Yukon Chatter Bug

Hey Musher Folks,

I got the following comment on my old blog and thought I’d pass it on. If anyone’s looking for a handler in February, I can connect you to this guy. See the end of his note for his English translation.

Bonjour je m’appelle Renaud,

J’ai 26 ans, je suis français et je vis actuellement en suisse depuis 5 ans. Je recherche un stage de Handler au Yukon à Whitehorse pour le mois de février 2009. Mon billet d’avion est déjà réservé vu la difficulté de réserver une place à cette période, de plus je devais faire le stage avec une amie chez Marcelle Fressineau mais celle-ci a déjà un autre stagiaire et ne peut en accueillir plus de 2 à la fois, je suis donc à la recherche d’un autre lieu de stage.
Je recherche un stage non rémunéré, juste être logé et nourri.

Je suis un passionné du Canada (j’ai déjà été au Québec en vacances il y a 3 ans), des grands espaces, de la nature et de tout ce qui s’y rapporte, ainsi que des chiens nordiques. Je possède actuellement deux huskys.

Je suis quelqu’un de motivé et qui veut apprendre le mushing même si je n’ai aucune pratique de la discipline. En effet, j’aimerai pouvoir un jour je l’espère le pratiquer avec mes chiens et aussi dans un futur proche partir vivre au Canada. Ce serait aussi l’occasion de vivre la grande aventure dans le Grand Nord et de pouvoir voir la Yukon Quest.

Ma pratique de l’anglais étant limitée cette expérience me permettrait de le parfaire. Je recherche néanmoins un stage de préférence chez des personnes ayant des notions de français.
Si malgré tout, vous n’étiez pas intéressé mais que vous connaissiez des personnes qui seraient probablement intéressées, pourriez vous me donner leur coordonnées, que je puisse les contacter.

Je vous remercie par avance et me tiens à votre disposition si vous désirez d’autres informations.

Hello, my name is Renaud
I am 26 years old, I am French and l have been living in Switzerland for five years. I am looking for a training period as a Handler in Yukon in Whitehorse for February 2009. My plane ticket as already been booked because it’s difficult to book a seat during this period, moreover I first had to do this training with a friend at Marcelle Fressineau’s place but she already has an over trainee and can’t take more than 2. That’s why I’m looking for an other training period.
I just want board and lodging.
I’m really passionate by Canada (I went in Quebec for holidays 3 years ago), wild spaces, nature and everything linked with that and Nordic dogs. I have 2 huskies.
I’m motivated and I really want to learn mushing even If I’ve never practiced. In fact, I would like one day to practice it with my dogs and in a close future I would like to live in Canada. It would also be a way to live the Far North adventure and the possibility to see the Yukon Quest.
My practise of English is limited, this could be a way to improve my skills. Nevertheless, I am looking for a place with people that have some knowledge in French.
If you’re not interested but if you know somebody that could be interested, could you give me it’s coordinates in order to contact them.
I thank you in advance and I am at your disposal if you need any further information.

I’ve always wanted to attend the annual Yukon International Storytelling Festival, but it seemed like every year I had other commitments. This year, I decided to play hookey from working at school over the weekend and attended the festival on Saturday.

I was very impressed with the storytellers, and my favourite was Ivan E. Coyote. Ivan is originally from Whitehorse and now resides in Vancouver or thereabouts. Her short stories are funny, candid, and usually relate to her own life experiences.

Now, you’re probably wondering why I’m referring to Ivan using feminine pronouns, but if you read her writing, some of her stories revolve around her experiences growing up and feeling like she didn’t quite fit into the gender box. She eventually changed her name, and in one of her most recent stories I read, she explains how being referred to in either gender doesn’t quite fit, so she usually lets people decide for themselves how to address her.

We live in such a gender-specific society that leaves no room for even the slightest deviance of the pendulum from either extreme, that I can’t imagine how difficult it must be for people who feel they don’t quite fit on either side completely.

A student at a local high school where I subbed was faced with the same dilemma. My heart went out to him when, while doing attendance, a couple of other students taunted him by using the female version of his name. I have to admit that I wouldn’t have known his gender just by looking at him. A little later, one of the students walked over to him and started taunting him more. Keep in mind that as a substitute teacher, kids don’t really take you seriously, and there’s lots of stupidity and horsing around. I had a “chat” with the kid doing the taunting, but what did he care? I don’t know if I got across to him; I can only hope so.

One saving grace was that I knew that authors were coming to the school to spend time with students, and Ivan was one of them. I only hope that somehow, that student (taunted one) was able to find solace in knowing that he wasn’t alone.

Going to the festival also gave me the opportunity to pick up Ivan’s latest book The Slow Fix. I’ve already read most of the stories with only 20 pages left to read. “In the title story [The Slow Fix], she does her best to fix what’s wrong in the world by telling the homophobe in the barber’s seat next to hers to shut up” (Arsenal Pulp Press). Her stories are eye-openers about how we take gender and identity for granted. It’s kind of like being left-handed in a world where everything’s geared to right-handedness.

This little post is my contribution to “the slow fix.”