Photo-a-thon

I've developed a bit of a photo back-log so I'm going to take care of that...right now.

Clothes hanging to dry/freeze in front of the cemetary:



Musk-ox fur padded sled:



Speaking of musk-ox - we eat a lot of musk-ox around here, its delicious. I've also had raw narwhale skin and boiled seal. While I can say it was a baby seal (humans eat the babies, the adult seal meal is given to the dogs) I unfortunately cannot say that it was very good. Seal tastes like a cross between a lamb and an old fish. Narwhale skin, however, is remarkably good. It's sort of like trying to chew on a tire that tastes a little like...meat jello. I've heard it compared to hazelnuts as well, oddly enough.

Cozy:



At the top of the hill:



View over the town:



Icebergs in the distance - this photo needs a little explaination...those far-off mountains are 200 km (about 125 miles) away - we checked on a map. Those mountains are about 2000 m (6600 ft) high. That means some of those icebergs are ridiculously high. My host dad has been sailing around them before and says they are difficult to believe.



Sun over the town:



I realize that about 80% of my photos appear to be some kind of sunrise or sunset, but with how the sun is now (rising around 10 and setting around 3) the photo above is around 2pm...high noon isn't much better. This weird light schedule means I'm pretty much constantly hungry, since my internal clock associates darkness with dinner time.

Dead seal on a sled:



I can, however, tell the difference in the light between sunrise and sunset. This is a particularly nice sunset:



Lots of people out on the ice (somewhere I haven't ventured yet):



More of the same:



Back edge of town in some snowfall:



The other day my host dad and little brothers went out with me to the nearby Whalrus Bay for a walk. Since we were leaving town we had to bring the gun - I haven't gotten out of town much because although I'm allowed to borrow the rifle, I don't really like walking by myself when I want to take photos but have to watch out for wildlife.



Looking back across the ice:



The road to Whalrus Bay, one I'm glad I'm walking and not driving:



Konrad and Janu:



Ice in the bay:



Annnnd back in town again...they do have these things around here, apparently:



An interesting note: I find myself practicing a role here that I really didn't anticipate having for another decade, if ever - that of the domestic housewife. I have perfected the art of washing dishes while helping Konrad and Janu get ready for school while holding a screaming baby and feeding said baby all at the same time, and in a language I don't even speak. This brings up something else - this is not MY baby, its Benjamin, my host parent's 1.5 year old grandson. He's mostly a pretty good kid but I spend a large part of my life babysitting him. He's also taught me all of the Greenlandic that I currently know (so if the situation calls for it, I can ask for my mommy or demand to be given something pointed at to eat). This house is not remotely baby-proof, which makes things...exciting. Anyway. The point that that brings up is that I am a fairly unusual figure in town (well...duh) because I'm 22 but don't have any kids. Almost every female in town has had a kid by the time she's 20.

Sooo...another look at those icebergs:



Duka likes Konrad, and big musk-ox bones:



Konrad sledding through the town:



Someday I'm going to do a series called "Every house here is built exactly the same" and have a lot of photos like this:



Another look at Konrad:



The other night I went with Therecie (my host mom) to the woman's house. Among other things, the women's house is a sort of community center that is open a few nights a week where women get together and sew.



(My host mom is the third from the right)

Therecie is an extraordinarily good seamtress. She's famous for her seal-skin jackets. I'll try to get a picture of one...for now, here's Therecie helping out a younger girl. As it happens, this young girl is one of the few people remotely my age who has been friendly to me. We might go hiking tomorrow!



Walking home at night from the women's center with Therecie (left) and Lena, another English teacher at the school who's just moved here from Denmark:



And finally, some kids playing on the school computers at night: