Ya, I figured that only prairies guys & territories guys would know what I'm talking about, hehe. There ain't nothing nicer than toasty warm feet standing/working outside at minus 40° C.How about something Canadian? Roots?
I don't think that I'll notice anything different to my experiences travelling on my U.K. or my Aussie passports. The only bad thing is my slightly effed-up accent now, hehe.
That sounds lovely. The bears that you saw, were they grizzlies or black bears or some other kind? I'm celebrating with a glass of red wine this evening, after working a half-shift at my survival job here. It's truly amazing how much more 'at home' and safer I feel now that I'm a full citizen, and I feel that I belong here fully for the first time. Up until yesterday, I'd felt in some ways still largely uncertain for the future, vulnerable, and still somehow temporary, but now I feel settled and sure. God bless this magnificent country and her people! I got through the Oath yesterday, but I choked up when we were singing O Canada. I was just filled with thanks that my journey towards full citizenship was finally and at very long last culminating successfully.
And what an amazing feeling, isn’t it? I totally get what you mean. I guess many of us on this same journey do! Welcome home!
I went up to Churchill, MB, as a poor backpacker by VIA Rail from Winnipeg at Xmas in 2001. I stayed in a nice little basic hotel, and got to meet Brian Ladoon, who's an artist & entrepreneurial kind of guy who raises Canadian Eskimo Dogs there, and who also looks after polar bears who are hanging around waiting for Hudson's Bay to freeze over in the fall/winter, which is when they're hungrily scrounging around in the town's trash dump, both unfortunately and dangerously. Anyhow, Brian was an intriguing guy to meet. He took me out with some of his Blackfoot (Blackfeet?) First Nations guys to go check on his dogs out on the ice, and to feed them whole frozen chickens which we chopped in halves with axes and applied whatever medications a particular dog might need before throwing the chicken halves to them, which they devoured (and guarded!) voraciously. I loved watching the Northern Lights every night in the deep cold calmness and clear skies up there. It's a very different and beautiful world up there, but it wasn't prohibitively expensive for me as a backpacker, although grocery prices were much higher.We saw mostly Grizzlies as we took a boat towards an inlet on the mainland. Amazing creatures! If I could afford, I would go to Manitoba to see Polar Bears. Maybe one day that will happen! Either lottery winning or lots of savings
