Hello, my name is Shavanna Ashevak, I am 22 years old. I born in Yellowknife Northwest Territories, I live in Kugaaruk Nunavut and our population is a little over 1,000. This is my second year in Northern Youth Abroad program, it was first called Nunavut Youth Abroad and now it is called Northern Youth Abroad for both Nunavut and Northwest Territories Youth from ages 15 to 20 years old the Canadian phase in Northern Youth Abroad.
For both Northern Youth Abroad Next and International the age limit is 22 years old. The first couple of weeks has been hard, only because it’s hard to be away from families and friends from home, especially if you are on your own. Yes, you have your Northern Youth Abroad family, they are the best. They will always be by your side no matter what if you are homesick and if you have no phone they will lend you their phone to talk to families or friends at home. And if you are sick, or feeling sick they’ll take you to the clinic and let the doctor get you checked out.
The one thing though that has changed over time with homesickness for me is my friend Ayla Kreelak, from Baker Lake Nunavut. She is one of my close friends here at the campus, I sometimes embarrass her but not to make fun of her, but to make memories.
Out of a lot of applicants that applied for Northern Youth Abroad Next, me and 12 other youths have been selected for 2019 Next and we are a family. We may not always get along, but we all do have our own opinions and we love our ‘grandma’ Kelly. Kelly is great, she make sure we be on time for everything most of days, and makes us food too. Also our other leaders Lance and Ashley, giving up their summer to be our leaders for this summer. To me, they are like our parents, with worrying and feeding us all. Also, Loblaws is at college square & Starbucks is just across campus, gotta love their mango dragon fruit refresher!
One thing though is taking a bus or a couple different busses at a time to get to the other side of town and back, NYA pays for your bus passes and it’s fun but when it’s too crowded it’s a bit tight. That’s all I can say about my experience at Northern Youth Abroad Next 2019, thank you for having the time to read my blog.
