Saskatchewan

Feel the Rush

/ Greg / Leave a comment

I’ve been to my share of interesting sporting events on my travels.  So it felt pretty natural to buy a ticket to a lacrosse match for my first Saturday night in my new hometown of Saskatoon.   I had watched parts of a few games on TV, but hadn’t had the chance to take in a game in person.  I had no idea what I was in for.

Without a car, I hopped a very convenient express bus out to the SaskTel Centre, the home (field? arena?) of the Saskatchewan Rush, the only professional sports team in Saskatoon.  The early bus gave me some time to get familiar with what is now my home rink.  Although located in the middle of nowhere, it’s pretty nice all in all.

At the Saskatchewan Rush game

Continue reading →

First days in the new hometown

/ Greg / Leave a comment

I stepped off the plane in Saskatoon a little over a week ago, dragged two full suitcases to a taxi, and about fifteen minutes later (the proximity of the airport to downtown is a major plus compared to Halifax!) I was in my temporary apartment and unpacking.  My first days included the mundane details of setting up a life in a new city, but I also set aside a fair chunk of time for some exploring before I started my new job.

First things first – Saskatoon is a very picturesque city.  Those trails along the river will be seeing a lot of me:

Saskatoon skyline

Continue reading →

Take any turn on a dime

/ Greg / 3 Comments

For most of my nearly 42 years, I have called Halifax home.  I had lived long enough in Ottawa and Toronto to have collected postal mail, and spent time living out of a suitcase on extended work stays in St. John’s and Philadelphia.  But on each of those occassions I knew I was coming back to Halifax at some point in the not too distant future.  That’s not the case for this one.  My wife and I are packing up our home and with exciting opportunities and adventures ahead,  I will be saying goodbye to Halifax and hello to somewhere I never would have dreamed I’d be heading – Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

And yes, I am fully aware of how cold it gets there in the winter.

Saskatoon

When an opportunity presented itself to continue my career at the College of Medicine at the University of Saskatchewan, my first stop was to read Saskatoon’s Wikipedia page to start some rapid research.  All I knew of Saskatchewan was its stereotypes – lots of wheat, Corner Gas jokes, “the easiest province to draw”, Roughriders!, and the cold.  Even as I embark on this adventure, I don’t really know that much about my new home.  I’ve spent a scant five days in Saskatoon.  It made a very favourable first impression, but there’s lots to learn and experience and that’s part of what has me excited about this move.

Continue reading →