It seems like every time I get on a roll with my posts, life gets crazy busy again and I lapse into silence again. It's been 6 months since we arrived here in St. John's, and plenty of things have happened. Not surprisingly, most of my activity has centered around my return to university and the associated fun. The in-class portion was actually a breeze. Compared to my first degree, the hours and workload were drastically lower. I was pleasantly surprised by the Education program -- I had been afraid it would be stuffy and uninspired, something to be endured rather than enjoyed. But it turned out to be quite contemporary and conspiratorial.

Probably the best aspect of being back in Newfoundland (at least the one we can take advantage of every day) has been the easy access to nature. In southern Ontario, every piece of land is owned. Unless you go to a park or walking trail, your options for wandering are very limited. Newfoundland, on the other hand, had a very low population density and consists mostly of crown land.  It's so easy to get out, hike along the cliffs next to the ocean, and not feel as if you're boxed in by civilization. Perhaps not everyone's idea of a good time, but it certainly suits us. The dog enjoys it too. She turns out to be quite intrepid, able to hike along with us for hours at a time. Since she needs so much exercise, we bought her a backpack which we fill with cans to weight her down. She doesn't mind wearing it at all, and it helps wear her out on the days we can only have her out for an hour's walk.

Another big perk of being back in Newfoundland is that it puts us closer to my family. It's been tough living so far away and only being able to fly out to visit once a year. We were able to drive across to see them during the Christmas break. It was a very relaxing sort of visit, with few ambitions. We just sort of hung out, hiked when we felt like it and the weather cooperated, ate good food, laughed...

Anyhow, I have to post this and be done with it. If I keep trying to get up to date and put in pictures and things, I'll never finish. This actually only takes the action up to the beginning of January Oh well. My internship, which has been taking up all my energy and attention, ends in a couple of weeks, so hopefully I'll be back then to do this properly.

Hope all is well with everyone.

Take care
-J-