Ready, Set...Intern!

I have officially survived my first week as an intern.  It has been a whirlwind week - moving to Halifax, starting a new job, and meeting a lot of new faces.

I am arriving at the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21 (CMIP) during a time of transition. The most noticeable change is to the building itself, with the installation of a new HVAC system.  While this hasn't kept the museum from welcoming visitors, it means that behind the scenes everything is a bit cozier than usual.  Some staff members have had parts of their offices turned in alternative storage space. Apparently it is quite a miracle they even found me a desk to work at.  I quite like my spot, sharing space with some friendly faces in IT, Communications, and Public Programming.

The most significant transition at CMIP comes with its recent (2011) designation as Canada's sixth national museum. With the designation, the CMIP has been able to expand its mandate to explore Canadian immigration across the country and throughout different periods of history. Previously, it had primarily been focused on telling stories specifically related to Pier 21's immediate history as an immigration port from 1928-1971. I had the opportunity to attend CMIP's First Annual Public Meeting yesterday and they outlined the various ways in which they are endeavouring to fulfil this new mandate.  For example, the upcoming temporary exhibit will explore the cultural landscapes of different ethnic communities across the country, using oral histories collected in the past months to highlight the ways immigrants affect their social spaces.

My own research at CMIP is also a part of the shifting focus.  Currently, I am conducting research into Black Refugees that fled the United States during the War of 1812 and eventually settled in Nova Scotia.  Researching this important part of Nova Scotia history allows the museum to expand beyond the stories of 20th century European immigration.

I have been delving into the sources for about a week now, and there is a wealth of information available.  At this point, my days are spent sifting through digitized primary sources.  The Nova Scotia Archives has digitized the entire series of documents relating to the Black Refugees.  At first I was quite thankful for their technological foresight, but after a while, it gets a bit tedious zooming in and out of the same document trying to determine if Mr. Nineteenth Century Poor Handwriting wrote "bubbly" "chubby" or "scrubby".  Believe me, all options seem equally likely. I really shouldn't complain too much though - the quality of the digitization is AMAZING!  You can tell you are a nerdy historian when high resolution digitization is the highlight of your day.

Look how close you can zoom in!

The ultimate goal of this research is to create a twenty-five page academic paper, as well as a five-page paper to be available to the public. The research has revealed a lot of possible directions in terms of an analytical approach, and I am quite excited that I have been given the opportunity to explore such an interesting topic. More to come on this later. 

While researching can be a lonely endeavour at times, just being at the museum has opened up opportunities to meet people in a variety of different positions at the museum.  Just today I was fortunate enough to meet with the chief curator and hear some practical advice about working in the field of public history (while enjoying a delicious Banana Cream steamed milk I might add!) All in all, I feel quite privileged to be a part of the CMIP, even if it is only for a short while.  After all, how many places provide you with a view of the ocean as you eat lunch?

Dreams really do come true!

How many lifelong dreams can you fulfill in a week? Quite a few it turns out.

Some people dream of scaling Mount Everest, or seeing the Colosseum in  Rome, or diving the Great Barrier Reef. My goals are not quite as lofty.  For an incredibly long time, my biggest desire has been to visit Ottawa.  Seriously.  If you were to ask me if there was one place in the world I wanted to visit, I would have answered Ottawa. In a heartbeat. 

Well, ladies and gentleman, my dream finally came true. This past week, I laid my eyes on Parliament Hill for the first time and I was the happiest tourist in Canada. 

I am quite a bit happier than I look. I blame the sun.

Looking at Parliament is quite lovely, but we did eventually make our way inside, doing the tour and dropping in on our nation's leaders in Question Period.  A lot of hooting and hollering goes on in QP, making it quite entertaining, but not entirely constructive.  It is my new aspiration to be a back bencher MP that gets to shout from the corner and heckle the other parties.

As a good public historian, I also attempted to visit every museum in sight. The museums in Ottawa are huge.  Word of warning - when visiting museums in Ottawa, proper footwear is a must.  Otherwise, you will experience what I am going to call early onset museum fatigue, where your body will tire of the experience much earlier than your brain.  Regardless of my aching feet, my first encounters with the Canadian War Museum, the Canadian Museum of Civilization, and the Canadian Museum of Nature were tremendously rewarding.  I even met some friendly veterans at the War Museum that took quite an interest in the public history field - and then they proceeded to make me pose for a picture wearing a helmet from the Boer War.

 I think I could pass....

That in a nutshell was my Ottawa experience, but the magic of being a tourist didn't end there.

After leaving Ottawa, my husband Jordan and I continued on to Montreal.  Having been to Montreal before, I pretended to be a tour guide, showing Jordan the Notre Dame Basilique, Old Montreal, and St. Joseph's Oratory.  But we also had the opportunity to do two things on my quasi-bucket list - it can't be considered a real bucket list because I haven't written anything down and I usually forget what is on the list until I do it.  Except for Ottawa.

So after Ottawa, the next thing to cross off my list was going to a Cirque du Soleil show.  We bought the tickets quite impulsively at the suggestion of a friend and we are so glad we did.  It was incredible.  The show was called Amaluna, featuring a predominantly female cast. My favourite part was probably the duo of unicyclers - they spun and twirled like nothing I've ever seen.  I can't even ride my bike with no hands.

After going to the show, we went out for dinner at a fabulous restaurant called Garde Manger.  Now this isn't just any restaurant. It is owned by Food Network host Chuck Hughes.  Since we've been married, Jordan and I have had an unhealthy obsession with the Food Network.  We have always wanted to taste the food of one of the famous chefs featured on the channel, and it was quite exciting to sink our teeth into expertly prepared food.  Lobster poutine anyone?

After our Montreal adventure ended, we trekked onward to Quebec City.  I had also been here before, but I never get tired of walking around Old Quebec and seeing the Plains of Abraham.  Which brings me to my next dream/goal/wish/delirious inclination, or whatever you want to call it.  This is sappy, so I'll be quick.  We went I went to Quebec the first time in the winter of 2005, I hoped that one day I could return to see it in the spring.....with Jordan.  I did and it was lovely.  End of sappiness.

While my short vacation has come to end, I am about to embark on another adventure in Halifax that is itself a fulfillment of a much deeper aspiration.  Tomorrow, I officially start my internship at the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21. Although, I am only an intern, I am finally realizing my goal of working in a museum. Whenever people asked me what I wanted to do with a history degree, I adamantly responded that I wanted to work in a museum, without ever really knowing if my ambitions would turn into reality. Now I know dreams really do come true, whether by impulse, circumstance, providence, or a lot of hard work.