Karen Mackenzie
Northern News Services
Published Monday, September 10, 2007

IQALUIT - Norman Nungaq's arrival in Iqaluit was more by chance than design.

The 20-year-old was heading home to Resolute from Whale Cove when he missed his connection at the Iqaluit airport.

Almost six months later, he's still here.

"I ended up getting stuck," he said with a smile.

Luckily, he had a cousin who offered a place to stay, and it didn't take much time for the resourceful young man to start carving out a niche for himself in the city.

"This town's pretty amazing, there are so many things to do, endless opportunities," Nungaq said.

"In Resolute, there's not much else to do but mostly hunting, when you know the land."

Nungaq starts most days with a walk or jog up to the Frobisher for a coffee and muffin, then heads over to his full-time job at Arctic Ventures.

"It's best to warm up before we start our work," he explained.

In his spare time he visits with friends to drive around or practice guitar, a musical skill he said is still a work in progress.

"Compared to the people we've heard, we're just rookies," he said.

Although some people are now encouraging him to settle down and look into getting a government job in town, Nungaq said he is taking it slow in deciding whether or not to stay in Iqaluit.

"Taking it step by step is the only way to do it in life. I see a lot of people who make mistakes and don't want to learn from it," he said, suddenly sounding a bit wise beyond his years.

One thing he is certain of is that his arrival back home will be a surprise.

"I would like to see the expressions on their faces when they see my face," he said with another grin.