End of Term!

Well, this is it. The train has finally stopped in Calgary, marking the end of a four month long adventure of a life time. I have been extraordinarily blessed to have this job, to see the things that I saw and experienced the things that happened. This is certainly a story to keep and to tell to grandchildren.

Here’s the final map of everywhere I went.

Google maps tells me that the total distance is about 20,000km. The earth’s circumference is just over 40,000km. I travelled half way around the world, on a train. Cool! I have also taken almost 4,000 pictures and videos during the term.

Some pros and cons about the job:

Favorite part about the job: The office window, the scenery and views I saw. That or independence, being sent off in a completely new city to fend for myself, do what I want to do, see what I want to see.

Least favorite part: No sports for four whole months. That or waking up at 5am for a 6am start, only to be delayed and hang around and do nothing until finally moving at 10am. (we had to be ready at all times in case we started moving).

Favorite weekend: close call between Winnipeg, Kamloops, or North Bay. I’d have to say North Bay though, climbing around on rocks, running along beach, being in Northern Ontario, taking time to explore what I have been passing by on the train.

Favorite thing I did: skiing in the Rockies

Favorite city: I didn’t get to stay in that many big cities. Winnipeg had a really cool bridge, but there was so much to see in Montreal, so much different architecture, so much more care taken in aesthetics and the art of buildings. I had barely begun to explore the underground area.

Favorite bridge (yes, this is a category): The pedestrian bridge in Winnipeg

Favorite part about facial hair: Not having to shave. You can also save some of the flavor from juice you drink for later.

Least favorite part about facial hair: Scratching the pillow and blankets when trying to sleep. That or the fact that everything freezes to it when it's cold outside. 

Favorite travelled area: Thompson/Fraser river canyons.

2^nd favorite: rest of the rockies

3^rd favorite: shore of lake superior

4^th favorite – Northern Ontario

It’s going to be weird adjusting back to regular life, getting back into a regular routine, being in the same place for longer than one day. I think the biggest shift will be food, having to pay attention to prices in the stores now, and not just grab whatever I want. This also means buying less pre-made stuff and spending more time cooking. Same goes for going out to eat, I have to look at the prices again, not just think about what I want or what sounds good.

This trip has opened my eyes to a whole new world that’s out there, a new way to travel and way to see scenery. Whenever I cross a train track now I’ll be looking at the track and the joint bars, seeing how good they are. And a small smile will cross my face, as I know what it’s like to travel down that way, to live on the rails. I wonder if this has quenched my desire to travel, and if I will be content for a while to stay in one place. Probably not.

My final thought, and an appropriate one I think, is that even though I visited plenty of cities, went to multiple art galleries and museums, saw towering skyscrapers and stretching bridges, sculptures of all sizes and forms, yet NOTHING created by man comes even CLOSE to the astonishing beauty of God’s creation, to marshes surrounded by green forests, the rocky Canadian shield under the spectacular fireworks of fall-colored trees, sunrises and storm clouds in the prairies, snow covered mountains, blue-green rivers, and twisting cliffs of the Thompson/Fraser canyons. That is the thing I have learned the most this trip, how much of an amazing artist our awesome God is.

I have been taking a bunch of videos from the train this term, and am in the process of compiling them together. I will post here once more with the links to them once they are finished.

Until then, merry Christmas and happy new year! And thanks to everyone who showed interest and commented and asked me how my trip was going – it was because of that that I kept this blog updated.