Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world. - Nelson Mandela

Continued from here
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When I first encountered the Canadian Prairies, I was nineteen and hitchhiking across Canada to find work in Alberta. It had taken me three days of non-stop travelling, apart from one night stop in Thunder Bay to sleep, in the winter to reach the edge of the prairies. It is strange how some of these vast expanse of land reveal themselves. The border between Ontario and Manitoba was simply the edge of a forest giving way to flat treeless land. Passing through an area where all that you see is fleeting and then into a vast expanse of land almost feels like slamming on the brakes. I felt like a marathon runner standing the starting line after a warm up and mentally sizing up the distance ahead. The finish line was the foothills of the Rockies two days away.

Nearly ten years later, I find myself and four others driving north from Perth into the Western Desert of Australia. The hustle bustle of the city quickly gave way to oblivion. The stark contrast was once again immediate. All of the expectations of this journey came from reading books, watching documentaries and conversations with locals. With all that I have read and seen, filling in the gaps with my imagination would be the tip of the iceberg of what was about to revealed to my eyes.

I was as far away from home as I could possibly get without being in Antartica. Twelve timezones away and well below the equator. My grandmother had given me a globe when I was six. I used to play a game of Spin the Globe with my eyes covered and stopping the globe with my index finger. Where my finger landed, I would have a location to look up in the encyclopedia to learn more. The landing places also had a reference to the distance from home. When I was asked where I called home while I was travelling, the answered wasn't precise. "I am from Canada, near Toronto", was the usual response. Occasionally there were questions like, "Do you know Bob from Toronto?" Sometimes I would say yes just to see their reaction. It seems that question came into conversation with travellers like the weather does with Canadians. Perhaps it is to make the world smaller and more accessible.

When I thought of home, the pangs of lost familiarity diminished with each new experience. I didn't get homesick but often reflected on the contrast of this new place to what I regarded as home. Home became ambiguous. It was no longer my cosy bedroom with the spinning globe or the job I had or my family. Home seemed to grow in size and include more people like a satellite picture zooming out into space. Although I am Canadian, my appearance would never give away where I came from. I carried home with me everywhere I went.

My new home was about to be the desert that stretched  nearly 3,000 miles in front of me.

to be continued...