Adaptation and Patience

Not only has this Rural Capacity Internship been about a job and working with a rural municipality, but for me it has been about living in rural Alberta as well. After leaving the Town of Beaumont (a town that is listed as being rural) and moving to the big centre of Camrose for school (a place considered rural by most people in larger centres), this summer has truly opened my eyes to what living in rural Alberta really means. You don't have to be a farmer to see what it truly is like to have a rural lifestyle.  I have encountered a few things over the past 3 months while living in rural Alberta that initially seemed odd to me, but have now become a way of life.

I am working in the Village of Forestburg but living in a smaller village close by called Heisler. I initially thought Forestburg was small with its population of 895, but have realized how small a "small" village can be.  Heisler is classified as a village, even though its population is approximately 150, which does not meet current classification standards to be called a village, but it has been a village for such a long time that there is no use in changing it to the Hamlet of Heisler, or something else. This weekend there is a large event in Heisler, one that will double, if not triple the current population of the village. This event will bring the town to life with people both young and old and families.  The campgrounds have all been booked and there is great anticipation for this event.  Heisler, Alberta is the host for the 2011 Bantam and Peewee Baseball Provincials. 8 teams will compete (4 from each category) to determine who is the best this year.  Rumour has it that one of the Heisler teams is undefeated and could blow the competition out of the water! So if you want to check out some sports this weekend come to Heisler, where you can also see Canada's Largest Baseball Glove!

Another aspect of rural living is "The Wave".  Now it's not the wave they do at sports events but it's the friendly hello wave.  It's easy to do, whether you are carrying in groceries to your house and you see a vehicle drive by, when you are on the highway driving and someone is out cutting their grass, or whether you are just cruising the back roads and pass someone.  Everyone does the wave in rural Alberta, yet in Edmonton or any larger city there is no wave, and if you do a wave you get weird looks.  I find the wave has a way of welcoming everyone which is really nice.

The art of having a conversation has been something that I have really noticed in my experience living in rural Alberta. Whether you are just passing on a walk around the village or dropping something off to a neighbour you always have to plan for at least an extra hour of time.  If the task takes 2 minutes, you should plan on it taking at least 1 hour, but it could take up to 3 hours. Everyone enjoys talking, whether it's about the weather, what's going on in the village, or what people like Paul and myself are doing in a small village. Even on a walk around the village there isn't the typical "Hey, how's it going", "good" conversation, but more of the "Hey, how's it going", "good, how's everything with you" "It's great but these mosquitoes....".  A simple 5 second conversation in the city or a larger town can go on for 1 hour in rural Alberta, as you complain about the bugs and the rain, and the heat, while you are standing in the road, getting eaten alive by the bugs and some colour on your skin from the sun, but those things don't seem to matter when you are meeting people and just chatting.

I have enjoyed all of my experiences in rural Alberta, but one thing I have struggled a bit with is limited hours. In larger centres everything seems to be open when you need it, yet living in Heisler and Forestburg has allowed me to plan ahead for what I need, and if the store is closed by the time I get there then it must mean I don't really need what I went to get.

The other night I realized how challenging it can be living in a rural area, especially if you are sick.  The doctors office in Forestburg is open on Tuesdays and Fridays for the month of July, so you better be sick on one of those days or have an appointment because the doctors are usually busy.  The Daysland hospital is about 20-25 minutes down the road from Heisler and there is always a doctor available there. Another part of rural living is that you need to plan out when you get a prescription filled.  I am used to being able to get a prescription filled whenever I need it, but in Forestburg there is no pharmacist on site at the drug store on Wednesdays, which seemed very odd to me, but did not seem to phase anyone else because it's been like that for a while. If you are sick and need prescription drugs on a Wednesday you can either wait until Thursday or make a trip up to Daysland.  I guess these are all things I used to take for granted but now realize that you have to learn to adapt to where you are and you need to have patience because things don't occur at this exact moment, like they do in a larger centre.

I am now realizing that my time living in Rural Alberta is winding down.  It saddens me a bit to think of all the little things that I found strange before have now become a part of my daily life, part of my thought process, and I am interested to see how things will change when I return to school in September and learn how to adapt to life in a large city.