Curiosity to Create a Fulfilled Life

Daily sketches from my travel journal

 

Blog 9

When I came to Canada, I had not thought about what would await me in the new country. I hadn’t even taken the time to read any books about the landscape, the people, traditions and customs of the country I was possibly making my new home. I was a careful planner, and I still cannot believe that I didn’t even quiz Ingo about the country he was taking me to. 

It would be much easier today to get informed, as people can find lots of facts on the Internet, watch documentaries on YouTube, or ask AI bots for a summary of the essential facts about Canada. 


When we came to Canada at the end of April 1995, one problem that made the transition so difficult for me was my lack of curiosity. Curiosity is a powerful mindset when adjusting to a new environment as it opens doors to learning, connection, and resilience. It encourages flexibility and is one of my five core values nowadays.


With a curious approach, you can change your opinion by reframing it and turning something frustrating or unfamiliar into an exciting opportunity. 


To help me make my decision about living in Canada, we drove from Toronto to Vancouver, exploring the landscape. While I enjoyed our trip immensely, it was from the perspective of a tourist. I had only a few thoughts about the life I wanted to live. I was not curious about a new start of an exciting change. Adjusting means facing challenges, and I was not looking to change my life drastically. I was not ready to start over in all areas of my life, especially not without a network of family and friends. However, I didn’t want to lose Ingo.


I was not looking for adventure and was skeptical about trying new things. When we couldn’t find German-style bread with a crunchy crust or sparkling water, I became moody and resentful instead of seeing it as an opportunity to try new things. Once you have eaten some of the many varieties of German bread, you will probably understand my rejection of any typically Canadian soft bread. I should have realized that this was only my outward expression of a feeling of resentment toward the changes I didn’t want. 


Even though I turned to art and bear making, I became depressed because I still didn’t connect with others and spent most of my time alone. My situation improved when I joined clubs and organizations for activities with others aside from Ingo. I joined the Orleans Newscomers Club, church, the Gloucester Crafts Guild, Arteast, the Grizzly Gang, a weekly live drawing group, a gym and Women Moving Forward.


The more time I spent with other women, the more I learned about local customs and traditions and felt encouraged by their stories. With every step, I felt more energized. 

Nevertheless, all these activities were just a bandage for a festering wound. Even though I made time for my activities, I was often still unsatisfied, looking for outside sources of happiness. I still felt like I didn’t fit in, because I didn’t share memories of my life in German with the new people in my life. They knew hardly anything about my traditions and values. 

Only when I changed my mindset, made myself a priority and accepted my life in Canada did I start to feel content. I valued the enrichment of sharing traditions and adding them to our family’s.


When I finally focused on building a happy life here in Canada, I started thriving. Winning an award for my painting, Jessie Forever in My Heart, was what first sparked my curiosity about how far I could take my creative skills and ambitions. I will dive deeper into the following chapters between this event and the changes that followed my unfortunate accident in December 2021 in my October blog about collaborations.


When a double pelvis fracture left me home-bound and dependent on my husband for months, it caused me to re-evaluate my priorities and look at what I still want to achieve in my life. At this point in my life, spending time with loved ones, creating art and seeing the world are high priorities. While I love to share my art, the fulfillment of creating art prevails over the need to sell and my definition of success.


I am satisfied with what I have. That doesn’t mean I don’t have new goals, but I feel grounded and I am ready to keep exploring and being open to new adventures. Fostering a sense of wonder helps me cherish new experiences and brings me joy while limiting my feelings of loss.


Instead of focusing on what’s missing, I focus on what I am creating. New technologies make it easier than ever to stay connected and to share new experiences with others in Germany, Canada and through social media and video calls worldwide.


It doesn’t mean that I don’t miss my parents, sister, and friends in Germany, but I don’t miss them constantly. I have made space and time for new friends and experiences to create happy memories.


My latest adventure was a 12-day trip to Prince Edward Island with my husband of almost 30 years, a belated honeymoon. Here are collages of the paintings I created during our vacation. There is one more at the top of this blog.

Daily sketches from my travel journal

 

 

 

Unfinished plein air watercolour sketches

 

You can read more about my trip in my Kerstin Peters Painting News, which I published this week. Please email me, and I will send you a copy.

Discovering Prince Edward Island - Part 2

 

 

Blog 42

 

September 13 was another cloudy day with a forecast of occasional showers. We drove to Charlottetown and parked near the harbour, where two huge cruise ships anchored. Later, some passengers told us that the larger vessel had space for 2000 travellers, more than the residents of most cities on Prince Edward Island.

Bettina and I started our outing in Charlottetown at the Food Hall & Market, where we found the best fudge I have ever eaten, made from potatoes. The local crafts were also tempting. However, when travelling with only a carry-on suitcase, you can only buy things you can consume immediately.

 

We took the boardwalk to see more of the harbour and visited a local art gallery and the St. Dunstan’s Basilica, which was breathtaking. We also found an outdoor patio of a seafood restaurant on a pedestrian street when the sun finally appeared.

We finished our sightseeing tour watching the process of the smaller (1800-passenger) cruise ship leaving Charlottetown. We hardly reached the car when the heavy rain started, creating dense fog. It was a scary drive back to the cottage.

 

The following day, we visited the Prince Edward Island National Park in Greenwich, which has the biggest sand dunes on the island. Under sunny skies, we walked a large part of the trail on a floating boardwalk over Bowley Pond toward the spectacular beach with white sand.

As we headed east, the wind increased, and the sky turned dark grey. By the time we reached the East Point Lighthouse, it started to drizzle.

The drive back to the cottage was another scary affair, with water standing on the roads, poor visibility and heavy traffic. However, it was mild enough in the evening for a barefoot walk along the beach.

 

The sun was shining again the following morning. We strolled through Victoria-by-the-Sea, visiting some galleries and the Island Chocolates Café. Their chocolates tempted us to enjoy truffles and hot chocolate on their beautiful sunny patio.

 

 

Because of the clear skies and good visibility, we followed the coastal road west to get a view of the Confederation Bridge. Unfortunately, a new subdivision will soon obscure the sight - a tragedy for plein air painters in many areas.

 

In the afternoon, we drove east along the shore to the Argyle Shore Provincial Park, where the tide had only started to move out, so we could only walk a short way along the rocky beach. We had more luck at Canoe Cove, where the low tide exposed a large area of warm red sand.

We stopped at Rocky Point for a fantastic view of Charlottetown harbour and continued to the Blockhouse Point Lighthouse on a rugged road. Managing the road in a Toyota Corolla was more exciting than the lighthouse, but maybe we were only tired at the end of the day.

 

 

As news about tropical storm Lee hitting the Maritimes got increasingly urgent, we decided to leave a day earlier than planned. Therefore, we almost missed the most stunning pink and purple sunset I have ever seen because we were busy packing. 

 

 

During the night, the rain started drumming on the roof. The wind howled so loud that I feared we had missed our chance to leave the island. After hardly any sleep, I finally got up as soon as it got light. Two hours later, the sun peaked through the clouds, and a complete rainbow appeared. Nothing indicated the big storm ahead.

We were relieved when we crossed the Confederation Bridge. We still didn’t know where to go because the eye of the storm was fast approaching New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. There were hardly any cars on the road.

After consulting with my husband and my friend Hélène, we went to her house in Dartmouth. We had to drive slowly because the wind gusts pushed heavily against our small car. Luckily, the rain fell only lightly. We arrived briefly before the centre of the storm arrived. Safe in my friend’s cozy house, we watched the dance of the trees while playing cards. 

 

Discovering Prince Edward Island - Part 1

 

Blog 40

I returned from my trip to Prince Edward Island and Halifax/Dartmouth. I was on the island once before, in the spring of 1998, when our family returned to Ottawa from a six-month stay in Halifax. However, we were limited in our adventures because of our toddler and dog. Therefore, we had a lot to explore this time.

We flew to Halifax on September 9 and arrived in the early evening. The night was warm, and after eating a nice Indian meal in the closest restaurant to our hotel, we went to the waterfront to enjoy a magical walk along the lit harbour area. 

On the following day, a gorgeous Sunday morning, we wanted to go for another walk downtown but couldn’t find any parking. We left the city to drive to PEI, taking the scenic Sunshine Trail along the coast. We stopped at the Blue Sea Beach Provincial Park to enjoy a picnic. With temperatures in the high twenties, the place was busy. People were walking their dogs, spending time on the beach or swimming.

After a short drive through New Brunswick, we crossed the impressive Confederation Bridge to Prince Edward Island. We continued our drive along the shore on the Red Sands Shore Drive to the Blue Spruces Cottages in Hampton. Our cottage, set back from the beach, still offered a view of the Northumberland Strait. It was already late, and we went to the neighbouring Victoria-by-the-Sea for dinner. The search for a table at any restaurant on this balmy evening was futile. Therefore, we ordered food-to-go and enjoyed a quiet evening at the two-bedroom cottage.

Unfortunately, there was a fine rain the next morning. The sun-filled landscape of the previous day had changed to a bleak sight under the grey sky. We followed the Red Sand Shore Drive to Summerside, where we walked on the Baywalk Boardwalk until we reached the lighthouse.



The sun reluctantly peaked through the clouds during our walk, and it got muggy. As many restaurants and stores were closed on Mondays, we were happy to find Moment’s Cafe, a small Asian restaurant, where we enjoyed their delicious bubble waffles.

On our way up along the coast, the weather got increasingly miserable. Cabot Beach Provincial Park looked desolate in the rain, and we only stopped at French River to take some photos of the colourful huts at the harbour.

As the weather didn’t look any more promising the next day, we drove to Cavendish to visit the Green Gables Heritage Place. The site was busy with tourists who looked for things to do on a rainy day. We started with a walk through the visitor centre, which offered information about the author, Lucy Maud Montgomery, and her famous novel, Anne of Green Gables. We visited the Green Gables House and took the Haunted Wood Trail to the Cavendish Cemetery, the author’s Cavendish Home and the Post Office with its exhibition. We finished with a stroll on Lover’s Land Trail.

We took the Gulf Shore Parkway West to see the white sand on the north shore. We stopped at the Cavendish Beach East Dunelands and witnessed the destruction from post-tropical storm Fiona in September 2022. The coastal erosion and the loss of large areas of trees were shocking. However, there are signs of new growth that give hope.

Many restaurants and shops were closed after Labour Day. We finally found the Blue Mussel Café in North Rustico. While we ate our mouthwatering food on the outdoor patio, the water of the Rustico Rustico Harbour glistened in the sun.

We walked on the boardwalk along the North Rustico Harbour Trail, where we saw many grey-blue herons looking for fish despite the noise of the fishing boats. A short trail brought us to North Rustico Beach, where we walked on the beach, listening to the rushing waves in awe.



Next week, I will post Part 2 of the PEI travelogue.