Regina: Day One

Tally ho! The adventure begins...

I had an epiphany recently regarding my inability to habitate in one place for too long.  Having lived in China for six years and in Israel for three - and traveled through god-only-knows how many places in the meantime - it seems fairly obvious to me (now) that the traveling bug bit me early and bit hard.  So for those who know me well, they know that packing up and heading to Regina, Saskatchewan for a four-month internship stint is not that out-of-the-ordinary.  Fairly tame, in comparison - I'm actually staying in Canada this time.

I'm here in Regina to begin intern work at the Royal Saskatchewan Museum.  This is in conjunction with my final semester in the Collections Conservation & Management program at Fleming College.  I just spent the last year of my life in Peterborough (Ontario) going back to school and honing my skills to become a top-notch objects conservator.  And now it`s time for me to start working some treatment magic in the real world.

I definitely got some odds looks/questions from all sides when I decided that Saskatchewan was where I was going for my internship semester.  "What the heck do you want to go to Regina for?"  "You know Saskatchewan's really flat, right?" "Does anybody even live out there?"  " Isn't it just wheat fields as far as the eye can see?" "Have you ever tried prairie oysters? Are you going to?"  (By the way, the answer to that last one is a resounding NO.  Look them up on Wikipedia if you don't know what they are.)

*Sigh*

It seems I have my work cut out for me in terms of changing the minds of those naysayers out there who don't believe that Regina is going to be a fun, interesting, and challenging place to live and work.  Here's what I've learned so far in my first 12 hours here:

- The word "Wascana" is derived from the Cree word meaning "pile of bones", and many areas in Regina use the name.  All during the immigrant settlement of the area, large numbers of plains bison were killed, and their carcasses were piled along the railway tracks and near creek beds.

- I live in the oldest area of town called the Cathedral district, mainly because there's a giant cathedral there.  Go figure.

- Safeway food stores give awesome deals, and that includes bonus airmiles points out the wazoo.

- There are a couple of super cute/funky stores and cafes in this part of Regina.  And I'm within walking distance of some pretty scrumptious looking bakeries. Mmmmmm.

- This time of year is yard sale time.  Tomorrow I shall be hunting the streets for cheap kitchen wares and trying to meet people.

Doesn't this place sound like fun already?