Hi, my name is Kathleen Gill and I’m 23 years old from Fort Smith NWT. This is my third year participating in NYA. I completed my Canadian phase a couple years ago, the NYA NEXT phase last summer and now I’m in Costa Rica taking part in the International phase! So far it’s been a crazy whirlwind of different experiences and adventures. We were in Ottawa for a week of orientation where we learned about what we’d be doing here in Costa Rica, had a Spanish lesson, told what to pack and what to expect about living together for almost 2 months in another country none of us have been to before.  

We flew out on July 6th, had a layover in Mexico City and then our last flight was in to San Jose. We’ve been here for 2 weeks now and are staying at United World College (UWC) located in Santa Ana. The campus is beautiful. There are a lot of trees, plants, animals and bugs that we have never seen before in our lives! It can get hot and humid at times and it rains in the afternoon a lot, but everything else makes up for it I promise! During these 2 weeks we’ve been really busy on campus doing things like workshops about how to become better leaders, and how to apply this knowledge to our communities when we go back home. We talked to someone who is indigenous to Costa Rica about their culture and traditions, while we shared our knowledge with them. We’ve had some free time to go into Santa Ana and look around their local stores, but in between all of that we’re doing summer assignments. One of them included giving a presentation about the NWT, Nunavut and NYA as a whole. We gave our first presentation to the Canadian Embassy this past Monday which was a proud moment for us all. The NYA International phase can be about fun things like going to the mall, farmers markets, and exploring inactive volcanoes at the highest point in Costa Rica, but ultimately we’re here to learn and soak up as much culture as we can while sharing ours too. I could not be happier to share it with the NYA family I have here with me. I cannot wait to see what the rest of our trip has in store for us.

Kathleen

Hi, my name is Lilah! I’m 17 years old and this is my first summer participating in the NYA Canadian program. I recently graduated from Sir John Franklin high school in Yellowknife. This program has helped me gain so much knowledge on other cultures , as well as share my own. So far my time with NYA has been a wonderful learning experience. Experiencing life in the city for 5 weeks has been quite different from life in my community.

 I have been here for 2 weeks and have been working at “The Miller’s Oven” , which is a full service restaurant in the historic village of Manotick. It has been great to experience what it’s like to be a waitress and work as part of a team. This could help me get a job as a waitress when I get back home. The Millers Oven is a great work environment with homemade desserts, like the infamous  “mile-high lemon pie”. I work 6 hours a day, and have enjoyed serving customers and meeting people my age.

Since coming to Ottawa, I have been to the beach, walked around downtown in the Byward market, and went to the Northern lights show at Parliament. I also went to the Experimental Farm and got to see many animals such as cows, horses, goats, and a pregnant pig in a special care area.

Thank you for reading my blog!

Lilah

So far Ottawa has been amazing! The first few days were very chill and relaxed. After settling in and getting comfortable, the fun slowly started to begin. My host moms are some of the most amazing people I’ve ever met! Their names are Desneiges and Rachel and are both lawyers. Considering that they’re both lawyers, I thought they would be more strict, but they are very humorous, understanding, and supportive. Also, they are extremely welcoming and friendly. They have 2 awesome kids as well. Iris is 16 and Xavier is 14. They also have a cat named Jack, which they adopted recently. Luckily, for me, my work placement is just a half hour walk from where I I’m staying. How amazing! I volunteer at the Wabano Centre and am beyond grateful to have the most amazing co-workers. Not to mention, I have been fortunate enough to take part in a lot of different tasks! In my first week and a half of volunteering at the Wabano centre, I have spent time with the seniors, the summer camp kids, and the diabetes team. I went raspberry picking with the kids and beaded with the diabetes team. Today, I was with the seniors again, and this morning we drummed. This afternoon, while they played bingo, I did the dishes!

Some of the stuff I find different in the south compared to living in the north are mainly the weather and the trees. Other than that, most of the stuff are somewhat similar. Just recently, I went to go see my cousins, and I met her daughter for the first time! We also went to Parliament Hill to watch the northern lights, went to the theatre, watched Incredibles 2, and watched a live Shakespeare play. We also went to Manotick to hang out with other NYA participants. I am so thankful to my host parents for taking us to all these wonderful places! Tonight, we’re going to a triple A baseball game. We’ve also been shopping which I have been dying to do!

Thank you for reading my blog!

Alikammiaraq

My name is Allistair Wetrade and I am from the Northwest Territories. I’m 17 and this is my first year with Northern Youth Abroad. My work placement is great. I work with kids, read to them, and play when they want me to. My co-workers are very wonderful and helpful as well.  The host family that I am staying with for 5 weeks is awesome and kind. While they do set some rules, I’m fine with it because i know it is helping me to learn, and setting me on the right path. When I finish my assignments, my host family take us to do something fun. 

I am staying in Glencoe, Ontario for the summer. In my opinion the culture here is different than it is back home. One challenge I’ve had while being here is having curfew. Also, the summer in the south has been very hot while at home it isn’t this hot. I also had the chance to visit Niagara Falls which was peaceful and beautiful. I loved the sound of the falls. I also tried vegan food for the first time!

My time in the south so far has been great and I have had the chance to learn more about life here. I would love to come back and visit again one day. Thank you for reading my blog.

Sincerely,

Allistair

Hi everyone I’m Wally Issigaitok from Hall Beach Nunavut.  The first couple of weeks of Next were kind of hard for me, but then it got better. It is a really unique experience to have! You get to travel to Ottawa for orientation for one week, go to your placement to meet your host family, and volunteer for high school credits. During NYA, you are having new experiences, building new friendships, and a new family. After 4 weeks, we go back to re-orientation in Ottawa. By the time you get to Ottawa, you feel like you don’t want to go home because you want to stay with the new friends you made. You will want to come back to Northern Youth Abroad. I had a great experience in my Canadian phase last year. I got to go to Chilliwack British Columbia. While I was in Chilliwack BC, I volunteered with Salvation Army and the YMCA.  Both were so great and I made a lot of new friends. My experience in Chilliwack BC was awesome! 

During my time with the Next program, I have also had a great time. First, I was with all my friends at Macskimming Camp for orientation for one week. There was nothing to bother you except the mosquitoes! After orientation I got to Ottawa where I will be spending 5 weeks at Algonquin College. It is the best! During the Next program, you get to spend time with your roommate, learn how to budget, and attend construction classes together. Soon, we will be going to Montreal for less then a week which is exciting because I’ve never been there before. I am so proud of myself that I applied for Northern Youth Abroad. I have had the greatest experiences with this program, and am so thankful for them because they so much for the youth from the Nunavut and NWT.  

Thank you so much for reading my blog!

Hi my name is Sharon Martin and I am from Behchoko, NWT. My host buddy is Connie and she is from Pond Inlet, Nunavut. I have been placed in Biblehill, Nova Scotia and my work placement is at Colchester Food Bank. Everyday I walk to work and at lunch time I will have my lunch at the park.

My host mom Deb takes us out on Saturdays to go to the farmers market and a few stores that she suggests. On Fridays she takes us out to a restaurant. We have also been to a camp for a day, swimming, and boating which was very fun!  Our host mom took us to the park with her and we got to see a waterfall. At the bottom of the waterfall, I drank the fresh water and it was great. Thank you for taking the time to read my NYA Blog.

My name is Jacob Gargan and I’m 17. I love it here in Ottawa. During my time with the Next program, we went to the beach and I loved it even though it was hot and crowded. I have also had the chance to gain more experience in carpentry which has been fun. We also got the chance give a presentation to the Jaku Konbit Summer Camp where I showed the stick I made for “stick pull”. I sang a prayer song for the kids which was scary and fun at the same time. We played dene games and Inuit games and I had the best time while I was there with kids and showing them the game “stick pull”.

We also went camping at Fitzroy Provincial Park. I have had good and bad days. I haven’t showed my bad days because I think that it might affect people, so I put a smile on my face and make it through the day which I’m proud of. When we were at the Provincial park, we went to a ceremony where I met fantastic people and learned about their jobs which was really interesting for me. I also met a guy who hoop dances and he showed us how to hoop dance with 2 hoops. It was great and I loved the food they made for us.

I love being here at Algonquin College and I hope to live or go to school here one day. I hope to keep getting to know the other participants, and reunite with them in the future.

My name is AJ and I’m 17 years old. I was in the NYA Canadian Program back in 2016. When I did the Canadian program I was placed in Ottawa, Ontario. During that time, I volunteered at Tinggasuvingat Inuit. This year, I am participating in the NYA Next program. For NYA Next, we attended a construction class where  we made pictures frames. Next week, we are moving onto making some pet houses. Throughout this program we’re staying in Algonquin College Dorms with our roommates. We also visited Parliament Hill in downtown Ottawa. I thought it was pretty cool to visit as it was my first time.

We also went camping just outside Ottawa. At the camp we slept in tents, and we went to the beach. At the beach we swam , kayaked and did some canoeing. It was pretty fun. NYA Next is a good program. During the program I have gained experience of working with other people from different communities. I also met good awesome amazing people during this program.

My name is Pearlie Mae Howard and I am originally from from Rankin Inlet, NU. I am currently living in Cambridge Bay, NU. I graduated high school in 2017, and afterwards I jumped from job to job until I went back to Rankin in December of last year.

I did my Canadian phase last summer and had the opportunity to travel to Chilliwack, BC. During my 4 weeks there I volunteered at a Summer Day Camp, which is always fun for me because I enjoy working with youth and young adults. This year I was selected for the NYA Next, where I stay in Ottawa for the summer, and room with 16 other participants at the Algonquin College Residence. During our time here we present our Territories to a few groups here in Ottawa and also are presented to by aboriginal groups and other organizations like “Let’s Talk Science.” We also get the chance to build things in a pre trades construction class.

The first couple of days we settled into residence and after we were all unpacked and settled, we got the chance to check out a nice beach across town. The next day we toured the Parliament building and got to learn some interesting facts about the old building. That same day we went to a mall, which was obviously fun for me because i very much enjoy shopping. During our first week here we registered for a construction class and did a bit of study hall. 

After that we had a bit of free time to relax. The next few days after that we spent being introduced to our construction class. We worked on building a picture frame and by the end of the week we finished them off and started on our dog houses. By the looks of it so far it’s going to be pretty huge! We also had the chance to visit another campsite with Southern Aboriginal youth and elders who were willing to show us their traditional knowledge, songs, and even dances. NYA Next got to work on presentations of our Territories to present to Jaku Kombit, a summer day camp with children who didn’t know anything about the people up north. It was great that we had the opportunity to show them our language, culture, even some games and songs.

NYA Next is a great program that allows youth to travel down south to showcase our traditional knowledge and language and also meet different aboriginal people from the south. To the youth who are reading my blog now, I hope you choose to apply for this amazing program you will get a lot from being here and also it will allow you to give back to the people who know little to nothing about our Northern territory.