Sheena Iyengar studies how we make choices - and how we feel about the choices we make. At TEDGlobal, she talks about both trivial choices (Coke v. Pepsi) and profound ones, and shares her groundbreaking research that has uncovered some surprising attitudes about our decisions.

Answer: “Good Morning”.

Every where you go, each smiling staff member always greets you with a “good morning”. Of course, the natural inclination is to reply with “good morning” so after a few minutes of wandering around the hotel and being greeted in a natural, friendly, non-contrived way: “good morning”. Five or six equally genuine people later it really grows on you.

I stopped and thought about it. The sheer fact that I did made me realize this is something quite different from other hotels I’ve stayed at. Hearing that it is in fact a good morning over and over starts to become convincing. Whether I did or not when I woke up this morning I certainly feel like it is a good morning now. I also thought that this is a bit peculiar. I’m being brain washed into feeling good. A positive, feel-good environment has been created everywhere I go because of two words and the method of delivery. Now it is infectious. I hear other guests repeat it back and pass it on. Hearing and overhearing the same message repeatedly from different people is quite unusual. But it is effective. It works.

It’s like a cult.

And, why do people join a cult? Because they’ve been tricked into it? Yeah, maybe. But also because they want to be apart of something they relate to.

Being part of happiness is a pretty good thing. I like to relate to that. If it were up to me, I’d join this cult. But it’s not up to me at all. It was up to the people who work here and they already initiated me before I realized it.

“Good morning”.

What a great powerful idea.

1 lamb burger (home made is best, ask for my recipe)
1 slice of provole cheese
2 slices of prosciutto
2 tea spoons of basil pesto (regular green coloured pesto)
2 tea spoons of finely diced sun dried tomatoes (soft - soak in olive oil/water)
a hand sized bit of chard, diced, leaf and stalk
2 large leaves of fresh basil
1 burger sized ciabatta

Simple Recipe

Mix the sundried tomatoes, pesto and chard together into a sort of relish.

Cook the lamb burger.

Top the lamb burger with the prosciutto and cover with the provolone cheese.

Put back into the oven or in the BBQ for a couple of minutes until the cheese is soft - it doesn’t melt and go gooey like cheddar and you don’t want the prosciutto to dry out completely, so 2 mins max.

Gently toast the bun, then place the burger in and top with the relish.

Serve with yam fries and cucumber.

Introducing: the polar bear justice system.

If a bear persists in coming into town and the bangs and flashes from the blank shotgun shells don’t scare them away the bears are either tranquilized or captured in a bear trap.

The bear is then sent to Polar Bear Jail where it spends two weeks banged up with access only to water and ice. This is actually a very humane system, especially for polar bears which have a unique ability to regulate their metabolism. When there is no food, they simply choose not to be hungry and conserve energy. If food was provided, released bears would be trying to break back into the jail! The solitary confinement encourages them to stay clear of people and re-activates their natural fear of people. The bears are then released back into neighbouring Wapusk National Park with a small dot on their fur to act as an indicator should the reoffend.

All bear sightings in Churchill are reported to a special phone number “675-BEAR” and are responded to by Manitoba Natural Resources. Bears which have been identified as recently released are considered to have breached their probation and are ‘re-arrested’ and returned to jail for another two weeks. To prevent a further reoffending, the bear is then airlifted by helicopter to a location 50km north of Churchill where they continue their natural journey in search of their natural prey, ringed seals.

When we drove out to the polar bear jail there wasn’t much to see. The structure resembles an aircraft hanger and although it was likely a few bears were inside, all was quiet. The public are not permitted to see into the jail because this could acclimatize the captured animals to people and actually exacerbate the problem.

Stepping out from the Wapusk General Store one day I was immediately hit with a sharp blast of arctic air. Snow as being blown sideways and it was extremely hard to see where to go. I was also greeted with the sound of cracker shells being fired to my left in close proximity. My attention was quickly diverted to the right as a man with a radio came running up shouting to get back inside. A bear was close by. The bear patrol was trying to scare the bear off but sometimes this can result in the confused animal running between buildings. This heightened fear level in the bears poses a further danger should someone accidentally encounter the bear as it is being driven out of town.

My intention was to head back to the place I was staying which was less than 40 metres away. However, with the combination of driving snow preventing any sort of real visibility and the roads being coated with ice, it wasn’t safe to assume a bear could be seen coming. Fortunately I was able to dart back inside and escape the potential bear encounter and freezing weather.

Churchill is also one of very few places in the world to have a mandatory curfew for residents. An old air raid siren can be heard wailing each night at 10pm. At this time it is expected that everyone be tucked up in bed or safe at home. With people off the street if a bear does wander into town there is less likeliness of there being any danger to residents.

During my stay in Manitoba’s most northern town, the nightly siren and daily firing of warning shots heard not too far away was a constant reminder of this curious relationship Churchill has as the Polar Bear Capital of the World.

By all accounts two days and two nights on a train is a long time to be cooped up in a metal tube. Fresh air is only accessible for just ten to twenty minutes each day making it feel a bit like a long-haul flight to the moon and back but train travel is quite something different, and far my relaxed and enjoyable than flying or taking the bus. In the case of Churchill there are only a two ways in and out anyway and those are train or the more expensive but a lot quicker plane option. The nearest road is over 300km due south and with the waters of the Hudson Bay remaining frozen for over nine months of the year access to Canada’s most northern seaport is unreliable at best, not that taking a grain freighter ship in the arctic would be a particularly pleasant experience.

The train journey very nearly didn’t happen. Checking out of the hotel at midday on Sunday I anticipated a lazy afternoon exploring The Forks market area in Winnipeg and then boarding the train for a 7.30pm departure. To be on the safe side I decided to call the train station just to make sure we could drop our bags there to avoid carrying them all afternoon. My phone call was answered by baggage services – I thought that was a bit of luck getting through to the right person immediately, however that wasn’t where my luck lay.

The call went a bit like this:

“Hi, I am travelling on the train to Churchill later today and wanted to know if I can leave my bags at the station for the afternoon”.
“Sure” responded the baggage handler, “Which train did you say you were to be on?”
“Churchill”
“Today?”
“Yes”
“Well the train leaves at 12:05” he said.
I looked over at the hotel alarm clock – 12:06pm. I could feel all the blood run from my face at this point.
“When? My ticket says 7.30pm tonight” I responded with, getting a bit alarmed.
“Well, it leaves at 12:05 and I am about to go put the bags on the train. It is running a bit late so you better get here soon if you plan to be on it”.

I’ve never checked out of a hotel so fast in my life. By 12:20 we were at the station and the train was just about to be boarded for a delayed 12:25 departure. With what could only be described as the luckiest break I have ever had we were on our way to Churchill. VIA Rail had changed the schedule and moved the train more than 7 hours ahead of the schedule printed on our tickets.

For a town with less than a thousand residents, Churchill is surprisingly well equipped. The annual arrival of over 4,000 beluga whales each summer and the world-famous polar bears who pass through the town and surrounding tundra each October/November bring a steady flow of eco-tourists, myself included. This extra demand in services has resulted in many more places to eat and stay than most comparable towns in Canada’s north. There also exists a modern multiplex centre housing a hospital, library, day-care, swimming pool, bowling ice rinks, indoor sports areas and cinema.

On arriving I was advised that the best place to go for a hot drink and cake was the hospital cafeteria. Given this is the only coffee-shop in town (I’m not forgetting the delicious Gypsy Bakery because it is more than a coffee-shop) and the bizarre nature of the place I was compelled. On arriving in what could possibly be the warmest place in Churchill, perhaps too warm, I discovered that it, like every establishment, had plenty of souvenirs to buy. Like every Canadian destination which benefits from an influx of tourists, Churchill has no shortage of Canadiana ‘stuff’.

The Town Centre Complex and hospital are on located between the town and the shore of the Hudson Bay. The cafeteria has fantastic and, importantly, sheltered views of the bay. This proximity to the coast has also resulted in the occasional polar bear following the scent of freshly baked goods into the medical centre. Fortunately no one has been hurt in these instances and the greedy bears have been scared off by the brave members of staff.

Not far from the Town Centre Complex, along the coast are the modern day stone ruins of a partially constructed hotel. Unfortunately a shortfall in funding resulted in the project not being completed but the structure does provide elevated views of both Hudson Bay and the town, however you can’t venture very far due to the signs warning of polar bear activity in the area.

These ruins are also home to my first arctic wildlife experience of the trip – a very large and definitely not very shy Arctic Hare. Despite the wind having blown most of the snow away the previous day and the stark contrast of the white fur on the dark rocks I nearly missed spotting the hare. He just sat in a corner watching as I walked by. From the corner of my eye I just assumed it was some of the leftover building material, a bucket or something similar. But on double take I saw the hare sitting there happy to have his photo taken. When he had enough he bounded away revealing the true size of the animal. This hare was closer to a large cat or small Labrador dog in size than most rabbits and hares I have seen.

I also had a close encounter one evening when investigating a strange noise coming from the roof of the place we were staying. Upon peering out the window I was greeted with a pair of eyes staring back. A very rarely seen Pine Marten was on the windowsill attempting to get into the birdhouse mounted next to the window.

As the trip progressed the wild nature of the place quickly became apparent. I will post additional tales from the tundra shortly including details on the various animals seen which include:

• Polar bear
• Wolf
• Stoat/Ermine
• Pine Marten
• Arctic Fox
• Snowy Owl
• Snow Bunting
• Arctic Hare
• Canadian Northern Huskies & Eskimo Dogs

Photos on Flickr - Churchill, Manitoba

More tales from the tundra to follow…

As a new immigrant to Canada and a new business owner, I was faced with various chicken and egg situations. One agency which was invaluable in the support they gave me is MOSAIC and the financial institution Vancity.

Listen to the radio show here

This was what we were looking at - a fantastic commute over two bridges with equally impressive views.

Take a look at the KatKam webcam which shows a live shot of the bridge and part of the vista:

www.katkam.ca

Pumpkins at the orchard, originally uploaded by jamesshearer.

Around about Thanks Giving, Vanessa, Rob and I were driving from Vancouver to the Okanagan. The route took us along BC Highway 3 known as the Crowsnest Highway.

Just as the highway splits at Keremeos we came across a bright orange collection of pumpkins along the side of the highway.

Amongst the pumpkins were ancient tractors at the edge of an apple orchard. We stopped, took some photos, bought some fruit and were on our way. Apparently this is one of the best places in British Columbia to get fresh apples, pears and other fruits.

If you are taking Highway 3 in the Summer/Autumn months, keep a look out for the fresh fruit stands located along this highway between Hedley and Osoyoos.