It certainly isn’t very green and it is almost completely permenantly covered with snow. So why do they call it Greenland?
Although the world’s largest island is a constituant part of Denmark, it has been self-governing since 1979, So it is arguuably the most sparsely inhabitied “country” in the world.
There are, in fact, fewer than 60 thousnd Greenlanders inhabiting an rea of close to 2.2 million square kilometers.
Needless to say, we don’t get many backpackers from Greenland.
Avo might be the first. At least, she is the first one any current staff member can recall at the hostel.
She is here for an extended stay attending a language school in order to improve her English skills. She speaks Danish (I assume) as well as Inuit as the language and people are called here in Canada.
In Greenland they are sill often referred to as “Eskimos” meaning “eaters of raw fish”. It is a term that is considered a pejorative here in Canada.
It is understandable too because given that description, anyone who enjoys eating sushi is an Eskimo by definition.
Avo’s arrival at the hostel is just another indicator of just how small the world has become and shows how interconnected we have all become.
You mighty say that the although thje world has become much smaller than only a few short years ago, but it has also become a lot more interesting.
