I thought I would take this post and talk about some things here in Greenland are very different than what some are use to in the States.
The first thing that comes to peoples mind first is the weather! And yes, for this ole southern girl, the weather here has taken some getting used to! We get LOTS of snow in the winter and into the 50's in the summer. I know some of you are thinking, "50 is not warm!" but when you have been below 0 for several months, it is roasting!
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| This is in front of our house a few moths ago! |
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| In Ilulissat, Greenland |
Another thing that is different, is the dogs. The dogs here are not pets, but work animals. The puppies are cute and cuddly, but when they are around 6 months old they are chained up. And after that you don't go near them. They are used in the winter for the dog sledges. A lot of people use snowmobiles, but there are still some that stick to the dog sledges.
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| One mean looking dog! |
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| A dog sledge in Ilulissat |
One of the biggies here is the language! They speak Danish and Greenlandic. Danish is easier for me to read than to speak, and Greenlandic is a total mystery for me! There are little to no resources for learning Greenlandic. The learning tools that are available are Danish to Greenlandic, not English to Greenlandic!
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| A road sign in Greenlandic. |
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| Some kids playing in our yard. |
Most of the kids here are left to themselves. We have seen little ones as young as 3 running around with not a parent in sight. The other day in the news here, some children were caught stealing from one of the local bakeries. They said they were sent there to steal some stale bread, because they had nothing to eat! It is sad to see the state of the homes here. We have seen little kids cross the roads here by themselves. My heart drops out every time I see one try to go across. I think the term "crazy taxi" got it's origins here in Greenland! I have seen several kids almost get hit by the taxis that drive way to fast, and barely stop for anyone.
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| This is a little shed in front of our house that kids constantly climb on. |
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| A supply ship. |
The last thing I would like to point out is everything is shipped in! We get all our supplies: food, clothing, toys, and anything else you can think of, is shipped in from Denmark. Some of the only things that Greenland grows here is potatoes and a few herbs. They are grown in south Greenland, where the temperatures are a little warmer. Because everything is shipped in that means that it is all very high priced. Eli was wanting some corn on the cob the other day. We looked in the store and saw that ONE ear of corn was around $6! Our grocery bill for a week runs us around $200, sometimes more. And we don't eat anything fancy, just basic meals.
So, there is just a peak at our little world here in Greenland.
