This is really slow traveling and I like it. Despite the fact that the car was shaking and squeaking a lot when driving, I slept reasonably well.
We reached Winnipeg around midnight. My father had been here during his time in the army for a NATO maneuver. He had always talked about how great his time here had been.
With the crew changing. new passengers coming aboard, and a lot of loading and unloading going on I fell asleep rather late.
My little compartment very much resembled a comfy tent I find. The only difference being that it was moving.
The dome car offered a truly spectacular 360 degrees view on the landscape around us. And before breakfast it was the perfect place for the first cup of coffee in solitude.
As we were approaching Ontario, the scenery changed to forests, lakes and swamps. Aka: mosquito country. And no cell reception for hours.
For the entire day there were a lot of lakes and forests and lakes and forests. For the first time on this trip I started listening to an audio book.
We shall be reaching Toronto by tomorrow noon. While I enjoy the ride I am looking forward to leaving this train again.
About 30 years ago, two zis scholarships helped me to broaden my horizon, expand my understanding of what is possible, and develop more self-confidence. zis is a non-profit organization that has been awarding scholarships for study trips to young people between the ages of 16 and 20 for more than 60 years. Today, the word we use for tenacity and grit is resilience - and I've made it my profession, to help managers around the world to develop more of this inner power.
In retrospect, the experiences I've had on these trips to Scotland and Iceland have been priceless for my development. After having had a childhood with some challenges, I learned that I could cycle 1,700km on my own and get wet every day without despairing. I have learned that I was able to get along with only 300 € for 4 weeks and still had a good time. I have learned what it's like to be threatened with deportation and how to get an interview with the President from such a crisis. I have understood that limitations are primarily constructs in our heads, and I want to make these insights available to as many adolescents as possible.
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