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.

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.

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