
friends once told me that temperatures in
this region fall below zero degrees
centigrade for seven months of the year,
from October to April. Extreme
temperatures such as 57 degrees below zero
(centigrade) have been recorded, but this
is rare.
To
tell the truth, I wasn't really sure if I
could endure cold climate because I was
born in the southern part of Kyushu which
has warm climate. I wore as much warm
clothing as possible before I left the
Vancouver airport.
On
February 1st, when I first arrived at the
Yellowknife Airport, it was about 20
degrees below zero according to the
stewardess. She told passengers to make
sure to wear gloves and not to touch any
metal after getting off the plane.
When
I heard the temperature, a chill ran down
my spine because such cold was beyond my
understanding.
Fortunately,
it wasn't so cold as I had expected
because the air was completely dry. But I
still felt chilly until I got a taxi. I
told the taxi driver the address of the
bed and breakfast where I was supposed to
live. He kindly took me to the house. On
the way to the house, he taught me lots of
things I had to pay attention to what I
should do, where I should visit, and so
on.
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Photo:
Takashi Shii
The house was located on a sort
of small island, far away from
downtown, and I could see a big
frozen lake near the
house.
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The
house called Blue Raven Bed and Breakfast
was located on a sort of small island, far
away from downtown, and I could see a big
frozen lake near the house.
Not
only the lake, but also the trees were
covered with lots of snow, and they even
looked frozen. Because of the severe cold
temperature, the trees were much smaller
and shorter in comparison with Japanese
ones.
When
I knocked on the door of the house, my
host family kindly welcomed me. The first
thing they asked me was if I felt that
temperature outside was cold or not.
Of
course, I said, "Yes!!", however, they
said, "No, it's warm today." I couldn't
understand their sense of cold. Actually
it was 20 degrees below then. Anyway,
another life in the Arctic started for me.
I was worrying about what would happen the
next day.
More
about Takashi's Arctic
Experiences:
The
Northern
Lights
| A
Dog Sled Ride and Traditional
Ways
|
Volunteer
Work with
Children
Return
to: My
Arctic
Experiences
| Issue
4
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