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Blogs to Mark

1 - The Northern Lights: A symbol of beauty or degradation?

2 - Revitalising Nuuk: How a Mural Moves a Community

3 - Breaking the Ice: More than just an Outdoor Adventure

4 - Seal for Supper: Food Shock in Greenland

Thank you!

[goingtogreenland]

Arctic Essentials: Gear up for Greenland

Greenland’s landscapes and icy temperatures are the current largest drawcard of adventurer tourists; however, this environment can pose certain risks. 

This extreme Arctic climate is characterised by freezing temperatures, strong winds and rapidly changing weather conditions. 

There is a pretty high chance that you will encounter such conditions when travelling in Greenland, especially if you are visiting during the winter or to remote regions with less infrastructure. 

To minimise and manage the risk that these elements present, it is important to prepare before visiting. 

Layers are key! Make sure to pack thermals, windproof and waterproof jackets, insulated boots, and lots of socks. These will combine to help maintain body heat and project you against frostbite and hypothermia. 

Other gear such as GPS devices, emergency shelters, and extra food and water are also essentials to pack into your daypack when venturing outside the city or town. 

If you do end up in a more severe weather situation, it is important to know what to do. The most important thing is to stay calm and seek shelter such as beside a rock or cabin or tent. Use the supplies you have packed in your bag to keep yourself warm and hydrated and then either wait the event out or help will arrive. 

It is really vital that travellers understand how dangerous the weather can be, as unprepared travellers can place an unnecessary stress on the local rescue systems. 

Ultimately, stay prepared and informed about the weather, always be prepared, and make sure to enjoy the stunning landscapes!

Click here to read all about the specific weather in different areas of Greenland.

References

Weather and climate. Visit Greenland. (2024, January 3). https://visitgreenland.com/weather-and-climate/ 

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Heartbeats of Greenland: Documenting the Stories of Locals

As we have been in uncovering the last few blog posts, exploring Greenland isn’t just about seeing the landscapes or chasing the Northern Lights, but immersing yourself in the interesting culture and lives of the Greenlandic. 

As a second-year Politics and International Studies student, a lot of my degree has focused on improving disciplinary skills such as research methodological skills, critical thinking, data analysis and how to communicate these effectively. 

Therefore, I think that a way I could meaningfully engage as a traveller would be to document the stories of local people and publicise these on social media in order to amplify the voices of Greenlandic people. 

Since beginning this blog, I have learnt a lot about the culture and history of Greenland, and I could do further research in order to be ethically considerate when interviewing people.

After gathering these stories, using my writing skills I could write profiles that could go to local cultural centres for tourists to visit, and I could also continue to use this blog to publish them as well. 

As my blogs target audience is other travellers from across the world who aren’t familiar with Greenland, and I want to inspire others to also visit there, this project would seek to create interest and understanding of Greenlanders and Inuit people. This could then influence tourists to engage more intently with the locals on their visits, instead of just going to do outdoor activities.  

I would also want to keep the participants involved and adhere to all ethical considerations, as the ultimate aim is to advocate for respect and appreciation of Greenlandic society. 

I have attached below a few examples of ethnographic interviews with Greenlanders that would inspire my own research.

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Seal for Supper: Food Shock in Greenland

My every-day Australian diet pretty much consists of beef, chicken, bread and vegetables. What about yours?  

Experiencing culture shock about food in Greenland is not uncommon for visitors, as some of the culinary traditions are vastly different from what many are accustomed to. 

Traditional Greenlandic cuisine heavily relies on locally sourced ingredients such as fish, seal, whale, reindeer and sea birds which might be unfamiliar to visitors (Gilman, 2024). Cultural practices around food include communal eating and respecting nature and using all parts of the animal. Though I personally grew up around farming, a lot of people I know would have never first-hand experienced the farm to plate process, and this could be confronting for them. 

Examples of traditional dishes include: Suaasat (seal and vegetable soup), kiviak (seal stuffed with sea bird) and muktuk (whale skin and blubber) (Gilman, 2024).

To read more about Greenlandic food experiences click here.

Tourists can navigate this cultural shock by being open to new experiences and embracing the opportunity to try new and unusual foods, as they can be one of the most rewarding parts of a travel experience. 

As food is so intricately connected to Greenlandic ways of life, it can also allow visitors a deeper understanding of the culture. Because communal meals are so valued, it also provides the chance to connect with locals by asking questions and therefore gain valuable insights.  Additionally, you could research the preparation methods and significance of traditional foods to be more prepared for what you might experience and taste. 

Ultimately, the most important thing is that tourists are respectful when tasting or asking about traditional foods, whether reindeer is their particular preference or not!

References

Gilman, S. A. (2024, February). 7 traditional foods of Greenland. Lindblad Expeditions. https://au.expeditions.com/expedition-stories/stories/a-world-of-flavor-7-traditional-foods-of-greenland 

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Breaking the Ice: More than just an Outdoor Adventure

A common representation of place essentialism in Greenland is the notion that the best and only type of activity to do there is something ��outdoorsy’.

This is supported by the fact that the official Greenland tourism website first and foremost promotes boat tours, biking, diving, and birdwatching, and you have to click through to be able to find the first mention of culture (Visit Greenland, 2024). 

This reduction of the country to its nature and physical qualities is simplistic and ignores the rich and diverse lives of Greenlanders and the culture of the Inuit people. Further, even when Inuit culture is presented in tourism advertising, it is often depicted in a base and historical manner and doesn’t advocate for the nuanced and evolving nature of modern Inuit life. 

To counteract this, Visit Greenland could produce more inclusive campaigns that involve Greenlanders and highlight their events, crafts, food and history as equally worthy of visiting for. Moreover, tourists can play an active role in lessening essentialism by making a purposeful effort to interact and appreciate local life. 

Tourism campaigns have the biggest hand in this place essentialism of Greenland, and though it can bring economic prosperity as tourists search for a unique wilderness experience, it is at the expense of understanding the local people. Additionally, this can mean that tourists arrive with preconceived ideas that they will only participate in physical nature activities, ultimately missing out on the opportunity to engage with the remarkable Greenlandic people. This leads to a lack of understanding between tourists and locals and can also contribute to a negative or stagnant view of Greenland that doesn’t acknowledge its intricate challenges and merits. 

Greenland’s nature is indeed spectacularly beautiful, but tourism should also seek to appreciate the contemporary value and people that make up a place. 

References

Things to do. Visit Greenland. (2023, March 28). https://visitgreenland.com/things-to-do/ 

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Revitalising Nuuk: How a Mural Moves a Community

When you think of Greenland, street decor such as murals and graffiti aren't really decorating the typical colourful wooden houses in your imagination.

Street art is popular in Reykjavik, the capital city of Iceland, which is just across the Denmark Strait (The Fourth Continent, 2014), however this movement only really began to show up in Greenland in the early 2010s, with an example being Australian artist Guido van Helten’s ‘Poonojorteq’ (2014).

The mural is painted on the side of a government housing block, with Guido taking inspiration from a historical photo of a hunter from East Greenland, taken in 1906 by W. Thalbitzer (Por, 2014).

These housing blocks have a controversial history, having been built in the 1950s by the Danish government in an effort to rapidly modernise the Greenlandic society and it’s Inuit population (van Helten, 2014). Following this policy, the historically hunter-gatherer population was made to move into the housing to contribute to the industrial economy in Nuuk.

This rapid departure from tradition and Inuit culture caused elevated rates of suicide, alcoholism and other societal issues (van Helten, 2014). With the buildings falling into a state of deterioration, thus Guido’s artwork seeks to rekindle the conversation about living conditions in the housing units. A resident described Guido’s mural as ‘watching over all of us with a smile’. The street art is thus able to enhance the aesthetic of urban structures, which can create more value and also incentivise the government to put more focus on repairing and improving the buildings. 

This street art can express an ‘unofficial’ tourist attraction as people are motivated to visit the mural due to the lack of them in the country and its artistic value and meaning, even though it might not be officially promoted by Greenland tourism services. 

References

Por, T. (2014, February 28). Street art in colourful nuuk. Visit Greenland. https://visitgreenland.com/articles/street-art-in-colourful-nuuk/ 

Street art from Iceland hits colourful Nuuk. The Fourth Continent. (2015, January 27). https://thefourthcontinent.wordpress.com/2014/12/09/street-art-in-nuuk-greenland-guido-van-helten/ 

van Helten, G. (2014). Guido van Helten. https://guidovanhelten.com/projects/greenland 

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The Northern Lights: A symbol of beauty or degradation?

The Northern Lights, also known as Aurora Borealis, are an ecological wonder that light up Greenland’s skies and enchant all those who have the privilege of seeing them.

I have chosen the Northern Lights as they are a symbol of both Greenland’s Inuit folklore and the environmental uniqueness that is a huge drawcard for its international tourism. 

Aurora Borealis occurs when solar particles collide with the Earth’s atmosphere, with the lights are the most visible from September to April (Greenland Travel, 2024). Greenland’s low population density and isolation mean it has little light pollution, creating the perfect stage to view the lights in all their glory (Tomlin, 2023). 

Inuit folklore differs regionally on the meaning of the Northern Lights, with Northern Greenlandic communities believing in the lights representing the souls of their ancestors guiding the living. 

Though it is clear why tourists are drawn to visit Greenland for this bucket-list activity, it can contribute to the broader overshadowing of Greenland’s rich contemporary culture as well as add to environmental degradation. Specialised tourism lodgings to see the Lights, such as the Kakslauttanen igloos (See more here: https://www.kakslauttanen.fi/accommodation/glass-igloos), can provide magnificent sky views but also epitomise the commercialisation of this natural marvel. This creates a conundrum as people visit the lights in Greenland due to the low light pollution, but by travelling there they contribute to emissions that impact the delicate Arctic ecosystem. 

Ultimately, the Northern lights are a symbol of Greenland as they represent its natural beauty and its environmental tourism sector. It is important to recognise the potential environmental and cultural impacts that tourism can have on the country, and for travellers to try their best to understand and appreciate Greenland’s multifaceted identity. 

References

Northern Lights in Greenland. Greenland Travel EN. (2020, November 18). https://www.greenland-travel.com/inspiration/travel-guides/northern-lights-in-greenland/ 

Tomlin, A. (2023, August 24). Seeing the Northern Lights in Greenland. Routes North. https://www.routesnorth.com/outdoors/seeing-the-northern-lights-in-greenland/ 

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About Me

Welcome! Or should I say...Tikilluarit!

I'm Annabelle, a 20-year old Australian who is preparing for my first visit to Greenland. I was born and raised in a country town in New South Wales, but my parents have inspired a love for exploring the world in me from a young age. My favourite trips I have done thus far were going on exchange in high school to the U.S when I was 15 and spending a month in Europe with my best friends in 2023. 

I am incredibly excited to begin this blog to share my research on my next destination...Greenland! 

As Pico Iyer eloquently puts it, travel ‘shows us all the parts of ourselves that might otherwise grow rusty’ (2021). I deeply resonate with this, as I find that my travels bring out a childlike curiosity and wonder that can sometimes be stagnant in my everyday routine. What I ultimately seek to gain from my travels is a deeper understanding of the culture I visit and how it differs from my own life, as well as broadening my worldview through interacting with people from all walks of life and corners of the globe. 

I have chosen Greenland due to its extraordinary nature and fascinating culture. I am not very familiar with it outside of learning about the environmental concerns for its melting ice sheet in high school geography, therefore I am very keen to begin investigating all possible travel points of interest and concern. Through this blog I am to demystify Greenland for both myself and you through exploring its history, nature, and people. 

References

Iyer, P. (2021, October 4). Why we travel. Pico Iyer Journeys. https://picoiyerjourneys.com/2000/03/18/why-we-travel/