For years, my job consisted of taking me across Canada and the United States for weeks at a time. I got to see small towns, large cities, and everywhere in between. That includes some of the most unique locations in the world. None of them would ever stack up to spending just over three weeks in Iqaluit, Nunavut.

When we arrived, I had just finished up an assignment in Melfort, Saskatchewan. Imagine my surprise to arrive in the Arctic (without my luggage due to tight connections, which was definitely an experience of finding things at the local NorthMart where I would be working) to discover that it was warmer here than it was in Saskatchewan. That mild weather wouldn’t last. Soon, it plummeted to conditions that felt like -50C with the windchill. The wind itself was a force of nature too, strong enough to blow you over.

Being there in late November through mid December means we were there for some of the shortest days. My shift began between 6-7AM and ran until around 4-5PM most days. It was still a ridiculously strange sensation watching the sun set around 2PM. We got to meet a whole range of people, from the local Inuit population to a healthy number of people from around Canada who came up to work.

In terms of the work that I was there to do, it was definitely full of long days. We had a few days at the beginning to explore as the store wasn’t ready for set up. During that time, we went to the beaches, the Nunatta Sunakkutaangit Museum, and climbed hills within Iqaluit’s city limits. We received warnings about what to do if a polar bear came to town, and to ignore the local wild husky population. There were many more dogs than I expected roaming the city.

We were lucky enough to participate in a cultural display, including throat singers. That night, we also got to taste local delicacies, including caribou and seal. Being there was also a stark reminder of the inequalities that exist in this remote part of the world. I was extended to support the store and was given a daily stipend for food. Seeing how much money groceries cost (over a decade ago, and it’s only grown worse since then), we began to understand why we were told to bring food with us. It was much cheaper to buy and bring than to purchase up North.

Not everyone has that option, though. It was eye-opening to experience not only the unique landscape, but the societal experience of such a place as well. Here, so many people working were from the Maritimes, Ontario, Quebec, or other places in the country, the town had no liquor stores, and there was a decisive echo of years of mistreatment of the local Inuit population, which continued to send ripple impacts seen in the town.

When it came time to leave, it was a snowy December day. That’s when we discovered that sometimes, the single plane of the day simply won’t show up. We were close enough to the airport that we could keep an eye on it, but we wound up having to go on a totally different airline to our connecting flight back in Ottawa. Luckily, there was space for us.

Years later, I’ve been able to reflect on my time in Iqaluit. At the time, I was struggling with the fast pace of our work, being extended beyond what I expected, and dealing with stressors like my luggage not arriving. Looking back, the experience was full of warmth and welcoming. When my luggage didn’t arrive, the staff we would be working with helped me get what I needed. Our crew became a small little family with homemade dinners so many nights.

We were there just before the holidays and were able to sponsor a child with the local charity. It meant the world to me to be welcomed and included in the local ceremonies while we were there. I know that we were just visitors, but it helped to broaden my life experiences when I was still fairly young and learning about the world outside of the bubble I had always known.

Beyond that, the landscape of Iqaluit is unlike anything else I’ve seen. Walking to work in the mid-morning and watching the sunrise over the bay, chilled to the bone, it was something that I’ll always remember — truly, a once in a lifetime experience. It’s not cheap, by any means, but if going to Baffin Island and Iqaluit is on your bucket list, I highly encourage the visit. It really is like nothing else I’ve ever experienced and to this day, I’m still so appreciative of the chance to have been to Iqaluit.