You know you're in Newfoundland when...

As I've not been anywhere in North America other than St John's, I don't know whether all of these things are Newfoundland specific or not, but here's a run through of some of the cultural differences I have encountered thus far.

• Instead of football pitches in the local park, they have baseball triangles. Granted I have also found football posts in other parks, but I liked the contrast when I first saw it. And I aim to correct everyone over here that calls it "soccer".

  

  Baseball pitch complete with stands in Bannerman Park.
  

• On the topic of sports, I have also come across the curling club and the local ice-hockey team, the St John's Icecaps. Do you think maybe it gets cold here in the winter?...

• The politeness and courtesy of the people here is astounding. I've not had a conversation with anyone, whether it be somebody staying in the hostel or someone serving me in a shop, who hasn't greeted me with "Hi-how-are-ya?" (Note; all as one word, maybe that's where you got it from Rach!) or bid me farewell with "Have a nice day." There are some genuinely nice folk over here.

• Speaking of the folk over here, man do they talk oddly. An eclectic mix of Canadian, Irish and general speed can sometimes make it hard to keep up. Then I start talking. I've had to adapt to Queen's English in order to correctly purchase a cup of coffee.

• The Irish heritage, along with colonial English influence can be seen all around town. My new house is on Dover Street. The Uni is bound by Elizabeth Avenue and Prince Philip Drive. There's McFarlane Street and McBride's Hill. And there's all the bilingual English-French information boards. And they like their history over here and as well they should. It's an excellent story.

The Colonial Building, the house of the Newfoundland Government when they were an independant colony from 1850 to 1959.

Government House, the official residence of the Lieutenant-Governor of Newfoundland and Labrador and the Canadian Royal Family (when the Queen pops through Newfoundland...)

• I'm still adjusting to the fact that cars drive on the incorrect side of the road but I haven't been run over yet. I am a huge fan of the pedestrian crossings however which have timers telling you how long you've got until the lights change. And that pedestrians have right-of-way. Cars themselves look a bit weird though as licence plates are typically on the back, making vehicles look a bit "smiley."

• Food is everywhere here! I will have to spend a lot of time in the gym this year. Whether it be "Extreme Pita" or "Mr Sub" or "Tim Horton's" you are unlikely to go hungry or thirsty so long and you have a couple "loonies" to spend. A slightly healthier addiction that I seem to have developed is for "Booster Juice" the smoothie and juice joint which can fill you up for the day on fruit.

• Pubs are also in the majority in Downtown. George St is reported to have the highest density of pubs in the world, but more on that in later posts.In my few days of being here I have naturally sampled a few of the drinking establishments with two front runners so far


• The Duke of Duckworth. The first pub I went into when I got here. I started with a staple pint of Stella to get myself orientated before trying the local produce. The meal of fish and chips was excellent and you could tell the fish was fresh and locally caught. Then for a local Quidi Vidi Iceberg ale, surprisingly brewed from 25,000 year old iceberg waters. 10/10 for coolness.

The Duke of Duckworth pub, as featured in Republic of Doyle which is set and filmed in St John's.

• Green Sleeves. After proclaiming The Duke to be my new Whey Pat it was pointed out that I must approve the nachos in order to be a true substitute. The next establishment I encountered enticed me in with Irish music and lack of cover charge. I tried the nachos here and I have to say, I hope The Duke has something rolled up his sleeve because they were gooooood. The night went on and the band wanted some crowd banter and after it became known I was English, I got a round of applause from the bar and a personal welcome to Newfoundland.

Nachos from Greensleeves complete with multi-coloured tortilla chips, cheese, peppers and jalapenos. Bit of a cheat putting the salsa and sour cream on the side though...

That serves as a brief account of my findings over the last few days. There's a lot more heritage, culture, food and beer for me to discover in St John's and I can't wait for the journey to continue. I'm on my way to becoming an honarary "Newfie."