A Few Words From Eddie

     Well this trip has been amazing and I'm so glad I got this opportunity. I wasn't sure about the trip at first but the more I heard about it the more I wanted to go.  After having visited Fond du Lac I can honestly say
that I am so happy I was asked to go to Saskachewan. I met so many new people and they all were amazing,  showing us around their town and school.
     We went to the school the first day and met our twins and although they were shy we started talking and got comfortable playing games in their gym. We went to our lodge and for a whole week we were fed some incredible meals by Corine our host and cook.
     We were taken by sled to a cabin where we had a bbq lunch with caribou ribs. It was all delicous and the cabin was really cool!.
     I loved meeting all the people in Fond du Lac. That was my favorite part of this trip. Everyone was nice and friendly and I don't often get to meet new people but I met tons of people on this trip.
We were able to view the northern lights on our last night from the lodge deck.  A perfect ending! Amazing!
     This whole trip has been special for me and for all of us. I didn't know any of the people in our London group when we left but when we returned I had a large family. We all connected and bonded. Now we are all friends.

A Message from Meg {part 2}

Here's to our last full day up north with the Dene people in their community in Saskatchewan.  Here's to the friends that we've made with each other in the house, to tickle fights and giggle-fests, and inside jokes by the dozen.  Here's to the people in Fond-du-lac who have welcomed us with open arms and shown us their culture, welcomed us into their homes, their lives, their school, their church, and showed us every aspect of their life.  We are so lucky to have been given this opportunity, this experience, and these friends.  A great marsi cho to our hosts and to my housemates.  I will miss our breakfasts, late night conversations and all of the laughs we've shared at Haily's Lodge.  Though part one of our adventure is over, part two is just around the corner! We are all so excited for our twins to come to london so that they can see how we live.

Today was a lot of fun at Culture Camp! I ate Caribou brain and tongue.  I never ever believed that I would be able to say that.  It was pretty good too!  And yesterday, we scaled, gutted , and fileted fish!! I know I had scales all in my hair, and all over my clothes.  We all smelled of fish.  Later we played soccer, and the guys and Natalie played really well. I was forced to play for one shift, and yes I did connect with the ball at least four times!!

Today we sewed little purses in the library of the school, and Ms. Day gave helpful hints to Ahmed and I while sewing.  In fact, she saved me many cuts! It has been such fun hanging out with everyone, and though I look forward to the adventures I know we will have in the various planes and with the jokes that will happen, I am very sad to say goodbye to Fond-du-lac and all the people we have met.  London, we shall see you soon!!!

Concrete Life

London Ontario-----Fond Du Lac Saskatchewan what’s the difference? One is based around noise and media while the other is based off old traditions and peaceful days. As the sun rises in London the noise grows, as the sun sets in Fond du Lac the land grows more silent. I once asked how far North is North, well not far enough. I feel if I kept going north the more beautiful it would get and the more peaceful I would feel. I am honoured to be here with my youth family. Sherri my roommate has become a dear friend and sister. The other youth in our family include: Ahmed, Dan, Meghan, Sherri, Matt, Jared, Diana, Natalie, Taylor, Eddie, Marissa and I. We've grown so close over the past couple of days and are saddened by the thought of leaving this Northern beauty.

We've spent so much time with each other; meeting the Native people of Fond Du Lac it's been an absolute pleasure to learn their culture and traditions! We've had such a blast. I personally cannot believe that we leave the day after tomorrow. We still have so much to do here. For example, we all went sledding for the first time yesterday, what a treat! It was honestly the coolest thing, I definitely recommend it. The new friends we've made along the way in our journey up North, are incredible! They try so hard to be like people down "south" that they've lost a lot of their heritage and culture. On the other hand the elders of Fond du Lac are so awe inspiring that I would love to come up and teach here! What a pleasure and honour that would be for me! Other activities we've had the opportunity to do are de-scale fish, dry meat, hare snare, beading, make a poster, soccer, musical chairs and a dance. Tomorrow we might even get to snow shoe!  I am absolutely ecstatic! 
                                                                                                    -emma

Smokey

Gotta love that smoke!~

FISH

Those right there, that was made by us. Props to Banting kids for getting dirty!!

A Message from Marissa

My thoughts on Fond du Lac are that it's such a great place to visit and from what the kids here tell me it's a great place to live. I like the fact that the kids here can drive ATV's freely and not be restricted. A couple of things I've learned during my time here include the different ways to prepare and cook fish.  One method I tried out today was to prepare the fish and put it between two pieces of tin foil and place it over the fire. I let it cook for about 20-30 minutes then removed it from the fire. Im looking forward to the activites that are planned tonight. 

A Message from Meg

Today was time for the Mass at the Church by the waterfront.  Dan, Matt, Natalie, Ms. Tracy, Brian and myself walked down to attend the Mass. As an Anglican, I have been to my fair share of church services (and Brian, who is Catholic, agrees with me) I have never experienced what I just have.  Words can almost not describe the experience of the Church service, but I will do my best.

We were told about the equality that the people in Native communities participate in, but i never expected it to be like this.  There was no choir, and no priest to lead the service, everyone just kind of...sang.  There was a lot of singing, almost chanting.  The vast majority of the service was in Dene, the language that many people speak here, as well as English.  Since we were sitting around the middle of the small church, we were surrounded by a cascade of voices washing all around us, over us, seemingly through us.  You didn't have to be religious, or speak the language to understand the sense of community, and to feel accepted.

There were two little girls sitting behind Natalie, Ms. Tracy and I, who kept going back and forth between where their mother (I think, you can never really be sure who's mother is who because everyone takes care of everyone else's child) was sitting, to directly behind us with another woman.  They kept looking at us, watching us, and when we would smile at them their faces would just light up. 

We feel like superstars as it is,with people taking pictures of us, asking our names, taking pictures with us, asking for hugs, etc, but this is a totally different kind of special.  It is like we were wrapped in their lives, being welcomed into the religious and spiritual part of their lives.  I have never felt so totally accepted by a group, and many of them haven't spoken to us.  There is an unspoken welcoming, and respect that happened while we were sitting in the church that needed no words, that we felt so deep in ourselves there was no ignoring it.

We are going to go out on dogsleds pulled behind snowmobiles later.  It is really cold and windy out, so we are all dressed warmly. I'm excited for the rest of this stay!!

Getting off the Plane

Here we are, getting off the plane in...FOND DU LAC!
Our wonderful cameraman Brian got us coming off of our 34 seater charter plane.

Made it Safely ^.^

WE'VE ARRIVED!
Banting has officially gone across Canada and made it to Fond du Lac Saskatchewan.


London to Toronto was short and loud
Toronto to Saskatoon, long and quiet-the time to sleep for some of us and the time to socialize for others. Some watched movies while others read and some just wanted to talk.
Once we hit Saskatoon, it was lunch time. Most just got some Timmies, I know I did,

Then, out of Saskatoon we took a bus to a terminal where we took a 34 seat plane where there was LOTS of turbulance...with...one lunch casualty :P

Once we got here, we went to Haily's Lodge, where we met our hostess and the principal of the school we're exchanging with. We got to meet our "twins" and got to mingle with the students of  the school.

With everything from talking, to laughing, to eating, to yes even dancing, we certainly had an eventful day.

I would just like to say, I am tired. And, I can't wait to see what they have in store for us tonight after dinner!~

How far North is.... North

How far North is .... North?

I've been given the opportunity to be an ambassador for my school, as we travel up North to beautiful Fond du Lac Saskatchewan. It makes me wonder how far north, north really is.  If you've never heard of Fond du Lac. when you're looking on the map set your eyes on the boarder of the Northwest Territories and move your finger south by a centimeter. And there you have where I will be spending the next week.

Fond-du-lac is a settlement located in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. Situated on the east side of Lake Athabasca it is a remote fly-in community. The current population is less than 700 inhabitants, mainly of Dene and Métis descent.

Founded as a community over 150 years ago, by native peoples in pursuit of furs, fishing, hunting and trapping the community has seen little changes. Many in the community can trace their ancestral roots of the area to the early 19th century. "Living off the land" is still a way of life in Fond-du-lac.

The main enterprise today in Fond-du-lac is working in the mineral and other resource extraction business. Others follow a tradition of fishing, hunting, and trapping as well as provide guiding services to the many fishing camps in the area.                        

This exchange program will encourage stronger relationships between the teens from the Reservation and those from the City of London. I am excited to finally meet my "twin" we have been  corresponding with  each other via facebook. I am thrilled to learn more about her Native culture. Some of the activities they have planned for us include: snow shoe races, fishing, hunting, dry meat making, trap setting, rabbit snaring and how to make caribou hide.

A week after we return, we will host our new friends here in the 'South' We are planning some amazing events including Niagara Falls, a pig roast, dining at Stadtlanders where we will participate in a service project. 

                                                     -Emma 

A way to keep in touch

http://emmapuddicombe.blogspot.com/2011/04/how-far-north-is-north.html

Check this out, another way to keep in touch with us as we travel up North!

4 DAYS TO GO!!!!

Okay~
So who's stoked for this trip yet. It is Sunday April 3rd and we leave on friday. That's monday, tuesday, wednesday and thursday to pack. That's count'em 4 days!

I know, I cannot stop jumping around at telling people left, right and center about this :P

SO!

~COMMENT HERE AND TELL US WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT HAVING ONLY 4 DAYS~

CARIBOU

as wanted by Ms. Day~
One Caribou pic ^^

Our Awesome Group

The excitement builds with our first media shot

Our fearless leaders......Ms. Day and Ms Grandmont

Thank goodness we have Natalie to keep us all up to date with our social networking!

Pre Trip Meeting

Here are a couple photos of the group looking very relaxed....Right Matt???

First Post

Hey guys,
sorry for the very uninteresting title. I just figured that this post can be edited later and just wanted to see what things looked like.



So, if you guys have any ideas for later posts or anything like that, just look up the facebook group that we made for the trip~
Banting Takes Saskatchewan Facebook Page

tata for now~
-Natalie