Today is the hump day of the last week of the Quidi Vidi
field school and this is my final blog entry. As such, I feel that it is only
appropriate for me to reflect upon my time in the village. In the last three
weeks I have been blessed with the opportunity to meet countless wonderful
people. The fact that so many residents of this village have openly told us
their stories and welcomed us (complete strangers!) into their homes, sheds,
stages and boats, is amazing and heart warming.
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| Peg Smith and her dog comet |
When I arrived in Quidi Vidi on the first day of classes I
felt a bit like a black sheep. I was the only non-folklorist, in a group of
folklore students, at a folklore field school. Nevertheless, I quickly felt
welcomed by instructors, fellow students, and those within the community. While
all of the people that I have met have been truly special, I would like to talk
about some of my most memorable experiences.
In my first blog entry I wrote about meeting Randy, and how
I couldn’t wait to hear more about his stories. Since then, I have had many
conversations with Randy and his stories are better than I ever expected. His
tale of breaking the 9:13 was gripping, and an anecdote about his father on the
Irene B. Mellon was hilarious.
During the first week of the field school China came in to
visit our class and share memories of his days fishing on the great Atlantic.
The early fishery is one of my special research interests and I have read a
fair bit about the subject. Hearing China talk about his personal experiences
with the fishing industry truly made the topic come alive for me.
Mid way through our second week I met Peg on the road beside
her home. From our first conversation I knew that she was a world traveler, and
I was very lucky to experience her world class hospitably when she welcomed us
into her home.
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| Ed Chappell explaining the ins and outs of architectural drawing. |
I signed up for this field school because I was confident
that I would learn skills that would help me in many ways throughout my
academic career. I never imagined, however, that I would learn quite as much as
I did. The expertise of John, Guha, Ed, Jerry, Lisa, and Dale has been
absolutely inspiring.
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| John and Clara, my architectural drawing buddies. |
Last but not least, I could not have experienced half of
what I did without my wonderful classmates. They have helped me along the whole
way.
To all those who I have met in the last three weeks, thank
you from the bottom of my heart.
Much love,
Adrian
