A few days ago, Sarah Woodall died after a short illness. She was described as a kalaaleq to the bone and a passionate soul – whose light has now burned out.
“How did you find Greenland? I didn’t. It found me.”
This is what is written on a photo of Sarah Woodall from 2017. The photo is among a whole series of other photos under the album name “Ildsjæl”.
It’s one picture among many. Her social media is filled with photographs and small articles about Greenland – and especially about South Greenland.
“I may travel the world, but there is no place I would rather be than in South Greenland – my home.” (2023)
For more than 13 years, Sarah Woodall lived, loved and worked in Greenland before her passing. Her love for the country is not expressed between the lines, it is evident in every picture, every text and every smile.
Diary of an Enthusiast
Sarah Woodall had a special ability to communicate what she loved. She blogged, vlogged, wrote articles, participated in interviews and worked with tourism in South Greenland, where she spent the last five years employed at Innovation South Greenland A/S.
In a Facebook post they write about her:
“Sarah was born in South America and raised in the United States, but was Kalaaleq to the core. She learned the Greenlandic language, absorbed the culture and ate more Greenlandic food than most. She had a genuine and heartfelt heart for South Greenland. For the landscape, the history and, not least, for the people.”
She left her mark – not only through the projects she helped realize, but through the person she was: committed, courageous and with a desire to lift others.
Living life to the fullest
Sarah Woodall was born in South America and grew up in the United States. But she found her home and heart in Greenland.
On her Instagram profile Polarphile, she shared a quote from Brazilian poet and author Paulo Coelho in 2023:
Polarphile
”One day you will wake up and there won’t be any more time to do the things you’ve always wanted. Do it now.”
To which she herself wrote:
“Luckily, I think I’m pretty good at living life to the fullest!”
And she did. With an open heart and curiosity.
Perhaps she already knew that one lifetime would not be enough:
“I will stay in Greenland. Also in the next life, and the next, and the next”
“I will stay in Greenland. Also in the next life, and the next, and the next”
This is where she belonged. And here her imprint will live on – in nature, in stories, and in those who knew her.