Nothing can compare to the thrill of flying to the North. All the hassle getting through airport security seems to vanish as soon as the airplane is pushed back from the gate and taxis out to the runway. The engines roar to full throttle, and moments later the whole aircraft speeds down the runway, until suddenly it lifts into the air. The wings bank west, first to Calgary, then northwest to Yellowknife, and then north to Inuvik.

I’m traveling back to Tsiigehtchic to teach for the remainder of the year. First semester was certainly challenging, and there were moments when I seriously considered not returning. The greatest challenge, and greatest reward, is how dependent our school is on each person who works there. There are no back-up staff: if someone is sick, there’s no supply teacher to cover them - that person becomes you. On any day you can end up filling the shoes of a teacher, maintenance staff, custodial staff, and office staff. It’s like being on a submarine: submariners know how to do every task on the ship, so that if someone becomes incapacitated, the sub can still operate. Our school feels very much the same.

Teaching will resume soon. I can’t wait for classes to begin. Teaching feels a world of infinite possibility. It’s can be hard, but when things are running well, it’s as exhilarating as flying.

I had a mid-row seat on my flight from Toronto to Calgary. I couldn’t see much from the window. Instead, I struck up a conversation with the guy flying next to me. He was traveling to Japan with his girlfriend. She works for the airline, and was able to get them both standby tickets. There was only one seat in the passenger section, so he was sitting next to me, and she was sitting in a jump-seat up on the flight deck, with the pilots. We thought the view from our window was good until she sent a text looking out the front windshield. They were both flying standby, and it sounded like this was just one of many flying adventures they’d taken together. We traded stories about flying, traveling, and teaching, all the way to Calgary.

We landed in Calgary. I had 20 minutes to make my connecting flight to Yellowknife. I grabbed my bags and ran to the other end the airport terminal. I arrived just in time. I sat down, and minutes later was called to board Canadian North flight ??? to Yellowknife. Moments later we took off off, flying to Yellowknife.

Yellowknife airport terminal feels like an old-time cabin. It has a log-cabin interior. There’s a stuffed polar bear chasing a seal on display next to the baggage carousel. In arrivals there’s stuffed musk-ox. Everywhere there were advertisements for Northern Lights tours, and stands of pamphlets in English, French and Chinese about where to go to see them. To my surprise, the terminal was crowded with people. The airline check-in counters were packed with travelers checking-in and checking-out. Behind the scenes it seemed like there was just one crew doing all the work at this tiny airport. Our Canadian North flight arrived and the 3-person crew unloaded the aircraft, then the entire check-in and baggage crew hustled to the other end of the airport to help board and load a departing Air Canada flight, just as a West Jet flight arrived waiting to de-board and reload its passengers. There was even a small prop-plane destined for Cambridge Bay, that they were called-on to load. The entire airport looked like it was running on five or six people. Not unlike our school.

After leaving the airport, I took a taxi to the “Sunset B&B,” a small in-home Bed and Breakfast. They rented out the ground floor, while their family lived in the basement. It was a cozy place. Most of the hotels in town were charging north of $250 for a one-night stay, so I didn’t mind that my little room cost $120 for the night. The landlady recommended I eat at a convenience store down the road. l ordered Ramen. Not exactly what I expected to be eating in Yellowknife - but it seemed to be a popular neighbourhood spot. While I was waiting for my food to get ready, a group of school kids came in and ordered bubble tea.

Yellowknife felt like a northern aviation hub. Downtown Yellowknife had a Pilot’s Memorial Park located on the waterfront. The airport itself was a hive of activity with bushplanes on skiis, helicopters, twin-engine short-haul passenger planes flying north, and economy jetliners flying south. I wish I could have stayed another day just to watch the different flights landing and taking off from the runway.

Around noon, my flight departed for Inuvik. I could hardly contain a fresh burst of energy as I once again flew north into the Arctic Circle. We circled over Yellowknife, and then lifted above the clouds. The flight cruised north for three hours hours, and then swooped down below the fog layer for our landing.

A number other teachers arrived on the same flight. We spent a few minutes catching up, talking about our holidays. Some of them had additional connecting flights on small bushplanes, flying to extremely remote communities like Paulatuk and Aklavik. I met with a bunch of teachers from my school. We pooled together for the $450 cab ride back to Tsiigehtchic.

Later that afternoon we arrived back in town. The cab driver dropped me off at the front door to my apartment. I grabbed my bags, and walked up the steps into my apartment. It was all cleaned up from when I’d left it before the holidays. The bed was made, dishes cleaned. It felt good to be back in my cozy little Arctic home.

Here’s to a good year ahead :)