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Post by braided-rug on Jun 5, 2008 18:30:38 GMT 10
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linda
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~Exuberant Seachanger~
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Post by linda on Jul 5, 2008 11:58:50 GMT 10
I had better get on the ball ---- I missed this post too when you first posted it BR....sorry about that. But.....I just read her entry......and all I can say is I agree with her! Dh and I had been to every province in Canada as a kids, except for Newfoundland. In 2002 we decided to try it out seeing as neither of us had been here. We weren't sure what to expect lol. It's only accessible by boat (or plane) and the 'short' ferry ride is 5 -7 hours long (and the long ferry 14 or 15 hours long). When we first got off the ferry, it was a cloudy day around 5 or so in the afternoon and it appeared to be getting dark already. The vegetation was similar to what we thought it would be like on the moon or the Arctic (scrub like) lol. We later learned that area is called the Wreck House....and the winds there can be quite wicked. Sometimes they have to close that part of the highway because of high winds. Our oldest was sick ( due to a combination of a rougher ferry ride, lack of eating proper food, just snack crackers etc., and jumping around in a padded room they had for kids). Honestly, our first impressions? We wondered where we had came and why (and if we were going to be able to last the week as we had booked the return ferry for a week later). Those thoughts soon changed though.........once we got out of the wreck house area.....the scenery was amazing!! And the people.....wow......just as the woman in the blog said.....so friendly.....really different than where we were from. I have heard many stories where people have gone away for the weekend while letting strangers stay in their house. We were just so blown away......because while it is part of Canada, it is so unique from the rest of the country. (We think it's Canada's best kept secret lol ;D) At the end of the week, we were disappointed we had to leave so soon. We came back every year after that, each time extending our stay. It never seemed long enough and the van was always full of long faces because we had to return home. We liked it so much .....that we decided to move here.....and haven't regretted it. Thanks for posting that.....I enjoyed reading it and found myself nodding in agreement with so many things she had written.  Linda |
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Post by braided-rug on Jul 5, 2008 14:30:19 GMT 10
It is great you got to live in your holiday destination and that the kids enjoyed visiting there so much.
Fig, I wonder what your impressions are of Newfoundland?
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Fig
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1 Peter 5:7
Posts: 57
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Post by Fig on Jul 7, 2008 5:52:20 GMT 10
ha-ha...you mean the story of my life??
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Post by braided-rug on Jul 7, 2008 10:24:11 GMT 10
 I guess what did you think of the article. I thought it was slightly negative reading it back.
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Fig
Share Farmer
1 Peter 5:7
Posts: 57
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Post by Fig on Jul 7, 2008 11:27:25 GMT 10
Braided-rug .... SORRY. I am a Newfoundlander ... born & raised...  Have been away over 25 years... I have to go and read the article in detail. what can I say... |
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Post by braided-rug on Jul 7, 2008 11:33:08 GMT 10
That is OK Fig. I am easily confused and didn't want to ignore your post. That is special that you come from there.
It is amazing about the ships coming. We have a ship like that in Victoria called the Empress of Tasmania, but it comes in in a populated area near violet.
I am also amazed at the San Fransisco styled houses, and the nightlife, that reminds me of Beel Street or something. It must have more people than I thought?
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linda
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~Exuberant Seachanger~
Posts: 425
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Post by linda on Jul 8, 2008 22:08:37 GMT 10
I must admit, I don't like the term "Newfie". I don't like the negative connotations that go along with it.  A lot of what the writer of that article was saying though, seems to be true, from a 'mainlander's point of view'. I'm not sure why that is, but it seems to be. After visiting here we had a totally different view than what we had thought we would find. This province is different than the rest of Canada (and that's a good thing). On our first visit here, we did almost feel like it was a different country. (We think NL is Canada's best kept secret. ) The accent is different than anywhere else in Canada and on our first trip here, we had a lot of difficulty understanding people. But....to Newfoundlanders....we're the ones with the accent ;D ....and we quite often get asked (as soon as we start to speak) where we are from. When we say the name of the town here in NL where we live, they say, "But....where are you really from? We know that's not a Newfoundland accent you have there." The culture is different here too than the rest of Canada (although each region of Canada is unique in some way to the other areas). The lifestyle here is much more laid back and easy going. People are not in as much of a rush. We really like this too and didn't take a lot of getting used to. ;D The scenery here is beautiful. Where we were from, there were a lot of industries....town after town had big factories with huge smoke stacks churning out huge plumes of smoke and pollution. There isn't that here. The sky is blue and there is no smog. I read once that Scarborough (which is a suburb of Toronto) has more people than the whole province of NL. What she said about the hospitality and friendliness of the people is true as well. I saw a tv documentary about 9/11 when the 38 jetliners en route to the US were diverted here to central NL. After a harrowing experience for all of them being grounded here and not knowing why or what was going on.....they were truly amazed by the generosity of the people here. One year when we came for vacation, the people we were renting the house from were going to be away on vacation themselves. They told us just to go on in and make ourselves at home. After we were there for about a week, they came along to collect their rent money. Where we are from....that would have been unheard of...payment would have been required in full before being allowed to use it. Then we would have been met on our arrival day with a list of rules etc. It was just such a breath of fresh air. Sorry to go on and on....just trying to give some examples of how it is different (and why we like it so much). The only 'bad' thing about living here.....this time of year we're usually excited as we're getting ready to come here for a holiday ......but seeing as we're already here....there's nowhere to go. ;D Have to start making plans for another destination....as I've mentioned elsewhere on this board....I'd love to go to Australia. ;D Linda |
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Fig
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1 Peter 5:7
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Post by Fig on Jul 9, 2008 3:36:03 GMT 10
Hi everyone... Great post Linda...I am so glad you like it there. (I miss it sometimes..especially now) Newfoundland: England’s Oldest Colony to Canada’s Newest Province.When one realizes that Newfoundland joined the Confederation of Canada, in 1949. One must also realize that we really are not Canada born. We are different. Come to Newfoundland! It is the cradle of white civilization in North America. We are very rich is history. Its place names boast a dozen different languages, mute testimony of peoples who came and went and left on bay and island and headland records of their faiths and home memories. Visit the fishing villages, the so-called outports of the Province. Listen to the quaint language of the folk, and hear the English speech, as it was pronounced in Devonshire in the time of Shakespeare. Or, linger awhile in the settlements where are located the descendants of Irish immigrants, and hear the rolling accent of Cork or the rich burr of a Kerry tongue. For the historian and the antiquarian there are trails of vanished races and international rivalries; for the artist there are scenic wonders of entrancing beauty; for the lover of outdoor sport there are unrivalled opportunities. Newfoundland is an island of the sea, if ever there was one. Nowhere else does the sea enter so intimately into the life of a people – calling, always calling them – loudly along a thousand miles of surf washed coastline, echoingly up a hundred resounding fiords that search out the very heart of the land, whisperingly through a thousand snug little lisping tickles, - but calling, always calling its sons away to the fishing grounds and sometimes to the seafaring ends of the earth. The climate is temperate, cooled in summer by winds that sing up from the sea, and moderated in winter by these same winds that on the coast rarely permit zero weather. Newfoundland and Labrador contain beautiful wilderness and grand vistas. Many people travel to this province for whale and iceberg sightings. By the way, did you know that "Strangers" are just friends you haven't met yet? We really are known for our ‘friendliness and hospitality’.(We Newfoundlanders are indeed quaint & unique but not strange) BTW: 'fried bologna' is not one of our gourmet dishes… ;D BTW: we do have many places that have beautiful lawns and gardens...All towns are not coastline...many are inland. (We even have a Botanical Garden) We also have the Garden of Dave and Susan Saunders Long Pond, CBS, Newfoundland and Labrador (here is what she says: Our garden now holds a special memory for us as it was the only one in Canada to win the main prize of the Schultz gardening contest for 2001. And we spent a "gardening trip of a lifetime" in London England in May 2002 and the Chelsea Flower show courtesy of Schultz because of it. So yes, you CAN garden in Newfoundland and Labrador.) |
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linda
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~Exuberant Seachanger~
Posts: 425
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Post by linda on Jul 9, 2008 6:05:56 GMT 10
Newfoundland: England’s Oldest Colony to Canada’s Newest Province.When one realizes that Newfoundland joined the Confederation of Canada, in 1949. One must also realize that we really are not Canada born. We are different. Come to Newfoundland! It is the cradle of white civilization in North America. Ahhh....never thought of it from that angle, Fig....but that *does* make perfect sense. Thanks for your post and explanations. Many things that we have found to be 'different' than what we're used of always have a logical explanation....after we learn of it. It all depends on what angle one is looking at it. One difference we found was the attitude toward the ocean. We have 1.75 acres that backs onto the ocean and yet the house faces the road. In the back of our house are the bedrooms and they have fairly small windows. We feel like we came all this way, are at the ocean and yet can't really see it from our house. In Ontario (when I say Ontario, I mean the area where we were from), any waterfront homes would be a wall of windows facing the water....or at the very least a room or a deck on the water side. A friend of mine from here explained it to me this way. She said as most people here used to be working on the sea all day.....the last thing they wanted was to see it all the time when they weren't working. They did need to be able to keep an eye on it though....to see approaching storms or evaluate it for current working conditions. They also wanted to minimize the loss of heat etc. from the ocean winds. For these two reasons, most houses have small windows in the back of the house. Now it all makes perfect sense to me. (Kind of like me....I grew up on a farm and whenever non farm people would could over, they always wanted to go to the barn. I couldn't understand what the draw was for them.....it was stinky and dirty ) People kind of look at us when we get so excited about the ocean....the icebergs etc. The attitude almost seems to be....oh that's too bad that you have to live on the ocean. The fellow who owned this property before was worried nobody would buy it. The real estate agent told her friend the insurance agent that she had just listed this house. She said it wouldn't last long....nobody from NL would buy it but somebody from the mainland would snap it up. It was on the market before we put an offer in. But..... our attitude is WOW --- we're on the ocean --- the Atlantic Ocean! In Ontario, almost all lakes (if not all) have houses side by side---really packed in there. These house prices are through the roof and if there is one that has some land and/or privacy with it ---- well the price would be unobtainable by most. We have a lot of privacy here....with no real neigbours beside us. I guess it's all how one views things. I am really enjoying learning about this province, it's heritage, the culture etc. It's all so fascinating. Linda |
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Post by braided-rug on Jul 9, 2008 10:23:04 GMT 10
violet if you are reading this, does Australia have a sausage anything like bologna? I have always wondered.
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I guess what did you think of the article. I thought it was slightly negative reading it back. 
