A totally different story: Winter walking in St. John’s from an international student’s perspective

Photos and story by Bahar Haghighat

I decided to write about this after reading Dr. Boon’s post on sidewalk clearing in Halifax. Before that, although I was aware that sidewalk cleaning in St. John’s is terrible, I thought that I shouldn’t complain because maybe that’s how it is supposed to be. It’s Canada. A cold country, with long winters and a lot of snow. When I decided to move here, I resigned myself to the fact it’s a terrible winter, but who am I to criticize when I haven’t lived here even for a decade yet?
Before coming to Newfoundland and Labrador, I had read somewhere that St. John’s is one of the most walkable cities in Canada during winter because the weather is cold, but not unbearable. And I have found it’s true. It’s been four years since I’ve arrived and, aside from those super windy days, you can walk easily if you dress properly and if the sidewalks are clear.
As an international student coming from a sunny country, it’s a challenge to survive winter here. As a grad student, it’s even more difficult to survive both grad school and winter together. At school, we discuss mental health a lot. We talk about its importance, about ways we can take care of our mood, and about how to avoid depression – especially during the long winters we experience here. We’re advised to take vitamin D, to eat properly, and to be physically active. I’m not going to talk about the accessibility of “healthy foods” here: both in terms of cost and availability, or how considering students responsible and accountable for their mental health is problematic, those are totally different kettles of fish. But I do want to talk about walking, which is considered an easy, cheap and (for myself) mind-stimulating physical activity. Walking invigorates my thinking, especially after finishing a book or an article related to my dissertation. Some of my best writing has happened when I spent time thinking and planning while wandering aimlessly through the city.
When I first moved here, (I was lucky to start school In September, can’t imagine how students who start in winter manage!), I remember walking for hours during my first month to get a sense of this place. I was amazed not only by the beautiful fall that we have here, but also by looking at colourful houses with their completely foreign architecture that I had only ever seen before in movies. By walking I’ve been able to better understand St. John’s. In little details like whether people are willing to talk to strangers or not. I was once invited to have tea with an elderly lady who was sitting on her deck and saw me walking, looking curiously at everything. I was surprised to learn that it’s not unusual for people here to keep their apartment curtains open, something that is not common back home. Walking helps me to discover cafes, bookshops, and restaurants. Walking helped me to get familiar with a new environment and to feel less afraid of being in a new place. It helped me to gain a sense of belonging during those first beautiful fall days.
But the reality is that, in general, walking in St. John’s isn’t easy. The city structure is not welcoming to walkers – at least not after growing up in Iran where the cities are full of lights, pedestrians, and spacious sidewalks that invite you to walk for hours. During fall and summer, the St. John’s weather can be beautiful and the environment can motivate you to venture outdoors – but winter is a different story. I don’t walk a lot in the winter; I’d say I don’t walk at all. When you are an international student living alone, you need to be more cautious about every single step you take in a new country. You don’t have the same social supports anymore and you try your best to avoid any complications. People tend to think of international students as adventurous people, risk takers who left their home and moved to a new country to study. People who have known me might agree with the description, but I do everything I can in my daily life to avoid risk. For many people, the commute to school requires little thought, it’s routine. But it’s not for me! In the winter, every day I have to decide if I want to walk to school or not. One of my nightmares is slipping and hurting myself. I imagine myself slipping and falling, and worry that nobody would be there to help me because nobody walks in this city of cars! I envision lying there for hours before I get help, probably by calling 911 myself; I would end up going to the emergency room which would probably take my whole day, and I might suffer a concussion, a broken hand or leg. And then I get panicked. I have no family here. Who would help me with cooking, with transportation, with bathing! I probably wouldn’t even tell my mom to save her from worrying while she’s two oceans away. After overthinking all of this, I end up taking a bus to go to school – although I live close to MUN, although I need to walk for the exercise, although I prefer to save my transportation fees. In fact, taking the bus is a risky process itself when there is no real, clean shelter at my bus stop and I’m forced to stand in the street, asking God to save me from being hit by a car until my bus arrives. That’s not to mention getting splashed by cars racing past which is not helpful when it results in a filthy outfit en route to a job interview, or the angry comments from some drivers complaining that I’m walking on the street, seemingly unaware that I am just as unhappy as they are that I had to choose between a sidewalk full of snow or a street that may have black ice. I could also mention the problems with public transportation here in general, like the times that my bus arrives ahead of schedule and I have to watch it drive away while I’m not quite close enough to catch it, but again, public transit is a whole other story. As for walking in St. John’s, I certainly won’t be highlighting the city’s “walkability” in winter when people ask me how life in Canada is going!