Hi, my name is Kimberly Ukpatiku.

I live in Baker Lake, Nunavut. I am 18 years old and this summer I travelled down south to Kingston, Ontario! It’s been about three weeks I’ve been down here and I have had so much fun! I enjoy swimming in the lakes my host family takes me to. This summer I found out that I have a deep love to all kinds of animals and I have even carried a frog and fed a donkey! My host mom pet a bumble bee and I haven’t got the courage to pet one just yet. I think the only animal I’m scared of here is the wasp.

This is my first time away from home without any of my family members and this is also the furthest I travelled away from home. I do get homesick and I am just starting to feel the effects of it but I try to keep myself busy so I don’t be in my room all the time. My buddy also decided to go back home early so it’s also been a little lonely. I don’t know too many people here so I’m looking to make new friends soon.

A lot of things are a little nerve racking but that’s because they’re all new to me. I rode a bus for the first time this summer and I went to the mall by myself too. I also got my own debit card this summer! I never thought I’d get one this soon.

My host family is super nice and very eco-friendly. Their names are Carolyn and Michael (like my little brother’s name). They compost what they can and also recycle a lot of their things. I’m not used to that because at home all we have is a garbage can, so I have to keep reminding myself to recycle and compost instead. They bike or walk to wherever they are able and only use the car when they have to. They have two pet turtles named Pinky and Samson and two fish that I got to name. I named the fish Orange and Blue.

I work at a place called Martha’s Table. They prepare and serve hot meals to people who have financial troubles and don’t have enough food to feed themselves. They also have some other necessities such as toilet paper, clothing, and hand-sanitizer to give out if the person asks for it. Everyone there is so nice and I love it there. I found out today that it is named after Mary in the bible who opened up her home to people who came by, so that’s pretty interesting.

I love Kingston and the first week I was here, I already wanted to move here! A lot of people are very friendly and there are tons of places to go swimming. I’m very glad that I got this opportunity to travel here this summer and learn about new things! Honestly though, I can’t wait to go home to family.

Thank you for reading about my experiences here so far!

Kimberly