Burin Peninsula - First Road Trip in Newfoundland

In mid-October I began a research project in collaboration with the communities of the Burin Peninsula in Newfoundland to explore opportunities for working together regionally. Over the past weeks I have been exploring the region through reports and conference calls. Last week I had the opportunity to travel to the Burin Peninsula to meet with community leaders, business, and government representatives. After reading giant piles of academic literature and government reports for the past two months the opportunity to travel to the region was a welcomed change of environment.

The Burin Peninsula is located 4 hours way from St. John's by car. The region is home to approximately 10,000 people living in mostly coastal communities. Here are a few photographs from the region.

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Two Months on the Rock

It is hard to believe I have been a resident of Newfoundland for over two months. It seems like just yesterday I began the 5,114 kilometre drive to the east coast. The last two months in a nutshell can be described in three words: rain, rain, rain. In all my life I have never seen so much rain in a short period of time. Almost every day over the past two months have consisted of rain and/or fog (usually both).

Other than the rain, life on the east coast has been good. Settling into the community was fairly easy and my program at Memorial University is really good. A couple of weeks ago in the rain I was getting a bit arrogant with my ability to navigate around the city. Shortly thereafter I discovered I was at the harbour when the intended destination was my apartment - only 10 miles apart! Needless to say I have been consulting the map a little more often.

Although I have only been in St. John's for two months I have learned a few lessons:

• My vocabulary is inadequate for describing rain. Newfoundlanders have terms to describe the rain I have never heard of before.
• Newfoundland English is distinct, such as yaffle or yaffling.
• The price of bananas is outrageous - currently $1.30 per pound.
• The wind is a constant factor daily. My methods of describing the strength of the wind do not match local residents. Need to revise how I describe the wind.

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Hello St. John's

After 5,000 kilometres of driving and a 14 hour ferry ride I arrived in St. John's! It is hard to believe that a full week has passed since I started the adventure. I would like to indicate I accomplished great things over the past week, however, that would be a lie. I accomplished nothing other than driving, singing to the radio, and sometimes talking to myself. I will also admit to a few wrong turns, or scenic drives.

Although I would like nothing more than to kick back and relax for a few days I need to quickly get organized and prepare for meetings and classes. I have meetings scheduled throughout much of Wednesday and the university classes start 8:30 AM (6 AM in Manitoba time) on Thursday morning. In between the meetings and classes I also have a small matter of finding a place to live! I have a few leads that I am hoping will translate into a roof over my head. Hopefully by the end of weekend I have resolved the immediate unknowns. I am hoping by the end of the month I will be fully settled in the city (this may be optimistic).

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One Day of Driving Remaining

After arriving in Moncton, New Brunswick I realized only one day of driving remaining. The last let of my journey will be driving to North Sydney, Nova Scotia to board the ferry to Newfoundland. After a 14 hour ferry ride I will arrive in Argentia, Newfoundland on Tuesday afternoon.

It is hard to believe I departed Manitoba a week ago. Over 3,500 kilometres have been driven over the past seven days.

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