(Photo Credit: Thorsten Gohl)

Hello! I’m Stanley Mackenzie, I am from a community of Ndilo which is in the Northwest Territories, right next to Yellowknife. I’ve been placed in Squamish, B.C working in a nice place called “The Hotspot”. The people in my work placement are very friendly & all have a great sense of humour to each other 🙂  Whenever I spare time to kill, I’ll usually ask my supervisor if I can use a cam recorder and start filming whatever is around, she always says “of course you can Stanley”. During the final two weeks of my work placement, I’ve started a film project about The Hotspot because they have been absolutely kind to me but sadly I wont be here to help edit the video…sorry Hotspot 😢 Everyday is a new day to learn something new at the Hotspot. I’ve made new amazing friendships during my time here in Squamish, B.C, discovered a new brother (Jonis White) and seen amazing landscape views of Squamish, thanks to Justin Perry and I absolutely hope that I can visit Squamish again sometime in the near future 😃

Mahasi participates in a group activity during NYA’s Orientation Camp (Photo Credit: Thorsten Gohl)

Hi, my name is Mahasi Nateela and I am from Arviat, Nunavut. My summer placement was in Powell River, BC on the Tla’amin First Nation. I decided to apply for this program in 2015 but was an alternate that year, in 2016 I decided to apply again because I was told by friends that NYA is a fun & amazing program, and it really is. I was determined to be part of the program because I wanted to meet new people and learn new traditions. (I was actually really awkward when it came to meeting new people, but I’m not awkward as much as before.. at least I don’t think I am)

There are so many assignments you have to do before you get to be a participant for this program, which is pretty stressful, but totally worth it once you finish them all and start travelling. Throughout this program I learned a lot about my culture, other cultures and myself. Learning about other cultures amazed me, learning to speak and understand their language, listening to their stories and legends, participating in their dances and songs, trying out their food and clothing, etc. I enjoyed teaching my host family and co-workers about my culture too.

My work placement was at the Tla’ amin (“Sliammon”) Day Camp. At the day camp I played with children/infants while their parents/guardians were at work. I wasn’t too sure at first how I’d like working there, but I had an amazing time taking care of the children. My co-workers were very welcoming and funny I thought their reactions were funny when I told them the prices of food and clothing where I live.

My host family was very welcoming too. My host mom, her daughters and friends welcomed my placement buddy and I with a traditional welcome song as we got off the plane and it was very heart-warming. My host mom also took us to a festival one weekend and it was something I’d never really experiences. I’d love to go to another one.

I’d like to say thank you to my mentor, the NYA coordinators, and my host family for giving me and my new friends this once in a lifetime opportunity. I couldn’t ask for a better summer.

Annie of Qikiqtarjuak, Nunavut, poses for a photo by fellow NYA Participant AJ at NYA’s Orientation Camp. (Photo Credit: AJ Nookiguak)

My time in Powell River has been an amazing experience, and I can’t thank the people from Northern Youth Abroad, my supervisors, or my host family enough for it. I worked in Cottage Creek Bake Shop, and it was wonderful. Janet was so nice and helpful to me, and we did so much together. Whether it was baking special orders, or going to a different island for markets, she taught me so much on how to run a successful business. All that hard work really paid off. And when she was away, I worked with Alice. She is also an incredible person to work with. I learned how to make pasta, lemonade, and roasted pecans with her, and even if it was only a few days, those few days were awesome. Working with these two has been the absolute best I could ask for. And after work, my amazing host family was there to greet me with open arms.

I loved living with Courtney, Scarlet and Kahlan. They are an awesome family who you can always have fun with. They treated us like we were there for longer than a few weeks, and I just can’t say ‘Thank You’ enough times to them. From the first time I tried McDonalds, to the time we did the Bean-Boozled Challenge, they were there to share the time with us and enjoy every moment. Courtney, Mahasi and I even went to Texada Island for a weekend for an event called Diversity. It was so much fun, and there was music 24/7 while we were there. I think there was 1500 people there. That’s about three times the population of my hometown of Qikiqtarjuaq. That is one of the many differences I noticed while being here. The other differences are the environment. There are so many trees around here, and all the different animals I’ve seen. There’s also pavement here, whereas in Qikiqtarjuaq, we have dirt and tundra. The other difference I’ve noticed was the daylight. I’m used to having 24 hour daylight during the summer, but it gets dark in the South. That really surprised me. With all those differences, there are some I’ve noticed with the culture. We’ve seen and been part of some cultural get-togethers and seeing how different they are compared to ours, it was really interesting. They wear different traditional clothing, and do things with some differences from the way we do things back home. But with those differences, there are also some similarities, like drumming, which I’ve only seen a bit of since being here.

While we’ve been in the South, I’ve got to see what it’s like living there. There’s quite a few things that I have tried, like fast food, long trips to town and back, and learned how to swim better. I was really excited when I found out two staff members were coming to check up on us and hang out for a day. Along with my placement buddy, two other NYA participants in Powell River and the staff, the six of us went to Tim Horton’s for lunch, then went for a walk in the woods (we just went on a trail and back), we went mini golfing, then we all went to a Chinese Restaurant for supper. It was a spectacular day.

I will never forget my time here in Powell River, and will always be thankful for everything that has happened over the last few weeks. I can’t wait to see all the other participants and the staff at Re-Orientation, although the goodbyes may be hard to say after. That’s about it for this entry. Bye!

Willie shows off the puzzle piece he decorated as part of a collaborative group art project at NYA’s Re-Orientation Camp in Ottawa. (Photo Credit: Thorsten Gohl)

My name is Willie Iqaluq and I’m from Sanikiluaq Nunavut.

This is my first trip with NYA and it’s pretty fun. I had a lot of fun at the camp in Ottawa doing activities and meeting people.

This was my first time travelling to Windsor, Ontario and it’s pretty fun. Of course I had to try some new food that I never tried before and I really liked the food. When we drive by the river we can see the states/Detroit from Windsor. We went to the beach and it was a lot different from home and it was fun of course.

I’m having a good time at my work placement at the Windsor Public Library and people there are really nice. I have different schedules there like I do some bib service, tech hub, paging, helping people that work there and helping with other people that are volunteering. My favourite one is tech hub because there’s science stuff there that we do and some kids like to go play there and I learned a lot of things in library that I never knew.

Things I find different here in the south is the weather lol. It was pretty hot for me for a couple of days since I got here but now I’m all used to the heat and the bugs. I saw a lot of bugs and they are all different from where I live.

Shania (left) takes a selfie with buddy Courtney while on placement together in Six Nations.

Hi, my name is Shania Desjarlais I’m from Łutsel’Ke, NT but I live in Yellowknife, NT. For this summer I am placed in Six Nations, a reserve in Ontario. It’s very different from where I live, in the city. Adapting from that to here is nice, I’ve been told it’s the biggest reserve in Canada, I wouldn’t doubt it the houses are spread way out and nothing’s really walking distance.

Me and my buddy Courtney’s daily routine runs like this, we’re outta the house by 8:10AM most of the time and done by 4PM. Our job is called police camp it’s not what it might sound like. Basically the Six Nations Police teamed up with other summer camps and we volunteer to help supervise kids aged between 5-14 each week they change the ages, getting to know them day by day and helping them. Throughout the weeks of our placement, we traveled to many places for trips such as mini golf, bowling, laser tag, Canada’s wonderland, Niagara Falls story book gardens in London, ON and many other things we did along the way which was pretty cool! It was so much fun, working with these kids. During our time off on weekends, Brooke and Bud Powless my host family ask us what things we have never done before and most of the time they make it happen so that we get to try it for the first time and I’m so grateful. So far with Brooke and Bud we’ve checked out marine land, went to a Toronto blue jays game which was cool, they lost that game against the Mariners though. Mostly every Friday we went to the Ohsweken Speedway races which was sick, I like it. We went go karting, the zoo and saw many animals we don’t get up north and we went to a powwow! my first ever 🙂 I loved the dancing and food haha. We also went shopping at malls, eating at new restaurants and meeting new people on the Rez. When they ask where I’m from they get surprised knowing I’m a long ways from home. It’s cool because I’m out here representing Yellowknife in a good way to be a role model for my peers. Over the weeks, this has challenged me to be independent and get out of my comfort zone and get out there, and I really thank northern youth abroad for this amazing opportunity it has given me.

Tyreisha (left) with her placement buddy Chantell. (Photo Credit: Thorsten Gohl)

Hello people, it’s me. Tyreisha Rabesca! I am from Gameti, Northwest Territories, and my summer placement is in British Columbia, a city named Campbell River. It is very different here than it is at home. There is so much multi-culture here from my prospective. Definitely a lot more people here than home, because at home there’s 350+ in Gameti, and it’s about 31,188+ people here. The scenery is so beautiful. My host mother, Debbie, is so awesome! I love my placement here, and blessed enough to know her! My work placement is at the Laichwiltach Family Life Society with a program called Little Fry daycare, where I watch kids each day, Monday through Friday. I like working with kids. At first, working the little fry was really weird for me because I wasn’t really “feeling” it, but after a couple of weeks in I loved it and didn’t wanna change. We (as in me, other coworkers and the kids) will go on field trips to parks, the outdoor pool, and a water park. Its all fun, boring on days, and tiring altogether, but working with kids are a blessing!! 🙂

So far, the things I’ve done was go on trips to Nanaimo a few times, and Victoria, British Columbia. Vic was so beautiful! I even got to see other participants – Dallas and Brandon – it was very fun exploring Victoria with them!! I loved it there. I actually wanna go to university there! In the city of Nanaimo, I went to a place called Wildplay, and tried to conquer my fear of heights. Still am afraid, but I’m overcoming the fear. (:

NYA is a great opportunity for others in the north who are thinking of applying, its really worth it to become the person you wanna be (strong, independent, and more confident). IT’S A MUST! A huge masi cho (thank you) too the NYA peeps for giving me this awesome opportunity, and to my teacher from back home (who was also my mentor) for bugging me to do the winter assignments each day to get done! And my mum for also bugging me with the assignments, and to those who supported me on this journey!

Masi cho to those who took a few minutes to read my blog!

Bye.

Chance at her work placement with Brock University’s Aboriginal Student Services.

This is my first time travelling down south and staying away from home this long. But this is a great experience and and awesome journey for me. I would also love to tell my little sister about this program so she can also experience the south

When we first arrived in Ottawa, as we were walking out of the jet into the airport, I said to my friend Sally ‘There’s trees!’ Back home in Baker Lake, Nunavut there is no trees, so I find it exciting to be around/see trees.

Well, this is an amazing journey and great experience for me and I would like to encourage others to apply for this program so they could gain work experience and gain confidence. There may be ups and downs and homesickness along the way but we all can get through it. 🙂

So far, my placement buddy Lori and I have been to ‘Happy Rolphs’ which is a zoo, we had a little tour to Niagara Falls, which I hope we still go to again for like better pictures and all before we leave because we only have a few days til’ we leave for Re-O. We’ve been to the beach a few times which was fun. We’ve also been to Marine Land which was very fun for the both of us. The ride that I like the most was the Wave Swinger, Flying Dragon and The Sky Screamer, it was scary at first but I enjoyed the ride.

What I am really looking forward to next is Reorientation! 😀

Brandon (right) poses with a busker along with his placement buddy, Dallas, while on placement in Port Alberni, BC.

Hello, my name Brandon Hardisty. I am from Fort Simpson, Northwest Territories. I am currently having a wonderful time here in Port Alberni, British Columbia; it’s such a beautiful place to spend my summer. So far my summer was pretty amazing! The first week was great! I’ve met so much wonderful people at Orientation & made some pretty good friendships along the way. During the first week we went to a baseball game, which I haven’t been to one for a long time, so it was a nice experience for the beginning of the summer. Also at Orientation we went swimming…which isn’t something all new to me, although I had a fun time there as well. After Orientation, I was happy to finally be off to my Host Community for the summer!

I made some memories along the way there with my placement for the summer; Dallas Thom, from Fort Providence, NWT. Our first weekend in Port Alberni we went to Nanaimo for the day to do a little shopping and site seeing, but it was a surprise when we met up with some of our friends from back home there…they were there checking out the University. I had  a nice visit with them before we left back  home. So far I can say I’m really enjoying my summer here! I’m really glad I got the opportunity to attend NYA this year. Hopefully I can attend again next year.️