Looking out from the Ocean Sciences Centre of Memorial University,

St. John's, Newfoundland

© Christine Mastroianni, all rights reserved

It's peculiar the things that induce homesickness sometimes. Take this dreary looking landscape, representative of an uncomfortably damp afternoon, of heavy air saturated with the kind of chill that seeps far into your pores and refuses to leave. The ocean is temultuous and the sky ominous; it's unclear whether the rainclouds are going to pass over or if they are about to smother what little brightness remains. It is destitute of any signs of life, not even a determined seagull. This is certainly not the Newfoundland that one sees celebrated in tourism advertising!

But for me, and perhaps for anyone else who can smell the briny air and feel the fluttering of the mist on their skin just from looking at such an image, this is the Newfoundland they know. It's not always like this, as you have seen from my other images from the area, but it's part of it. This is her relentless, gritty face, one that only someone from downhome could love. I like to think that this is one of the reasons Newfoundlanders are so resilient! And how we can so confidently believe that no matter how melancholy today appears, it won't persist.