Let me tell you what I didn't get, or thought unusual: - Berries? Who picks berries? I mean, we had ;blackberries on the back fence when I was a kid, but that was a bit unusual.
- What's NTV?
- Buddy Wasisname and Toni Marie Wiseman ?? Is the "Wasisname" part a joke? Who are they?
- What's St. John's?
- " The shed or the barn are acceptable places for grown men and sometimes women to drink and socialize." Well, that sounds like parts of Texas. I had friends once who had converted their barn into a party barn, complete with dance floor, stage and bar.
Let's see if I can clarify some of this stuff:
- Berry picking: What, you people don't pick berries?? I love berry picking!! You get some containers to put the berries in, then head out to your favourite berry-picking place, like my grandfather's farm. We pick strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, partridgeberries, but there aren't any blackberries up here. Berry picking is huge here, everyone does it in the summer, I love it!!
- NTV: That's the local TV network around here, it shows the local news and other local programming, plus all of the usual soap operas and sitcoms and all of that. NTV is short for "Newfoundland Television".
- Buddy Wasisname and Toni-Marie Wiseman: Two Newfoundland celebrities. Toni-Marie Wiseman is a newsanchor/weathergirl for NTV. "Buddy Wasisname" is a Newfoundland singer/comedian, he heads up "Buddy Wasisname and the Other Fellers", a popular musical group here. And yes, that name is part of the joke - his real name is more boring (Kevin Blackmore).
- St. John's: That's the provincial capital and the biggest city in Newfoundland - the city has a population of around 100 000 people. For Newfoundland, that's a big city - our whole provincial population is under half a million people. St. John's is pretty much where everything "cool" is around here. When I was little, going to St. John's for the day was a huge thing for me, and even now, when I'm at home, I look forward to going to St. John's, it's still a treat. Newfoundland is very rural, St. John's is as close as we get to a "big city".
- Sheds/Barns: In a lot of rural areas, that's where people hang out. You get a shed, maybe a woodstove, string up a few lights, put up a dartboard, get an old stereo and a few cases of beer, and you got yourself a party. There's not much to do around here, it's really quiet and rural here, that's how people entertain themselves.
Hehehe, yeah, the rest is kinda quaint, isn't it?? It doesn't seem like that to me, because I've lived here all my life, but from someone else's perspective, I could definitely see that. Everything is old-fashioned here, it's small, it's quiet, it's clean, it's traditional, and yes, we think that everyone else in the world has a funny accent, not us.
Of course, any Newfie who'd read this would understand all of it and think it's hilarious, just because it's all so true.
How does real Newfoundland life compare to "The Shipping News"?? It's been ages since I saw that movie, but there are some similarities, that's for sure. And Gordon Pinsent, the actor playing Billy Pretty in that movie, is actually a Newfoundlander, so he had the accent down pat. I'll have to post a few pictures here sometime, just so you guys can see a little bit of what it looks like here, I think it's really pretty, maybe you will, too.
Keep in mind, though, that the only out-houses here now are in the woods next to someone's cabin, we do have running water here, thanks, and no, we don't eat "seal flipper pie", but some people are quite fond of seal flippers.
And might I add, I think that Newfoundland is the best place in the world to live. We all love it here. A Newfoundland politician once said:
"You'll always recognize Newfoundlanders in Heaven - they're the only ones that want to go home."
I couldn't agree more.
-Becka :) (again, of the "proud Newfoundlander" class)
