Well it has been about a week since I arrived in the Netherlands, and the trip has gotten better over time. I mentioned earlier that my flight and bags were delayed when I originally arrived, though I did not mention that my Rebel XT was stolen from my bag in transit. That really put a damper on my mood at the beginning of the trip, but as time goes by, I am dealing with it better, and working towards getting compensated. It’s a long process (at least from here, it might be easier when I get home) that has been frustrating, but on a lighter note, I am now in possession of a police report which I cannot read as it is completely in Dutch. I may have more to say on all this later, for now I am just dealing with it through the proper channels.

My time in the Netherlands was mostly spent in a remote town called Burum, where the companies Land Earth Station is located. It seems to be a nice area, comparable to the rural areas back home, if you ignore that fact that everything is completely flat.

I flew into Oslo on Wednesday after almost missing my flight (I need to read my itinerary closer in the future). I enjoy Oslo, as I am basically in charge of my own schedule here, not relying on others for rides. Most of what I have done here has been focused on work, though I have had a few distractions. My co-workers and I went out for some bowling the other night, before heading out for supper. It was the first time I have ever played 10-pin bowling, and I scored a respectable (though actual bowlers my disagree) 103 and 80.

Last night I had a chance to spend so time with my friend Jason from back home who works here for TrollTech. We had a couple beers and then met up some of his co-worker for supper. After supper we headed over to one of there houses to watch movies, since The Departed was sold out in the theaters. We watched Army of Darkness which was okay (maybe it fell victim to hype in my mind) and Red Dwarf, which I had forgotten how much I liked to watch (it used to come on PBS late night).

I only have 5 more sleeps until I get home to Lori. That time is going to be quite busy, as I have a lot to learn at work, and will probably be using my nights to complete some work on other project I have going on a Stratos. If something interesting does happen though, you’ll find it here.

It’s Monday morning and I am in Amsterdam, waiting for my co-worker to call.  At one point, I was doubting actually being here by now.

The delays in Halifax kept piling, 45min before we got on the plane, then when we got on, it took forever to load the luggage.  The captain kept giving us “we will be pushing back in 5min” warnings, but after a couple of those 10min spaced, he admitted maybe he should just say, “we will push back when possible.”

When we finally did push back, the tractor involved broke.  By the time it was fixed, we were 1h30m late.  I did however get to sleep on the plane, as I had 3 seats together to stretch out on.  When I finally got to Heathrow, they did not have a gate for us to deplane from so we had another 15min of waiting.  I was getting worried.
However when I did get off the plane, I found out that I was re-booked to the next flight to Amsterdam, and I would just have to wait a little longer at the airport.  I finally got to Amsterdam, about 2 hours later than planed, Sunday, although one of my bags was left at Heathrow.

On a different note, when I was in Heathrow, at 11:00am, they called for two minutes silence to honour the war dead.  If you have ever been on Heathrow airport, you would know it is a good example of organized chaos.  Therefore, it is quite an amazing and humbling experience to stand there for two minutes, as the ternminal goes quite.

I am currently waiting for my delayed Air Canada flight in Halifax. A few months ago, this would not have been a problem, since I would have been waiting for the flight in St. John’s, which I could do with Lori. However, in all Air Canada’s infinite wisdom, they now make you fly west to Halifax before you can flight east to London. This is annoying.

BTW… I am traveling to the Netherlands for a couple days, followed by a week and a half in Oslo. So stay tuned for updates.

Lately I have been confused by the reactions of fellow Newfies (yes I use the N-word) to articles in the news. First of all, I was not really surprised when Premier Danny Williams got overwhelming support for standing up to Stephen Harper on commitments related to the Atlantic Accord. Why wouldn’t he? Last time he took on the (former) PM on this issue, he won, and we expect the same thing this time.

However, at the same time this story plays out, the Premier (and his Government) is being flogged from all sides for a new branding campaign for the Province. The first complaint was one you expect whenever any government makes a decision, the cost. The Opposition and other groups felt the million dollars could have gone elsewhere, like propping up outport communities on hard times. Though I feel some of these complaints are short sited, I not going to argue them here because it was the second reaction that took me by surprise and lead to my confusion.

You see, the new brand is a stylized version of the words “Newfoundland” and “Labrador” along with a Pitcher Plant, our Provincial flower. In explaining the symbol and how it relates to the people of this province, the literature sent to residents includes text such as, “Because we can’t help but smile at something that lives on a rock, where nothing else grows.” (Cue the criticism…)

When the one of the local newscasts ask for comments on the topic, amongst other things, people complain about the reference. Most of which boiled down to, “why would you want to portray the Province in such a way.” And it’s not only call to the broadcast that have projected this distaste; I have heard it form others both in conversation on the topic, and in passing references.

This is where I start to get confused. Since I can remember I have always here stories about how Newfoundlanders are a strong, hearty people. We had to be! Our ancestors inhabited a fierce and unforgiving land to take on one of the worlds most dangerous professions (especially in those times), fishing. We built communities on the sides of cliffs, just to take advantage of sheltered harbour below. Quite literally growing a community where nothing else would grow.

Not only did we live this way, we were once proud of it. We passed stories and sang songs about the hardship and how our people overcame it all. Lately though, we seem to have lost this sense of pride. We haven’t stopped singing the songs or telling the stories, but it would seem we stopped listening to them. Then we started to hear what a few loud voices in the rest of Canada had to say, and we were ashamed.

Yes, it would seem that Newfoundlanders have the pride and conviction to stand up with our Premier for what we believe is right for our future. What we need to get back now is the pride in our past. With this complete identity, we can more forward, and knowing what our people have gone though thus far, we won’t be afraid of anything the future might hold.

Okay, so I broke down and changed to WordPress. Blogger didn’t have all the features I wanted (like categories), but I didn’t want to move until I finished my own WP Template. That however has not happened, and I am not sure when I will have the time or want to finish one, so I decided to just go for it. Now I just have to blog more.