New couple eager to get out and get involved

Story by Tina Hennigar 
Contributed photo
The first thing a newcomer might do when arriving in a new community is to get out and meet people. But COVID-19 made that impossible. When Kathleen Moriarty and her husband John Chapman moved to Lunenburg County 
from Pender Island, BC, and completed their 14-days of quarantine, they were missing human connections. 
“We missed doing things like volunteering. There are just 
so many things that we couldn’t do because of social distancing.” That didn’t stop them from getting out to safely explore their new community in Bridgewater.
“We love going out for walks and every time we turn a corner we are continually surprised by what we discover. There is a lot here, a lot more than new people know about,” Kathleen said. It may be a while before she and John can get out and find their community of people but they already like what they see and are planning on getting involved.
Kathleen has been teaching all her life, starting in special education, then she began her career in adult education. Most of her students were immigrants.
​She would start her lessons engaging in casual conversation. Kathleen explained that it was common for her students to spend the first few hours of their time together in tears. “It’s hard to learn a new language,” Kathleen explained that some of her students didn’t speak a word of English and that the tears were often due to the cultural difference, not because of the language. “But we’d get through it together.” She sees a lot of newcomers in the area and believes there is a role for her here, a way she can help. “You don’t need to speak the language to help a new Canadian.” Kathleen shared that body language can be an even more useful tool for communication. 
John is a retired chemist and spent the last 7-years with their local parks commission and involved with community work. “We love walking Miller Point Peace Park,” Kathleen shared. “There are so many terrific trails here.”
They’ve also been surprised by the variety and quality of food. “The Indian food and East Asian food - we read about Suni and Lamprai and Spice in the last NOW Lunenburg County magazine and that’s one of our favourites! Of course, we also love the fish and chips.”