news&views Autumn 2021 | Page 47

on which we ’ d found the vacant lot . He grinned and shook my hand and waved as we drove off to our promised B & B .
And I was amazed how much French I ’ d understood .
We spent four days on the Islands with welcoming , kind people . My French — and my wife ’ s is worse than mine in conversation — was enough for us to have a wonderful holiday , especially with the patience of the people of those islands .
But this article isn ’ t about a vacation spot : it is about comfort . After four days struggling to converse in a language that I knew well but couldn ’ t speak , getting back to
English-speaking PEI was a relief . I hadn ’ t realized how cramped my shoulders had become from the tension linked to the unfamiliar . I learned several things from that four-day immersion . First of all , I developed a new respect for new Canadians who must communicate in a language that is not their own . I was able to return to the familiarity of my native tongue , but often new Canadians cannot .
But the other thing I learned is that comfort and familiarity are linked . When we seek comfort , we do so with the familiar whether that be language , food , friends , or even books and stories . Children understand this principle when they say , “ Read me that story again , Grandma ,” and Grandma rolls her eyes to read the same story for the thirty-ninth time . When we ’ re sick , we look , perhaps , to chicken soup . Or mac and cheese . Nothing fancy . The familiar .
I have little patience anymore for people who urge me to leave my “ comfort zone .” I ’ ve done that many , many times in the last seven decades , and I ’ m content with the nest of familiarity that I ’ ve built throughout my life . I ’ ll adventure , sure ; but like a crawling baby who keeps returning to his mother , I ’ m happy to get back to what I know and to the familiarity that makes me comfortable .
Although he professes to crave the familiar , Robin Carson left Edmonton , where he ’ d lived since he was 3 ( and taught for thirty-seven years ), and moved across the country to find comfort in Prince Edward Island .

Bienvenue

news & views AUTUMN 2021 | 47