Hi my name is Christopher Atutuvaa and I am from Baker Lake, Nunavut. This summer I was placed in Bear River, First Nations, Nova Scoita, and my work placement was at the Fundy YMCA. My buddy was Doyle Algona from Kugluktukt.

At first I wasn’t sure about Northern Youth Abroad until my cousin told me that it was a really fun program, which she completed a couple of years ago . So I applied for the program and I was surprised that I was chosen to do an interview with the program, and I was one of the lucky ones who got picked.

My work placement was fun at the Fundy YMCA in Cornwallis, Nova Scotia. I was one of the youth leaders there and there was usually 10 to 15 youths, and the youth there were fun to be around. My host mother was Holly and she has three kids and their names are; Cruzer (the oldest), Jesse ( the middle), and Brock (the youngest).

During my time in Bear River, First Nations I had a blast. We did things like swimming in the coummity pool everyday, went for long walks, and we went to Digby, Paradise, and Halifax. My summer in Bear River was so fun and if I had the chance to go there again I would, and there would be no regrets doing it again.

Hello, my name is Joellen Netser but  I prefer Jo. I am from Coral Harbour, NU known as Salliq also. The population there is over 800+. There aren’t many job opportunities, so some of the graduates struggle finding a job, so they go out of town for college. My work placement was at Steiner Bakery in Campbell River, BC. 

My host family was living on her own with her dog, a chocolate lab named Buddy. What I find different in the South is the heat is really hot besides my hometown, it goes up to like +20 back home, and in Campbell River its like +35.
And on workdays we have to wear anything that isn’t showing any of our skin and I was boiling inside because of the heat!

The culture is sort of similar to mine they have beaded clothing, beaded rings. The difference is they have a different language than us, but i learned some of the words they speak and I taught them some of my language. What I have done so far is i have accomplished most of my goals, which included going somewhere new for the summer. And I want to do more in the future and conquer the world!

An activity I did in Nanoose Bay was tubing for the first time, and I had fun.

My summer 2017 in Ottawa for NYA was worth it. I’ve met so many awesome people from many different places, learned their ways of their culture, I’ve had a great time so far, and I encourage youth to try for this program because it is a very good experience and it earns you 9 high school credits!

Hello, my name is John Thomas Stanley Noksana 3rd and i am currently placed in Collingwood Ontario where I live with a host family who are named Bruce and Sandra.

They are really nice people who tell us and show us interesting places like the green elevators where they build and sent ships out.

The green elevators is a place where huge columns of grown food such as wheat and other crops were stored and shipped.

They’ve also showed us the mills dairy farm where they sell fresh chocolate and regular milk in normal and milkshake form which was a pretty cool.

I liked these experiences because where I’m from (tuktoyaktuk N.W.T) there is really nothing like it. Even the slang/jargon used here is different and the culture is definitely different.

I feel like I needed a program like this to become more independent and grow as a person. This program is a great thing for anyone in my opinion because you can learn good leadership skills, improve your work ethic, and definitely gain work experience to prepare for living in the south for college.

Hello, my name is Samuel Panikpa Ootoova and I am fifteen years old. I will be talking about my experience in Kingston, Ontario.

This is (was) my first time going down south alone. I made many memories during my time in Ottawa at orientation and re-orientation and Kingston where my placement was. The friends I made I made during Orientation are really nice and the staff of NYA that stayed with us are also nice and really caring for the participants. The things we did at Orientation were really fun. We went swimming, learned how to budget, learned some first-aid basics, some safety tips, and had a cultural night (for both Nunavut and the North West Territories).

While I was in Kingston my placement buddy, Pualoosie Alorut, and I stayed with a host family who had eight cats. We had a lot of fun during our placement doing different things like kayaking and going to an arcade. We also went to a fundraising event for dogs.

While I was in Kingston I met so many nice people along the way over the past summer, most of which was at my Work placement called Panchancho which has a café, bakery, and does take out. Overall I really enjoyed my whole experience and would recommend it to anyone else wanting to get work experience and travel.

Hello, my name is Pauloosie Alorut and I am from Igloolik N.U. Me and my Placement Buddy Samuel Ootoova  are in a beautiful place called Kingston O.N.  My work placement is called Habitat for Humanity Restore, which is a second hand store that supports the Habitat for Humanity organization. The volunteer’s and worker’s here are great.

My host family are Jason, Sherri Mckane their daughter, Morgan who are a lovely and caring host family. They are like my parents now. There are a lot differences between the south and my hometown including a lot more public places, crowds of people and traffic, different languages and culture.

My favourite thing to do while on placement was go kayaking, because it was fun and it reminded me of my ancestors who used similar boats in the summer very year. Overall I really enjoyed my experience with the NYA Canadian program and would recommend it to anyone else wanting to broaden their opportunities.

Hello, my name is Shavanna Oogark and I am from Kugaaruk, Nunavut.

I am placed in Ottawa, Onatario. My work placement is at The Canadian Nature Museum and my work is a lot of fun. To be honest I was nervous about my job because I knew there would have been people who spoke french and I didn’t. But I had another worker from here Ottawa Ontario who speaks french, her name is Lisa. I have loved working at The Canadian Nature Museum, as it is a very different job compared  jobs I have had in my community.

My host mom is very generous, kind, caring and beautiful. She helps a lot when she can and is simply an amazing person who accepted my buddy Charmaine Putulik into her house for the next 5 weeks. She has friends who are from Ecuador who live with her parents. Her parents names are Stand and Judy Wolanski and Their names are Carlos, Lula & Flavia, along with their daughter Flavia who is 7 years old and full of joy!

The difference between Ottawa and my community Kugaaruk Nunavut is that there is so many different stores to shop, farmer’s market, malls, clothing stores and much more. The population is much larger than my community. There is so many different jobs available for youth in Ottawa unlike in my community. There is a lot of bugs and different types of pets too in Ottawa, as well as the plants here are different than my home.

I have done so many adventures here in Ottawa and went on 2 different road trips so far. The first one was to Montreal Quebec for a day trip and toured the Bell Center where Montreal Canadiens play! I also went on another road trip to Petawawa Ontario with a high school teacher of mine. My teachers name is Lindi Andrews and she showed me The Army Base. In Ottawa I also went to a light show in a tunnel with my host mom and buddy, different malls, and zip lining! I also got about 5 teachers who live close to Ottawa to come here to see me for a dinner, which was great.

I did two presentations about my home community and territory which went great. I gave gifts I got from my Member Of Legislative Assembly named Emiliano Qirngnuq. They all loved the brand new pens as a gift I gave them after the presentation.

My time in the south was hard at first. I got homesick here and there but it eventually got better after I made a few friends at work which made me feel better and love my work even more as something to look forward to everyday at work.

I hope someone someday who has the same host community, work placement and my host mom Kari Wolanski enjoys every minute of their time here in Ottawa. It sure is very hard at first being away from home on your own, but trust me it get a lot better each and everyday.

It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity! Thank you for having the time to read my blog.