Well I've settled in for my second round in Goose Bay, Labrador. I've adjusted a little easier this time. I'm not working near as much, I have some roommates, and am getting out and socializing a little more. I averaged 68 hour work weeks on my first contract and now I'm working a measly 37.5 hours per week. I wish I was working a little more actually but it's a nice change. FYI to anyone travelling in the Maritimes, there is both a St. John's, Newfoundland and a St. John, New Brunswick. The guy next to me on the plane thought he was landing in New Brunswick. Oopsy. I've had two roommates, but we worked pretty opposite shifts so didn't see a ton of them, but still managed to find some time for drinking wine together until the early hours of the morning. Nurses are pretty universally fun people. We get along well with others because in our jobs we have to and it comes in handy in our personal lives. I'm proud to say the "work hard party hard" is a coast to coast phenomenon.
I think I'll focus on the liquid local delicacies this time around after seeing how they sell the salt beef from my previous post. How can raw beef soaked in salty bloody room temperature brine sitting on a pallet be Foodsafe? Blarg. I don't know, but I'm alive and well, don't want to think about it and don't want to push my luck. My parasite (?!) may tell me otherwise in 4-6 months. I think I'll stick with beer from here on out. Beer made from icebergs no less!
It's a beautiful Indian summer here. It was 25 degrees and sunny today. The leaves are a beautiful golden yellow, reminiscent of my time in New England this time last year. It's striking and hard to appreciate in a photo but makes for lovely walks around town. The sky here, I guess because it is so flat, reminds me of Alberta. Big swirling clouds, beautiful sunsets. It's a place of contrast in many ways, not just with colour but culturally.
There is huge Aboriginal population here, Innu and Inuit. They don't all live here, but if they get sick they come down from the north coast to the hospital. The 25 bed hospital has a substantial long term care component because there are few elderly care homes in town and the patients end up staying in the acute hospital for months. I can't share the stories because it would breech confidentiality but some of them are horrific. Incest, murder, rape, abuse, alcoholism, suicide, apprehension of babies etc. It's what I'm struggling with the most here. I knew I would see it, but once you put a face to a story it changes you. I know I can help people here, for now, but it feels like such a drop in the bucket of a much greater problem.
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MORE AWESOME LABRADOR VERNACULAR:
- Brazen: bold, ballsy (I know what this word means but don't think I've ever used it in a sentence and it's incorporated into everyday language here)
- It's a sin: wow, that's too bad/unfortunate (again, daily expression in these parts)
- where's he/she too?: where is he/she?
- I'm so contrary: meaning grumpy, cranky. I had a 5 minute lesson on how to say this properly. It's said fast with emphasis on conTRAry, like you are a southern belle
- Dinner: they mean lunch. Daily meals = breakfast, dinner, supper. Umm. Ok
- Now the once: I'll get around to it when I'm good and ready dammit
- Whilst: again, we all know what this means, but usually only South Africans say it no?
- Barney Stickles: a small generic lake fish (this might be my favorite expression)
- Vams: a woolly sock
