They Warned Me I’d Find Love

On By KathleenIn Dating, Love

A few days before I left for my 2-week-plus roadtrip to and through Newfoundland, Canada, I stopped in on a psychic. It was one of those post-lunch-with-a-friend-margarita-splurges, so I have something of an excuse for dropping $25 on a tarot reading. I won’t go into the details of her assessment of my future — that’s a story for another blog — but I will say that she rightly tagged me a globe-trotter and proceeded to predict that my soulmate would come to me within the next 6 weeks.

An optimist.

Newfoundlanders have a definite rugged masculinity that has a certain sex appeal

Considering that nearly 3 of my next 6 weeks were to be spent in the rough n’ tumble, fishery-driven, foot-stomping Canadian province of Newfoundland, odds were  50-50 that my “soulmate” would be a Newfie — that is, if you invest any credibility in psychics.

I didn’t necessarily mind that possibility.

Have you ever been somewhere and been hit by an overwhelming feeling that love was waiting for you there? I don’t mean a holiday fling when you’re on vacation. I mean a sense that the real, meaty, lasting stuff is right around that next corner in that city. I was hit with that feeling once — when I was in Vancouver.

Truth is, New York (or perhaps just New Yorkers) has always felt like a romantic deadend for me, (this is not a jaded singleton speaking, it’s intuition). Yet, there’s something in the Canadian air that always makes me feel like  love is possible.  And I’ll confess, I’ve always had a thing for Canadians. Maybe it’s because the men I’ve met there know what I’m talking about when I say I daydream about a Necky Chatham. Maybe it’s because they don’t look like they’re trying too hard when they wear plaid. Maybe it’s the wholesome accent. Or maybe it’s because I’m in the process of applying for Canadian citizenship and I realize marrying one would save me a lot of paperwork.

Newfoundlanders are friendly...go to Living Planet for your own T-Shirt with this Lichtenstein-esque image.

Our psychic might have been on to something?

Newfoundlanders are notoriously hospitable, and everywhere I went in the province I made friends, starting with a retired fisherman/musician I met on the ferry from Nova Scotia. Before we disembarked he looked me in the eye and warned me:

“You’re going to meet someone here. Newfoundlanders love girls like you.”

I laughed, thanked him, and not entirely sure what he meant by “girls like you,” went on my way. I didn’t give him and his warning another thought until a few days later in St. John’s when a local, keen to give me restaurant and concert advice, suddenly stopped our lively chat to say: “You should be prepared. It’s happened before, you know. People come here and fall in love. You’re going to meet someone. Go with it. Newfoundlanders make great mates. They’re very loyal.” He then took his dog and walked away.

It seemed that with every day on the Rock, came another prediction that Newfoundland would present me with new found love. If you’ve seen or read “The Shipping News,” then you have some sense of the real mysticism that hovers over the island. The setting is romantic, the people magical, the tone otherworldly, so with all the forewarning that I would be swept off my feet by a local, I started to think… why not?

It turns out, at the end of the day, they were right. I did meet someone, fall in love with him, and discuss the possibility of taking him home with me…he just wasn’t exactly the Newfoundland stud they might have had in mind…

Newf and I had something special.

55 thoughts on “They Warned Me I’d Find Love”

  7. Great post, well-written, with just the right balance of sincerity and humor (or, as you may be soon saying, humour).

    Maybe you should broaden your scope a bit. Canada’s a big country. (By the way, we moved here twelve years ago from New York, and I’d never heard of a Necky Chatham until just now.) Good luck no matter what you decide. Keep writing.

    Reply
  11. rivkachka

    So cute! What a fun post, and a gorgeous picture! The twist at the end was very clever, and brought a smile to my face.

    We were just in Canada for a family trip, and I have to admit, just being there made me smile. There’s something in the air. I hope you find your (other) Canadian stud. 🙂

    p.s. Love the name of your blog.

    Reply
  21. Ahna Rebekah Hendrix

    Fun post!

    I certainly have enjoyed every single Canadian that I have met, and while I haven’t traveled there yet ~ I will soon:)

    Good luck with your new buddy……there is nothing like the love of a dog:)

    Reply

  31. adorable photo, awesome post. Nice to hear that us Canadians still have that “nice guy/girl” image ! hehe. I am from Vancouver (born and raised), still live here. My boyfriend is from Edmonton though. There is something to be said for a prairie boy – so sweet and funny! I like them much better than the high-maintenance, vain, self-absorbed vancouver boys with their glittery t-shirts. haha thank goodness it’s a big melting pot of a city!
    hope you make it up here. Canada would love to have you 🙂

    Reply
    1. Kathleen

      haha thanks!
      My parents lived in Vancouver in the 60s, back before the city became the place to live and all the high-rises went in, and my mum is a UBC alum (but a Toronto native). So I feel very much at home when I visit your hometown… you might find me there before too long!
      Prairie boys are special, glad you’ve got one!
      cheers

      Reply
  34. kvgb

    Newfies are the most apartmentfriendly/familyfriendly dogs and if its there, its there! Congrats! 🙂 great read, really loved it.

    Reply

  39. I LOVE your story. You have a great attitude, and I’ve never said that to anyone, but I can’t put it any other way. Newf is a handsome beau, and he’s sure to bring you more delightful things, and I’m not talking squirrels or old shoes.

    Awesome post.

    Reply

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  47. Zoë Blue

    Dated a Newfie for over two years. Traveled to Newfoundland. Loved the traveling, although I could never imagine living there (there was only SO much I could listen to Irish and Scottish music). Wasn’t a fan of the Newfie either (alcoholic, like many of them) and ended it as a much less naive 20-something.

    On the bright side, everything they say about Newfies and sex (that they have the best of it in Canada) was … well … I wasn’t complaining. 😉

    Reply

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