Aug 18 - Heading Home!

For the second time in most of our lives, we woke up on a train. Minimal hours of sleep combined with a breakfast of American MREs and protein bars set the stage for our (final) heartfelt goodbye. The train got into Thompson around midday, and we said goodbye to our Cadets, as well as Shady and our beloved Lizette. Lizette had very meaningful goodbyes with Jacob and Nathan, connecting back to our nights of stories and activities together. She even gifted Nathan a stuffed fox!

From there, we started our long and painful and EXTREMELY HOT journey in a small van to Winnipeg. We picked up 9 pizzas for 11 people to sustain us, therefore pizzas also took up an entire seat. The next 9 hours passed in a hazy delirium only punctuated by gas and restroom stops. The back of the van had vibrant action consisting of rotating seats, constant karaoke fueled by Peace tea, and reliance on two small air conditioning vents to keep us alive.

Finally, after what felt like forever, we made it to the Air BnB around 10. And then—the moment we had all waited for—everyone got to take a shower! As a group, we smelled better than we have all trip. While people trickled out of the shower, we turned on a movie and all settled in for our last night together. After learning we had to leave at 5 am the next morning, we made the incredibly wise decision to watch multiple movies. We were somehow able to persist through a movie and a half before we slowly started to leave for bed.

-Leila