Newfoundland Grouches

Newfoundland Grouches

August 2, 2002

Is it true that folks from Newfoundland are really more friendly that other Canadians, or do they only appear more friendly because we expect them to be more friendly and are consequently more outgoing ourselves?  Friendliness can be somewhat contageous so if we are friendly, maybe others are responding to our friendly signals.  Smiles beget smiles, hand-waves trigger a wave-back and a “Hi” gets a “Hello” in response. We notice that some days the folks in one community seem more congenial than those of a neighboring community.  But there is no way to tell if these perceived differences are real or only a function of our small sample size – or our own behavior.  If we find one old grouch in a community, how much does he/she influence our impression of the local population?  Because we may chat with only one or two individuals in a community, our sample is obviously biased and un-objective.

However, even though our impressions are biased, evidence still accumulates suggesting that Newfies rank very high on the friendly to unfriendly continuum.  Kids here are often outgoing and friendly even to elderly strangers.  In the USA, children are told not to trust strangers because of the dangers of child molestation.  Even teenage boys and girls are friendly.  For example, we stopped at a roadside pulloff to view a blue bay and the little village below.  A boy from across the highway and up in a woody area hailed me.  “Where are your from” he asked.  

“Texas” I replied.

Emboldened by my reply, he and his friend emerged from the woods and crossed the road to visit with me.  One was carrying a axe over his shoulder.  The sight of the axe made me a little nervous at first, but somehow the young man did not appear threatening.  He explained that he and his friend are on summer vacation and were looking for the proper woody sight where they planned to build a log cabin.  We chatted briefly before they waved goodby and wandered down the highway.

Somehow, this simple act struck me a fairly unusual.  I think that most teenage boys in the USA would not be caught dead being friendly to a strange adult along a highway. 

 

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