PEI in a potato skin

PEI in a nutshell
OK, so it’s been a while since I was there, but I had to take some time to absorb PEI, here are my thoughts and reflections on this noble province, known for its potatoes and whiney red-haired teenagers.
From my understanding of history, PEI was created about 6000 years ago when God spilled some Ochre paint on his latest creation which landed in the shape of a croissant. The local Aboriginal people, the Mi’kmaq arrived about 12 000 years ago (and were slightly annoyed at certain clumsy God for subsequently spilling red paint all over their island). Anyway, the Mi’kmaq named this Island Abegeit which means land cradled on the waves. The white people who arrived in the 1500s eventaully decided that, like always they knew best and decided that this guy (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Edward,_Duke_of_Kent_and_Strathearn_by_Sir_William_Beechey.jpg) provided a much more romantic name for the Island giving us the PEI we know and love today.

So that is history...how about some economics? Potatoes and tourism! That’s about it. Not kidding, there aren’t even that many fishermen, the lobster people ate at my hostel as actually flown in from New Brunswick.

OK culture, the most interesting thing about PEI, is the fact that despite the prevalence of Catholic Churches, the entire population seems to worship a red haired child goddess. As an amateur anthropologist I can infer that this goddess is a personification of the Island itself as her red hair matches the colour of the dirt. Somehow, this belief in this goddess must have been influenced by Eastern cultures as every year hundreds of thousands of people travel from Japan on as pilgrimage to pay homage to this goddess. Ritual performances of “the play” also serve as a rite of passage for every child on the island. The Green Gables house still acts as a shrine and is the centre of the entire ritual. Participants are encouraged to dress like the goddess buying red braids and straw hats while wearing checkered dresses (both male and female alike).

Like every other province, PEI has its eccentricities. First, from the ocean road you get a great sweeping view of ... farms, it’s only called the ocean road because everywhere you are on the island you are ridiculously close to the Ocean, you just can’t see it. Everyone in Charlottetown seems to have lived in Toronto at some point in time (and this was the first city I have been in where no one ever told me how rude Torontonians are, congrats Charlottetown) and everyone seems to either enjoy being or feel obligated to be an informal tour guide, not that I mind, but I am suspicious of men who drive pick-up trucks and offer me tours of a real potato farm.
OK, so that was PEI, stay tuned for updates about Saskatchewan and other research and planning posts.