Hello! My name is Debbie Ann Mannilaq, I am 19 years old, and I am from Taloyoak Nunavut, which is the northernmost community on Canada’s mainland.

I am currently a participant in the Northern Youth Abroad Next program. Within the NYA Next program, we live in the experience of the Algonquin College residence, we’ve learned how to register for a college program we may be interested in, took a construction class, we’ve learned how to bus our way around the city, worked on time management, how to work as a team and many more skills and knowledge I’ll use in the future. As a group, there are 13 participants, all girls with one guy which may seem weird, but it can actually be very funny sometimes. We have our group leaders Mahasi, Nicole, Patti and we’ve also had Lis but she had left a while ago to work in the office. Anyways, they’ve all been so great and have been keeping us very well.

Over the last 4 weeks, on a day-to-day schedule we’d have construction class every morning from Tuesday to Friday. Within the first two weeks, we were building dog houses that will be donated to animal shelters. On the days we weren’t having construction class, we would have sessions, assignments, volunteered at The Ottawa Mission and bottle works. We also cleaned up garbage at Centre Pointe Park to prevent the spread of micro plastics in the waters and its surroundings. We toured the Nunavut Sivuniksavut College and Carleton University which I found very interesting. A couple participants and I worked on our personal learning project at Furry Tails in a pet smart store. Furry Tails are a place for cats that can be their home until they are adopted or taken when they’ve been abandoned. Even though we’ve just hung out, played with the cats and asked questions about them, I had such a fun time there.

We’ve walked pass the Alexandria Bridge to go visit the Canadian Museum of History in Quebec, watched movies at the Cineplex Cinemas, went to the Fun Haven arcades, rode buses and trains to the downtown city, we passed through and seen the Parliament Hill. My favourite activities were going to the beach, swimming, and mall shopping! I also really enjoyed exploring the city itself.

Down to our last week here, I’ve unfortunately tested positive for covid, so I am isolating with my room mate Shana, who also has covid. We’ve been doing really well, and she’s been very nice and welcoming! I’ll miss her and the rest of the group. As much as I’ve missed home, family, dealt with cultural shock and struggled with the small touch of living college life, I can see myself in the next couple of years working up to my post-secondary education. NYA has been such a great way to give me experience within living in a city, campus life and generally given me the opportunity to travel, which I love doing, far away from home, it is a great program to travel, learn, share and creates memorable times in your young life. So, for anyone afraid or hesitant, just as I once was, to put themselves out there, do it! Whether it is applying for a program, college, or anything that scares you, know that you can or you tried.

Thank you, for taking the time to read my blog 😊