Abdus Salam

Ikpiarjuk Abdus Salam

We travel to India to see the Taj Mahal, Egypt to see Pyramids, Turkey to see Blue Mosque, Italy to see Colosseum, South America in quest of Inca civilization, and so on. But very few travel to Nunavut - A Land of Inuit. Md Abdus Salam - the author, had a chance to travel, live, and work in Arctic Bay - a small Nunavut community, for 12 years. Not many people in the world know about life in Nunavut. Many people in the southern part of Canada have no idea where and what Nunavut is, no question to speak about Arctic Bay, where Salam landed to teach in 2007. As he learned to survive the harsh winters and other challenges unique to the North, the Arctic also provided him amazing experiences, from polar bears to the aurora borealis, snowmobiles, and potable water problems. Used to living in a large community with many amenities, Salam faced some unique predicaments while living and teaching in the land of Inuit. In the North, he learned of Inuit culture, heritage, and hunting practices while learning to live in a land of extremes-including -60C cold, three months of complete darkness in the winter, and 24/7 daylight for three months in the summer. The memoir Highlights Md Abdus Salam's experiences first as an immigrant teacher and then as a principal in the community of Arctic Bay. Ikpiarjuk: My Challenges Teaching in a Land of Inuit speaks to the experiences of a talented educator's time spent living and teaching in a place that was utterly unknown to him.