World traveller has no urge to settle down
Former Sea-hawk basketball player Teresa Butler goes global to enjoy new life experiences
on the court,” she said with a laugh.
“I was a better rugby player than basketball player,” said Butler, who also rowed in the Royal St. John’s Regatta for five years.
Other members of basketball and rugby teams Butler was on say she was a terrific teammate.
Butler, who got her degree in English from Memorial University, con-
When Teresa Butler was a young girl, her uncle Fred Butler used to show her items and telling her stories about places he’d been around the world.
She fondly remembers those times and believes those tales of adventure in far away places sparked something in her that’s never left.
As long as she can remember, Butler said she wanted to experience the thrill of discovery her uncle inspired in her.
The 28-year-old former Memorial Sea-Hawks basketball player, who followed her dreams of travelling all over the world, is now living in Vancouver, and attending the Institute of Holistic Nutrition.
She said while her parents think she is crazy, “They were always supportive and told me to follow my dreams and my heart.”
Meanwhile, she said her late uncle’s philosophy was, “party hard and party harder.”
Butler, who is also a certified doula, which is a nonmedical person who assists a woman before, during or after childbirth, has also worked as a behavioral therapist with severely autistic children, which she admits was often tough mentally, emotionally and physically.
“But it was a beautiful job, too,” she said.
“It was little things, like working with someone who doesn’t know how to speak and then they learn to say your name or count to five. Little rewards like that were always amazing to see.”
She had previously worked with children who were developmentally delayed and had behavioral issues.
Butler said her Sea-Hawks’ days weren’t memorable for points she scored, or how many wins the team had.
She said it was “an honour” to play with Memorial University in the era of Jenine Browne, Amy Dalton, Sandi Ennis, Kerri Highmore and Erika Stokes.
Stokes, now a doctor, lives close to Butler in Vancouver, “and she’s taken me under her wing.”
Butler only played a couple of seasons with MUN and admits she was more of a cheerleader on the bench than someone who contributed big points to a team ranked among the best the Sea-Hawks have ever put on the floor.
“I loved my teammates. We were very close, like one big family … like sisters and Doug (Partridge) was an awesome coach,” said Butler who, because of her gritty, physical, intense and aggressive style of play, was sometimes used to shut down the opposing team’s hot scorer.
To put it simply, she had energy to burn.
“I don’t know how effective I was, but I could be a bit loud when I was fessed that the main reason she went to university was to play basketball.
“However,” she said,” my real passion was to travel, which I did, on and off, over the next four years, usually by myself.”
She said she had a wonderful time at Memorial and, through basketball, learned to be diligent in her studies and training and the value of working towards a goal.
After university, Butler travelled to Argentina and Brazil and then it was off to Africa for two months where she volunteered at an orphanage, danced with Masi children, teaching them the “Hokey Pokey” song and hiked Mount Meru and Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania with Tracy Hussey, and Kate (Vaughan) Bazeley, two former Sea-Hawks’ athletes.
Then it was off to India, living on a commune where the people were into reforestation which she says was “awesome.”
The young woman said she had no fear of travelling alone.
“I like the unknown. I don’t let fear stop me. We create our own fears. It’s all in our mind.
“Besides,” she adds, “there’s more incentive to make friends when you are alone.”
Butler said she didn’t really know what she was going to do when she moved to Vancouver last year.
“There were some things I knew I wanted to do, but I didn’t have anything set up. I just go with the flow.”
She said even when she was in foreign countries, she was never worried about not knowing the language.
“You find ways to communicate. I’ve found you learn the most when you travel outside of your comfort zone. Sometimes you have to lose yourself to find yourself.
“As long as I remember I’ve had a thirst to learn about new cultures and nationalities. Meeting new people from around the world changes your perspective on things,” said Butler.
“There have definitely been some moments when I thought, ‘What am I doing? I must be crazy,’ but those thoughts pass.”
Butler says she really doesn’t know where the future will take her, but she still has an intense desire to travel.
She plans to soon return to Africa for a volunteer apprenticeship program involving teaching nutrition.
“Everybody asks me if I’ve stopped travelling now,” she says with a laugh.
“I’m still on a journey and I guess the journey never stops.”