I am an Uummannarmioq (a person from Uummannaq). Uummannaq is something very special – when I come here, my heart is filled. He is from Saattut, and we have moved there, so now we are Saattormiuts. I have a kiosk and Andreas is a fisherman. It’s really good to be independent, because it gives us a lot of freedom.
When we lived in Uummannaq, our day was very determined by my work as a senior assistant in Piareersarfik (former Guidance and Upskilling Center) with a fixed schedule, and I hardly ever saw my children. But now that I decide my own working hours, I can be with them more.
For example, our oldest just started school, so when he is off at 12, he can just be with me for the rest of the day, and I can pick up the little one from kindergarten earlier if we decide to go on a trip during the day. It suits us very well.
The best thing about living in Saattut is that we have the freedom to say: “Today we want to go to Uummannaq and shop or go to a cafe”, and then we drive there by snowmobile in 45 minutes. Or we go to Qaarsut and visit family.
There are also better conditions as a fisherman here. Andreas can sail in the summer, and the ice is better in the winter, so he can ride a snowmobile and dog sled there and fish from the ice.
In everyday life, Andreas goes out with a dog sled in the morning after he has followed the children to school and kindergarten and puts bait on the long line and sets it out. Then I go home to be a housewife and cook and wash dishes, and he fetches water. This is how we divide the tasks between us.
Karina & Andreas Terkelsen with Iluuna and Norsaq