• Grace was nervous and sad walking to school with her mother. She was nervous because it was her first day at her new school. She was sad because she just moved from Victoria, British Columbia to the other end of the country: St. John’s, Newfoundland.
    “I miss everything about Victoria,” Grace grumbled. “I especially miss the ocean.”
    Grace’s mother chuckled a little and said, “You’ll see, honey. You will love St. John’s just like you love your old home. We just arrived yesterday. You haven’t had a chance to explore this city.”
    Grace found her desk. Her teacher seemed interesting. The other kids in the class seemed nice but Grace couldn’t concentrate on school. All she could think about was how much she missed Victoria.
    At recess, Grace stood against the wall. She tried not to cry but she felt like she didn’t belong.
    A friendly boy named Scott came up to Grace. “So you’re new,” he said.
    “Duh,” Grace replied, trying to be tough. “My mom is a marine biologist. She used to work at the University of Victoria but got a new job at Memorial University. She’s very happy about it, but I’m not.”
    “Why not?” asked Scott.
    “Because I miss the ocean,” said Grace.
    “Well, I can show you the ocean. It isn’t the Pacific Ocean like in British Columbia. It’s the Atlantic, but it’s still a very big ocean.”
    “Well, I miss going out salmon fishing on my Uncle Colin’s boat,” said Grace.
    “I bet my Uncle Ed can take you out on his dory if you want.”
    “I’d like that, but I would miss not seeing the mountains,” Grace said.
    “Well, Newfoundland doesn’t have mountains but we do have icebergs,” said Scott. “They’re cool! Get it?”
    Grace ignored his joke. “I also miss the whales,” she said. “Sometimes the orcas would come really close to the ferry.”
    “I like it when the Humpback whales jump out of the water,” said Scott. “You’ll like it too.”
    “I miss going to Elk Lake to watch the rowing races,” said Grace. “Lots of Olympic rowers train there.”
    Scott said, “My dad was in the St. John’s Regatta on Quidi Vidi Lake last year. We brought a picnic.”
    “That sounds nice, but not as nice as the days I’d spend in Beacon Hill Park. I would go bird watching, fly a kite and then look at my favourite totem pole,” said Grace.
    “This weekend, my grandma is taking me to Bowring Park. You should come,” said Scott. “There aren’t any totem poles but there is a really nice statue of Peter Pan with all sorts of animals and fairies climbing up to him.”
    “Well, there seems to be lots of things in St. John’s that are similar to Victoria,” said Grace with a smile.
    “There’s one more thing,” said Scott. “You lived on an island before: Vancouver Island. Newfoundland is an island too. You’re still an island girl.”