After spending my first year on PEI, I’ve certainly became accustomed to Canadian ways, and even managed to pick up some of the dialect, embarassingly enough. I’ll apologize in advance to anyone I run into and happen to say “Eh?” or “Soooooo.” I do really love Charlottetown and PEI in general. Driving home to Maine off the island was bittersweet, since PEI is my new home. The snow was for the most part gone, grass was trying to grow, and flowers were starting to bloom. After months of seeing the island covered in feet of that white annoying stuff (aka snow), it was a relief to see some life coming back to the soil. However, I won’t complain about leaving Canada to go back to Maine, where it’s 20 degrees warmer. You wouldn’t think there’d be a huge temperature difference between the two since Maine is so northern, but you’d be surprised. I also wasn’t sad about being off the island when the next day I heard it was snowing there, and meanwhile I was at home outside in a T-shirt.
At some point, I do hope to see the island in the summer. By the time I arrived there last fall, the island was beautiful but it was no longer shorts weather. It’s hard to enjoy the beaches with the brisk winds blowing. I love the island a lot. I love the close knit community, I love the farms and beaches side by side, and I especially love the food culture (so many great restaurants!), BUT I will definitely not miss the weather on the island when I graduate. Forty degrees below was an average day this winter. I averaged about three to four layers at any given time. When I packed to go home, I packed flip flops and shorts that I never wore, even in August. Like I’ve said before, one thing to maybe consider when choosing a vet school is the location. Warm climate lovers beware!
