Hello, I’m June Sanspariel, and I’m from up Behchoko, The Northwest Territories. I’ve been staying at Algonquin College, and it’s a lot bigger than I assumed (I didn’t think about the size or space it might or might not have). Before I travelled, I had already forgotten about the Canada map and where the cities are. So, I looked up Ottawa and was excited about how far I would be travelling for my trip.

I’ve been living where I am for so long that whenever I leave, I don’t want to return. My niece used to go to this College, and I would try to talk to her frequently and keep in touch. The last few times I had heard from her during her time living here, it was raining a lot, and she was always unprepared for the weather. I did not expect this much humidity and heat to last this long. It’s a lot more challenging than I’ve described. I refuse to talk about that, though, because I believe people can bear anything if they’re encouraged to. I was encouraged to continue with my placement.

We did welding as our first trade class, and I really dreaded it. Welding has never been for me. I’m pretty decent at it, but it’s just not my thing. Carpentry is what I’ll pursue the most in trades. I’ve been doing it since grade 9 (I’m now heading towards 11), and I’ve grown fond of it, enjoying the process of building.

My summer here has been really refreshing. At first, I had tight schedules and barely enough free time to relax, but I enjoy that. I signed up to stay busy and not have enough time to laze around. It’s been tiring, and we do a lot here, from our group activities to volunteering, but nonetheless, I love the work. We’ve been mostly working in the heat for our volunteer hours, and I never want to be down south during the summer again. The weather report says about 32 degrees, but we’ve been working during heat warnings. I worked at a garlic farm during a 40-degree day, picking garlic from the ground. I don’t think I’ll ever let myself sweat as much as I’ve had to.