Northward Bound (part 1)

Spread over not one but four reclining seats as the golden prairies roll by seems like an appropriate position from which to dust off saratreetravels (and to espouse the joys of train-travel!).

Sadly it’s a bit of a misnomer, as the ‘Sara’ portion of saratreetravels is actually remaining in Winnipeg. It’s weird to be writing Is instead of wes, but I will do my best to maintain the narrative wit and attention to detail of my dear wife.

After a thoroughly enjoyable final week in the ‘Peg, I am now heading a thousand miles north to start my 5-week teaching practicum in Gillam, where I hope to learn much, much more than I teach. My bag is full of elbow-length mittens, my Cree dictionary, and more Reese’s products than a generous mother-in-law could buy at a Halloween clearance sale (which, incidentally, is exactly what happened). My fellow passengers have come all the way from Quebec, the Maritimes, and Holland to see the polar bears. Mine is the only seat with ‘Gillam’ scrawled above it, inviting many odd glances from people wondering why on earth someone would travel this ridiculously far only to get off at the last stop before Churchill.

I’ll have an answer to that question soon. But first, I’m told there’s a lounge car toward the back…time to keep espousing the joys of train-travel!

If there had to be a farewell, this was the best one possible.

(and if you have to travel for 36 hours straight, this is definitely the way to do it!)