And I'm Back in the Yukon...

It's a whole different culture up here in the Yukon, and with any new culture there comes the frequent "oh wow" moments. These are the moments where biting your tongue, shaking your head, and going with the flow is the only way to experience, accept, and adjust to this new culture. I must say the Yukon is very unique. I don't think I can do a good job at describing it, you just need to be here and then you can experience it all for yourself. But I will write about today to give you a slight taste.

I wake up, get ready, hop on my bike and enjoy the ride to work. I sit on my bike and ride the downhill and stare in awe of God's beauty with all the mountains around. 

Heading to work... about to cross the Alaska Highway.

I arrive at the office and Ken comes to see me.

Ken: Are you busy?
me: A bit, what's up?
Ken: Can you go do some concrete testing at the ER site?
me: What time are they pouring concrete?
Ken: Now.

I stop what I'm doing, load up the truck with a concrete kit and head up to site. I arrive in time to catch the beginning of the pour. I grab a sample. My wheelbarrow breaks. Thankfully the guys are typically willing to help. Then comes Mo, one of the concrete truck drivers.

Mo: Kathleen! You're back! Good to see you again.
me: (shoot...they remember me? it's been two years)
Mo: Where have you been?
me: traveling, studying
Mo: Have you been to Africa? (Mo is Ethiopian)
me: Yes, Malawi.
Mo: Would you move to Africa?
me: I prefer China.
The conversation continues with random questions and comments.

Next concrete truck arrives. The driver is yelling at me to get my attention. I finally turn around and he's standing on the back of the truck flailing his arms yelling grunts and then finally yelled "HEY YOUNG MISS" to get my attention. I go see what he needs.

me: yes...?
man: What's your name?
me: Kathleen.
man: Where are you from?
me: Ontario.
man: I was born in Haileybury.
Haileybury is the town right next to my hometown...so this is quite interesting.
me: Neat, I'm from New Liskeard. What's your last name?
man: Cloutier.
me: A bon! Tu parles francais?! (You speak French!)
man: bien sur! (Of course).
And the rest is all in French.
man: Are you married?
me: Of course not! I'm too young to be married. (hoping he'd think I was way too young and leave me alone).
man: Well how old are you?
me: (scrambling in my head trying to figure out what age I should tell him...)
man: I'll see you around.
me: (oh I'm sure you will...unfortunately). Yeah, see ya. 

Mo comes back and exclaims that I'm bad for never calling him. It's a small town. When I was here 2 years ago and went out with some coworkers for my birthday and arrived on site the next day, the contractors knew where I was, what I did, how old I was...you just can't get away.

I head back to the office covered in concrete and since the gloves had holes in them, the chemicals burnt a layer of skin off my hands. It's really gross. A bunch of coworkers decide to go for lunch. Sitting across from my boss at lunch, I was sharing about the concrete men from the morning and how there are no eligible ie. decent guys in Whitehorse.

me: This is the price I paid moving up here...knowing that I'd be single for a long time because the options are nill here.
boss: That's not true. Just wait until September, everyone finds a partner for the winter to get through hibernation.
me: uhh..so these are seasonal boyfriends? I'm not really interested in just seasonal!
boss: It doesn't have to be just seasonal, but it can be.
me: (shakes head).

Get back to the office, get back to work. 4:30 rolls around. It's beer time. We gather around the front foyer and drink beer (or cider for myself).

5 o'clock. Two coworkers and I set out to Chadburn lake for a swim. This is the Yukon. The lakes here are freezing cold. I figure if I don't swim simply because it's too cold, I'll never swim. I love swimming in lakes so I just need to deal with the cold and try to enjoy all the beautiful lakes nearby.

Chadburn Lake

We get to the end of the dock and jump in. After the 3 seconds of pure shock from the cold. I try to convince myself that if I just swim around in the water, I'll be able to warm up. Not a chance! I can feel the ice cold water freezing my insides, especially coming in through the bottom of my feet and the numbness starts. I get back on the dock. But I just can't NOT swim...it's too beautiful and it's been a while since I've been able to swim in a lake. I jump in again, 5 seconds, feel the numbness, get out. Jump again, numbness, get out. And repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat!

After the swim, I go into the trees to change. Then I get back to the office and grab my bike to bike back home. Pure uphill. My legs burn but I love every minute of it. I love my roadbike.

I get home, eat dinner and chat with my aunt and uncle. Then I go for a hike with my aunt in the neighbourhood. There are trails EVERYWHERE. I can't wait to get my mountain bike put together to explore offroad. Walking up over a crest, I see the view of the mountain ranges again. Man, it's beautiful here! It's late yet it's still sunny and bright.

This is the darkest it will get this time of year.

It's midnight and I go for another bike ride. It's a bizarre feeling because everyone is asleep yet it's still bright outside. I see a fox poke its head over the hill top but one foot closer and it runs the other way. I keep biking. The more I bike, the more I love it. I return home and it's now time to sleep. My mind is telling me to stay awake and enjoy the day light hours but my body is desperate for rest.

This was my Friday. Just another day. Tomorrow, I look forward to a new day, a new set of "oh wow" moments, and new adventures!