A whirlwind of activity
Woah. Have I ever been more busy? I'm not sure.
Unfortunately, four weeks ago I had to leave Ndilo for a necessary medical procedure. Not to worry, I've been back for a little over two weeks, but it was definitely a hard time for me to be away from the community. The summer is so busy and full of cultural events. People are everywhere and I wish I could have had the opportunity to meet them, should I have been here. Nevertheless, I am back in action and trying my best to cram all of the amazing opportunities that I can into the time I have left.
It was a strangely difficult transition back to Southern life for a hot minute. Only two weeks in the North and I was more comfortable with my surroundings than I could have ever imagined being at the University when I moved there. The natural surroundings and the people just suck you in and make you truly feel at home.
The Ndilo greenhouse is just fantastic. All of the boxes are sprouting and teeming with life. I go down to water and weed the boxes almost every day and it's crazy how fast those little seeds I planted have grown! They seem bigger every single day (or maybe that's just wishful thinking on my part). It makes me sad to think I probably won't be here long enough to see them fully fruit, but it's totally mitigated by the fact that we'll have produced so much food to share with everyone here. We're growing so many tomatoes I think people will get sick of them! The corn is getting taller, the basil and mint smell crazy good even as tiny as they are, and the beet leaves are the most beautiful purple.
Dettah greenhouse is still moving slowly. The soil was put in to all the boxes yesterday (thanks guys! I'm so weak, haha) but we're still waiting on a water tank to be installed. Hopefully that's done quickly and we can plant to at least get some things sprouting for the fall.
On the cultural front, I had THE BEST time at Aboriginal day (Indigenous People's Day? They keep changing the name). It was my very first drum dance. I think I probably looked really dumb in the beginning because I was worrying so much about moving my feet properly and thinking too hard about it. Once I really started listening to the drums and feeling the rhythm it got so much easier. I heard some one say that the drum beat is the heartbeat of the Creator, and I definitely felt that presence and connectedness to the people while I was dancing. On top of that, I watched canoe races, lots of hand games (the most confusing sport I have ever witnessed, let me tell you), dry fish making and a DUCK PLUCKING CONTEST! It was WILD! These men and women were just so skilled and have a fully cooked duck in like 3 minutes. I couldn't believe my eyes!
The Akaitcho Territory Government meetings are this week, so I'll be attending another drum dance tonight and then a talent show tomorrow! So much is going on right now and I barely have time to witness it all. Talk to you all soon!
Rachel