Hello, my name is Kupaaq Idlout, and I am from Resolute Bay, Nunavut. Right now I’m in Ottawa, Ontario with Albert Uttak who has been my best friend during this trip which has been so amazing.
The scenery here is beautiful, it’s a mix of the big city and countryside. I’m here now thanks to Northern Youth Abroad, my family, and my mentor. They have all put in so much work to support me and give me the opportunity to join this program. When I first heard of this program I wasn’t so interested because it sounded like a lot of work and Im typically a lazy person but for some reason I decided to join on a whim. I didn’t know it gave high school credits or excellent opportunities or fun experiences, I didn’t even know what it was and had barely read what it was about. I later found out afterwards that I got accepted out of the three other people who had signed up was surprised I was chosen. I also delayed most of the paperwork till the last few weeks of the deadline, and on the flight to Ottawa I was unusually excited to see what it was about.
When I arrived the first person I saw that was with the program was the tallest person I had seen in my life and that was new to me, since I had never seen someone above the height of 6 foot 4 inches so I was taken aback by his height.
In the first week I got to meet 18 amazing people who all went to the program for their own reasons and they all were unique people who I enjoyed getting to know. Then I arrived at my host family’s house and met Mariamanda who treated me like I was apart of the family even though we just met. She scolds me when I miss my curfew and cooks amazing meals for me and allows me to treat her house like home.
My workplace, equator coffee shop is awesome. The location I worked at was in Gloucester and the staff all became my friends that I enjoyed working with. My manager didn’t feel like a boss instead he felt like a close friend. I learned a few things from all of them some examples are; polite mannerisms when speaking to people, boundaries of what not to speak of when speaking to others, team building, and what it feels like to be on the other side of the counter of customer service.
During my trip I tried a few different things, the most memorable experience was the canoeing trip. This was my first time going canoeing in my life so I was excited to experience what it was like, and the location was Gatineau park which was beautiful. At the lake inside the park we swam inside the lake and I experienced touching weeds while swimming and it was extremely weird and made me freak out. I also saw a bog for the first time with lily pads and lily flower’s which are my new favourite flower.
I am thankful to everyone who helped me during this time!
Kupaaq,
