This is my complete entry for the 60 Days in Paradise competition, which is seeking 1 Canadian to spend 60 days in Tobago to promote the island through tweets, photos, and stories. For more info on the contest, visit the application page. And don’t forget to check me out on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook!
Part 1: The Video
Ice? Check. Snowmobile? Check? Igloo? Check. Nunavut toque? Check!
Watch the 30-second video above for the first part of my #60Days entry, and get a glimpse of island life in Nunavut.
Part 2: The Bio
“WE WANT TO SHOW CANADIANS WHY TOBAGO IS A GREAT PLACE TO VISIT.
WHO BETTER TO DO THAT THAN A FELLOW CANADIAN.”
Regular readers of Finding True North will know that Sara and I created this blog to share our thoughts and experiences about living in a remote Arctic town with our friends and family, fellow Canadians, and the rest of the world. And share we have! Since launching Finding True North in September 2013, we have had photos printed in two issues of Canadian Geographic, have been interviewed for Up Here Magazine, were selected as a Top 10 Travel Blog, and have been featured on Twitter and Instagram by the Canadian Tourism Commission, Canadian Encyclopedia, and other contest accounts. Most importantly, we have answered dozens and dozens of emails, tweets, and comments from people who are planning to move to or visit Nunavut. In all of the above exchanges, we had the opportunity to dispel myths, share awesome photos, and tell anyone who would listen why we love living on Baffin Island.
Sara and I enjoying a “summer” hike at Sylvia Grinnell Territorial Park.
So how did I end up up here? Well, I was born in Bangladesh, raised in Toronto, and I came to Nunavut in 2012 to follow my partner/dreams/thirst for adventure. Prior to living in Iqaluit, I spent a lot of time travelling (at one point, I visited 14 countries and 4 continents in 12 months…while completing my Masters in London, England!), eating everything and evolving along the way.
From top left to right: Dhaka, Bangladesh; Braunwald, Switzerland; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Nuuk, Greenland.
Without a doubt, my wanderlusting ways primed me for life in the Canadian Arctic – sort of. The one unfailing actuality of living in Nunavut is that it changes you, and fast. Within months of landing on the permafrost, I learned to drive a manual car, experienced the exhilaration of driving a snowmobile, fought against the devastation of crashing a snowmobile, and relished in the joy of fixing a snowmobile. In the year that followed, I learned to shoot a gun (for polar bear protection) and the basics of Arctic survival, sewed my own parka (the red one in the video!), became a search and rescue spotter, watched the aurora borealis light up the sky too many times to count, and travelled across Nunavut in some very, very small planes. And I did all this while immersing myself in the Inuit history and traditions that are the foundation for this territory.
Love water, be it in an infinity pool in Toronto or a frozen tidal pool outside of Iqaluit.
Amidst all this living and learning and sewing and crashing, I always find time to do something I really love, and that’s write. In addition to posting to and curating Finding True North, I also have a travel column entitled “North of Treeline” for the Go Girl Travel Network, an online magazine and community of tens of thousands of female travellers in over 110 countries. More recently, I was selected to be a speaker at the inaugural Women in Travel Summit (WITS), held in Chicago from March 14-16, 2014, alongside the likes of the Emmy Award-winning Lisa Lubin and the “grandmother of women’s travel”, Evelyn Hannon of Journeywoman. My presentation was called “On Becoming Badass by Accident: Why You Should Visit the Canadian Arctic”, and the workshop explored all the ways Nunavut makes you hardcore through photos, stories, and of course, food.
Jeannine Henderson, co-author of Unfettered Adventures, tries her hand at using an ulu (a traditional Inuit knife) to cut up some nikku (dried caribou).
Does that seem like a lot of exposure in just over 6 months? Well, if it does, I have social media to thank. Currently, I manage the Finding True North Twitter account, while simultaneously tweeting up a storm on my personal account. And, on Saturdays and Sundays, I craft tweets for the Pixel Project, a virtual non-profit that raises awareness to end violence against women using social media, new technologies (like apps), and the arts. In these roles I have expanded my social media presence and prowess, honing the use of hashtags, relishing in retweets, and finding followers. These skills are also used to promote my personal Instagram account, as well as Finding True North’s Instagram page. But social media isn’t only about self-promotion; it’s also about being social. From participating in Twitter Chats to responding to comments on posts or pictures, I appreciate the flexibility and authenticity of my online relationships (many of which have transformed into friendships IRL!).
Ultimately, I think all of this is to say that in a way, I am already an Island Connoisseur – just not on the type of island that first comes to mind. Through my posts and tweets and photos, I have been able to get people interested in life on a frozen isle, an achievement that will serve me well if I am chosen to do the same for the island of Tobago. Basically, if I can convince my best friend to leave London, England for a place where the average temperature is below freezing for 8 months of the year, then warming people up to the idea of Tobago’s balmy days and tropical nights should be a breeze. Having lived as a city slicker and an Arctic adventurer (and everything in between), I have come to realize that the only skills you can carry forward are the abilities to adapt, to appreciate, and to articulate, so that you can truly experience and express the rhythms of whatever island you find yourself on.
Thank you for taking the time to read my application. I hope to be one of your Top 10 applicants!
