Travel That Teaches: Enriching our Lives Through Immersive Travel Experiences
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Lessons from a three-day food and cultural immersion program in Newfoundland
by Sandra Phinney
We always learn something when we travel. However, sometimes we dive into the deep end of a learning experience and there’s not an hour or even a second when we are not immersed in a culture, lifestyle or tradition. This is when learning bumps up to a never-to-be-forgotten experience that enriches our lives and understandings.
This happened when my sister and I spent three days with Lori McCarthy and her team in Mobile, Newfoundland taking part in a three-day food and cultural immersion program. Where is Mobile, you might wonder? Population 435, Mobile is about a 35-minute drive from St. John’s, Newfoundland on Canada’s east coast.
Cultural immersion: The story behind the story
Lucky for me, I wasn’t a stranger to Lori, as I had met her in 2018 while on a trip to St. John’s. At the time, Lori was heading up her new company, Cod Sounds.
During this trip, I learned that Lori was born in 1977, and raised with four siblings in Baulin (population under 300)—by parents, Shirley and Bill Butler (her dad: a teacher and fisherman; her mom, was best cook ever of “rough grub.”) But the road leading from her mom’s kitchen and her dad’s fresh catch of the day to the unusual and highly successful business she had created was full of interesting twists and turns.
To wit: coming into her 20s, Lori had some major fears to conquer—including fear of the water. “Well, that was silly,” she told me, “And living on an island with a life steeped in the sea, I was determined to get over it.” Lori took a job on a tour boat; then became a kayak guide; followed by becoming a PADI certified scuba diver. Fears conquered!
Over the next several years, Lori apprenticed in a 5-star restaurant, started a catering company with her mom, and devoured magazines and books about what was happening globally on the food scene. Terms like “local,” “wild,” and “pride of place” spoke to her.
