Welcome!

We have been very, very lucky since arriving! People in Whitehorse are, perhaps, the most welcoming people I have ever met.  

Whitehorse, like so many other places in Canada, is filled with people from somewhere else.  Few people come to Whitehorse intent on staying, although clearly many do. But almost everyone, comes from somewhere and there is a flow of people coming in and out of the territory. 

What I find completely Yukon, is the instant welcome, the immediate invitations, the melding of ages and backgrounds and careers into one big

 community. This past weekend we attended a delicious dinner at the home of my lead government liaison (the wife) and a colleague of Mike's (the husband) with a fascinating assortment of people around the table with fascinating backgrounds and careers and stories to tell. Dinner was great, conversation interesting and it was all around a fabulous evening.  When someone rightfully pointed out how few people were a) from Yukon or b) long-time residents, the hostess quickly pointed out that people are always from away in Yukon so its best to make friends fast. I love that! 

And it has certainly been our experience. The Friday before that dinner we had a terrific night on the town, probably much more fun than even we had been anticipating.  The next day, a delicious dinner field trip that was also really, really great.  

Today, as if to top it all off, was Canada Day.  We started our day downtown with a pancake breakfast and general festivities. I was so much fun to see how 

many people were there ( a lot) and how many we knew (also, a lot!).  It was great! Then we went to a barbeque where I hardly knew anyone, but had a terrific time, and felt very, very welcomed by everyone. Not the least of which were the hosts - we had never met before, and they were incredibly warm and friendly and, it turns out that the barbeque was also a surprise (to the guests, not the hosts) renewal of their wedding vows. Turns out today was their 20th wedding anniversary and they invited us all.  How cool is that?