I still haven't found a job despite a few highs and lows of looking and I'm not even sure what I want to do now.
Jay has changed jobs yet again and seems happy but I've been through this before with him and it remains to be seen if he stays happy.
Not sure if I've learned anything new about the island or how to live here. I think I've learned that those they embrace they embrace with their whole hearts. I saw kindness and support unimagined when Heather's mother-in-law was dying of cancer. The benefit concert was amazing to behold; the number of people who showed up and the amount of money that was raised was inspiring. So many here don't have a lot to give but they do all they can for the people in their community. Something that we experienced in Ontario where we lived but that isn't as evident in the cities.
Then there are the people who rallied around Cheryl and Rita when Rita was hospitalized. The offers of help and support they received were I think more than they expected to get.
That being said though, this same community seems to be displaying a hard time adjusting to the idea of someone who can't drink. To say that drinking is a pastime here is almost an understatement. In a province where the majority of workers are seasonal, drinking seems to be elevated to a fine art. Not a weekend goes by that you don't hear of some drinking and driving incident. Whereas in Ontario it's become almost a stigma to be the drinker in the bunch, here the odd man out seems to be the non drinker. Not everywhere of course but the general sense seems to be that abstaining seems strange.
Time and again I go places, speak with people and they all say the same things. If you aren't from here don't advertise it. It's almost possible to predict with 100% accuracy whether the person you're talking to is from the island or not just by how the conversation goes. If they're from here, they tell you about themselves; if they're from away, they ask you about yourself. Not that I mind; for the most part I'd rather hear about them then tell them my life story.
However, I did mind very much when the matter of how long I was planning on staying on the island came up in a job interview. It was a jarring incident; a question that would never be asked back home.
This is a place of strong opinions, strong bonds, deep seated beliefs and values and a well earned suspicion of anyone who wants to come here and linger. All good qualities and also all qualities which can often times get in their own way. This is a place that is extremely wary of change and that questions everything and every decision made on any subject loudly and frequently. That wariness seems so at odds with the trust they show at road side vegetable (and other commodities) stands around the island where you just leave money for what you take.
As an aside though, I do have to wonder about the propensity to use shooting as an answer to all wildlife problems in the province. It's a bit disturbing; like there just isn't enough opportunities in such a quiet place to fire a gun so let's just make one up! :)
I enjoy the personal feel to so many of the places you can go here. City Cinema downtown is a gem that couldn't exist where I come from. The stores that you go into on a regular basis where you begin after a week or so to recognise the staff; the bakery where you can get the most awesome bagels. Maid Marion's that reminds me of an old fashioned diner in every way possible. The lovely lilt of the accents; a combination of sounds that remind me of New Englanders, combined with the British Isles and strangely the Ottawa Valley twang I loved when I lived in Renfrew. The smiles you can exchange with anyone anywhere you go here.
