CBC Bag: Bringing Canadians Together

Approx. 2191 Km in the trip
Location: Trapper John’s, St. John’s, NFLD

“Where’d you get your bag?” asked Amy as she came up to us.

We were in Trapper John’s, the bar on George St where we had just been screeched in not twenty minutes before.

“Umm, my roommate got it for me. But I think you can get it at any CBC location. Why?” I answered.

“Oh, I work for the CBC and wondered if you did, too.”

After mentioning that, no, I didn’t work for the CBC and hearing about how awesome her own experiences as a reporter were, her journalistic instincts kicked in and she began interviewing us about our trip across the country. However, conversation didn’t stay on the topic long.

“I say I am from Newfoundland I mean Newfoundland, not Canada. I am a Newfoundlander before I am a Canadian,” said Amy.

This is something that really piqued my interest. Not only because it is a very interesting comment to make, but concepts of identity and culture have always fascinated me. It was also pretty coincidental because Nicole, Kristin and I were just talking about how certain provinces (eg. Quebec and Newfoundland) have a lot of pride while others, such as Ontario, don’t appear to have much provincial pride at all.

For about half an hour, Amy, Nicole and I sat around and talked about our different ideas as to why some people have more pride. It was all a very interesting conversation to have had in a bar, with a stranger, in Newfoundland. But these are the kinds of experiences that I was hoping to encounter during this trip – Canada is such a big country that different communities experience it in radically different ways. Can’t wait to hear what others will tell us!

-- Julie