Did you ever eat a nun’s fart? Walk on a glacier? استكشاف في المناطق الحضرية حديقة وطنية?

Have you sampled shmoo torte? Taste-tested bagels or perogies? Snacked on Kouign-Amann?

Have you gone about your daily business — as if you were an Acadian in the 1700s?

هل رأيت قبر لويس ريل? Dipped your toes in the surf of the world’s highest tide?

Have you considered how aboriginal artists perceived the explorers who arrived on their land?

…explored a neighborhood museum — in a former public bathhouse?

…listened to stories of immigrants as they came to start life in a new country?

I’ve recently had the chance to do all these things, وأكثر.

كل شيء هنا في كندا.

My Cross-Canada Rail Adventure

I’m just back from a great adventure — an epic cross-Canada train trip.

قضيت شهر traveling across Canada on عبر السكك الحديدية من فانكوفر الى هاليفاكس with numerous stops along the way.

As a new Canadian myself — my family and I became Canadian citizens last year — I wanted to explore some of Canada’s iconic, don’t-miss places, من جبال روكي إلى ساحل المحيط الأطلسي.

But I also want to follow, وشارك, Canada’s multicultural story, learning more about other newcomers, الماضي والحاضر.

ممر الدخول الثقافية

وكنت قادرا على اتخاذ هذه الرحلة, جزئيا, بفضل an excellent program that’s available مجانا to new Canadian citizens: Ùˆ ممر الدخول الثقافية. Sponsored by the non-profit معهد حصول على الجنسية الكندية, the Cultural Access Pass is good for free admission to more than 1,000 museums and cultural attractions across the country Ùˆ to all of Canada’s national parks and historic sites.

The pass also gives new citizens a 50 percent discount off a Via Rail trip, and I was excited to learn that you can apply the pass to an already discounted fare. That’s right — when Via Rail announced a 50-percent-off sale, I was able to use my Cultural Access Pass for an extra discount.

If you’re a new citizen, it’s the cheapest way you’ll ever find to take the train across Canada! بفضل تمريرة, أيضا, my admission to the national parks, historic sites, and most of the museums I visited — from Jasper to Winnipeg, تورونتو الى مونتريال, Moncton to Halifax — didn’t cost me anything.

جميع ركابها!

Over the coming weeks, I’ll be posting stories about my new Canadian’s cross-country rail adventure. I hope you’ll join me on my travels.

And I’ll be sure to tell you all about those nun’s farts.

Photo credits:
على متن القطار فيا من فانكوفر الى جاسبر © كارولين B. شخص مزعج
Embarking on the train journey © Alan Albert
Trains departing from Toronto’s Union Station © Carolyn B. شخص مزعج