Day #59

In the words of 5 year old Aaron, today we went ‘blueberry hunting.’ Today was our final day of camp, so we took a large group of kids out to pick blueberries. Aaron decided that this excursion amounted to a serious blueberry hunting trip. We piled into the school bus and a couple of pick up trucks and went out for a great morning of fun. We also had a wiener roast with the kids for their lunch. It was a really great way to end camp, and we had a marvelous time. Unfortunately, as soon as we got back we had to get right down to work. We still have incredible amounts of stuff to do before tomorrow night’s final party. We’re slowly getting closer to the end of the work though. Part of my job today was to go and interview Harry Papah and Chief, Louis Nate about their impressions of the literacy camp. Both of my conversations were fantastic, but the talk I had with the chief was nothing short of incredible. I ended up spending about 45 minutes in his office, conducting what was supposed to be a 5 minute interview. We got talking to each other and ended up having a great chat. I learned more about Fort Hope and the challenges facing aboriginal peoples in Canada within these 45 minutes than I have all summer. I feel extremely privileged to have had the opportunity to speak with him. If all goes well I am going to have another talk with him on Saturday before I leave. He offered to spend some time with me and to give me some, as he put it, ‘straight’ answers about Fort Hope. I spoke to him about my potential future aspiration to be involved in politics. He was extremely supportive, and has promised to answer my questions via email if I want to send them his way.

After conducting these two interviews I got back down to the serious business of portfolio designing, movie editing and slideshow making. It’s been a hectic few days, but the end is near. I am nowhere close to being done everything, but I have faith that I will be able to get it done. I’m going to avoid pushing my brain into overdrive tonight, so it is time for me to go to bed. If everything goes according to plan, I will be ‘up and at ’em’ early tomorrow!