Hello fellow people from the world.
My name is Dagmar, and I am 28, born and raised in Greenland. I am Native inuk (Inuit not eskimo), and I was born in Uummannaq, now I live in capital city of Greenland called Nuuk, the past 11 years.
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| This is me. |
When I stream live on
Periscope you are watching from Nuuk. Nuuk has about 16.000 people. Nuuk is the capital city of Greenland.
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| Image from Google Maps. |
You can read more official facts about Greenland in greenlandic government website
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In Greenland we speak Greenlandic Kalaallisut as in our daily life, and it is our mother tongue. Our second language is Danish. Our third language is English, it is rare that we speak english, because we don't meet so many english talking people (we often meet english talking people during summer).
We learn danish and english in primary school.
Elderly inuit don't speak english, but they do understand some words, and if you use universal language they will gladly talk to you, so if you ever go to Greenland, please talk to people, we usually wait for tourist to talk to us.
In Greenland primary industri is Fish, Greenland has a lot of fish, and that's why we have so many seals. Greenlandic fish is very healthy and delicious. We don't breed them, they live in the wild. They are high on vitamins and nutrians. We have cod, Greenland halibut, shrimps, Greenland crabs, wolffish, herring, lumpfish, mackerel, fjord cod, trout, salmon, and they are common fish in Greenland.
There is about 1.5 mil seals around the coast of Greenland, and we hunt about 150.000 seals every year, it's about 3 seals a person in Greenland, and it sustainable hunting. those 150.000 seal skin could have sold to Great Greenland and hunters would have much more better condition than now.
About Inuit
When people migrated from Africa to Europe, Inuit went east through Siberia, Asia, Alaska, Canada, and then to Greenland. Back then they were smart enough to survive harsh condition of the arctic.
They knew the technology back then, like when you sweat, how to dry fur clothes. How to survive when there is not much of animals to catch.
Modern inuit has jobs, like network engineering, office work, accouters, lawyers, TV produtions, radio production, doctors, IT support, firefighters, airport securities, police, constructions, artist, music artist, art artist, hunters, fishermen, and so much more.
Greenlanders like to travel the world, and experience different culture. I am only getting started to travel, right now I have been to Denmark, Sweden, England, Turkey, but so many greenlanders has been to other contries like: Norway, Finland, Letland, France, Spain, greece, Russia, America, Italia, Africa, and so much more.
There are still traditional inuit hunters, and fishermen, but majority of greenlanders have job in mainland.
Majority of greenlanders are Christians, we have churches we go to. We have become christians ever since 1700.
We usually eat danish food, pork, beef, chickens, but we eat greenlandic food also. Greenlandic food is: Seals, fish, whales, birds, musk ox, caribou. We have high respect for the animals, and we don't try to over hunt animals, we like it best when it's sustainable hunting or fishing. We don't captivate the animals so we could eat them when we need them (like cows, pigs, chickens). Big whales like greenland whale, blue whales we can only catch 5 a year, so we are not like Japanese when we hunt them, Japanese guys don't care about restrictions. Like I said, we respect the animals. When we eat greenlandic food we usually eat everything, the things we don't eat, greenlandic dogs will eat them.
Greenlanders have highspeed internet, we have a fiber optic caple to Canada, and to Iceland. Some part of Greenland still has satellite connection. We use computers, cellphones, gadgets, trending electronics. we have smart tvs, and some town has movie theaters. For me, I like iPhones more than Android phones, but people like also android phones. Some people have windows phones too. In Greenland we are only 57.000 people, so internet is very expensive, compared to other contries (they have thousands and thousands or millions paying costumers) so that is why it is costly to use internet, but it is getting cheaper.
In north Greenland there is greenlandic dog, and we don't have european dog allowed there, and greenlandic dog is much more aggressive than european dog, it is a working dog, not a pet. So if you ever go to Greenland, don't try to tough a dog, because they can attack you, they are only nice to their owner, because it is not domesticated dog like european dog. Greenlandic dog has exactly the same bones as a wolf.
Greenlanders like animals, some people have cats, guinea pig, parakeets, mouse, snakes, reptiles, and other animals, but they are not that common. In South Greenland we have european dogs, like pugs, german shepherd, labrador, bulldog, Alaskan husky, Chihuahua, dachshund, rottweiler, french bulldog, english bulldog, puddel, and so much more.
About Greenland
Greenland is the largest island in the world.
Greenland used to be kolony of Denmark, but we did get our independency in 1979, so we are a part of danish kingdom. There is about 10.000 danish people in Greenland, but there is about 10.000 to 16.000 inuit people in Denmark. We do have an option to have danish or greenlandic passport.
In Greenland there is about 57.000 people, and there is about 20 towns across the coast. Capital city of Greenland Nuuk has about 16.000 people, and the next biggest town has about 5.000 people.
There is no roads between towns, because the weather condition is very extreme, so we can't maintain to clear the snow of the roads during winter. And we don't have train tracks either. We travel by plane or ship or sailboat between the towns.
We call our country Kalaallit Nunaat (the land of Inuit), but Eric the red called it Groenland, and that is why people from the world call it Greenland. Eric The red was expelled from Iceland, because he was criminal, and he wanted Icelanders to know he lived in luxurious country called Greenland. People would think its warm and great place to live. So there is difference between icelandic man and greenlandic man, Icelanders are wikings, and Greenlanders are Inuit.
There is no trees in Greenland (there is very small part in south Greenland has trees, but they are planted and there is only very small are) that is because during last ice age, every land in Greenland was covered with ice and it was so heavy that it destroyed the soil, and it is only 30 cm to 1 meter deep, so that is why we don't have trees. If the soil was deeper, we would have trees every where in Greenland.
Temperature in Greenland is different on every place in Greenland. Greenland is so large that we have 3 time zones, and if you are in Qaanaaq during summer the weather will be different when you are in Qaqortoq. But check out this website:
Asiaq to see current weather here in Greenland.
Greenland holds a largest park in the world. Whole north east is national park.
In Greenland we don't have hurricane, thunder, earth quake or something like that·.
Greenland is not part of EU.
Currency is Danish kroners.
When I Periscope, I get so many question like if I ever seen Penguin in Greenland, we don't have penguins in Greenland.
If I ever seen a polar bear, I never seen one, that is only because polar bears don't like to be in populated area, there is occasions where they travel by towns.
Global warming is affecting the arctic, we experience it with warmer winters, and cooler summers, so right now it is unusual to have a snow on the ground.
Greenland is pursuing 100% green energy, right now we have 70% green energy in Greenland. We have hydroelectric power plant in the nature.
misconceptions about: no people, Greenland is only wilderness, nothing to do, only grass or ice, eskimo, and that we live in igloo.
There is people here, and they are modern people, and because we are so few we have a large wilderness in Greenland. Greenland is very much green during the summer, but it will be white during the winter. We do have summer, fall, winter and spring.
There is 24-7 sunlight during summer is the arctic, so when foreigners comes to Greenland during that time they have a hard time to sleep during nights. Greenlanders grew up like that so we learned it from birth, and in 3-5 age we learned that it is night during summer time, and find it normal so we can sleep eventough there is daylight outside.
Eskimo is a word white people use to call us. It means that we are people who eat raw food, the proper term is Inuit, Inuit is plural so one man is called Inuk. Inuk means a man with spirit, with personality. So next time when you want to call someone eskimo call them Inuit.
We have few bugs in Greenland. We have flys, mosquitos, small spiders, and some bees.
Things to do in Greenland:
During summer time:
Sailboating, waterski, paraclide, hiking, golf, camping in the nature, fishing, sunbathing (I don't recommend it because it makes you old and sunrays are dangerous), musk ox safari, berry picking, water jetski, whale safari, and so many things.
During winter time:
ski, snowmobiling, dogsledging, playing in the snow (making snowmen, igloos) cross country skiing, snowboarding, fishing on ice, paraglide,Northern light safari, hiking, and so many things.
There is also pubs, night clubs you can check out.
We have northern light all year round, but it get so bright during the summer that you can't see them.
Popular restaurants are the restaurants we have in Greenland. We are so few that unpopular restaurants can not survive. So you may have preferences what you want to eat. We have thai, beef, pizza, durum, burger, and greek food, and danish or europeans restaurants, and we don't have much greenlandic food restaurants.
Musicians:
Those are not the only ones. We have a lot more than them.
Sport:
Greenlanders like soccer, handball, volleyball, dogsled, and so much more.
How to get to Greenland
You can visit Greenland by
Air Greenland or by Air Iceland or you can come by european cruise.
Just remember Greenland is very expensive country.
Useful links:
Greenlandic government
Greenland.com
Magasin Greenland Today.
Skiresort Kangerluarsunnguaq
Katuaq - Cultur house
Hans Egede Hotel in Nuuk
(I will update this later)
And I want to thank people on Periscope who help me to pick some common topics, so I can write this blog.
You can join us at the Periscope app, and search me, my user name is @DagmarMDalager
It's a live broadcast, so we can chat, and talk about so much more than this. I stream every few hours.
My links:
www.facebook.com/MissDalagerFilms
www.youtube.com/MissDagmarMDalager
Twitter: @DagmarMDalager
Instagram: @MissDalager
Snapchat: @MissDalager
I am thinking to make another blog about Greenland so please subscribe :)
I hope you like this, and please share it if you liked it.
