By Mike Gibbons '14
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Mike Gibbons (left) tutoring a student
in reading |
Although the means of reaching our destination seem dreadful (2 planes, a train and a bus), they all came with some awesome experiences. After we made our way into our tight little seats in our congested United Airlines express jet for our flight from Pittsburgh to Denver, an older woman reached up into the overhead stow away space and grabbed what seemed like a welcoming pillow and began cuddling it before we even took to the air. We all began to laugh under our breath as we realized that the lady didn't reach for a complimentary comfort device, she was actually cuddling poor James Stupar's pillow. While James writhed in emotional pain of not having his precious headrest, we cracked jokes and made friends with our two flight attendants, Shannon and Belinda. We landed in Denver and hopped onto our second flight to Spokane. After a three and a half hour plane ride to Denver, an two and a half
hour long flight to Spokane, and a ten hour train ride to East Glacier,
Montana, I've had enough of traveling. The flight to Spokane was less interesting as it was night now and everyone was planning on sleeping. Once we landed in the tiny airport in Washington, we learned we had a couple of hours before our taxis were to come and take us to the train station. To pass the time we explored the lifeless airport and found nothing of
interest. In an attempt to keep us entertained, I made up a makeshift
hacky-sack out of a pair of socks and some duct tape. It worked at first
but not many of us were pros so we set up goals from the empty rocking
chairs that lined the halls and played the most intense game of pick up
soccer I've played in my life. Time came to catch our cabs and roll on
over to the station at which I can now say I've slept on the floor. We
caught our train really late at night and headed to Montana. I woke up
and headed to breakfast in the dining car with Mr. Sudnik, Bill, and
James. We had a good chat, and enjoyed our food and then headed back to
the coach.
As we rolled along toward East Glacier, my eyes stayed glued
to the beautiful views of Montana's wilderness.
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The Two Medicine River as we approached
East Glacier, MT. |
The closer we came to our stop the more infatuated I became with the geographical layout of the area, and the more ready I became to participate in this trip. We came to our stop in East Glacier and met Brother Ray, who was waiting for us with a smile on his face.
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| The East Glacier Train Station |
We loaded up the bus and Bro. Ray acquainted us with the reservation. This weekend has been amusingly eventful and was a great way to warm me up to the work I'll be doing with the students of the De La Salle Blackfeet School. After a three and a half hour plane ride to Denver, a two and a half
hour long flight to Spokane, and a ten hour train ride to East Glacier,
Montana, I had enough traveling. However, now that we've arrived, I cannot wait to see what this Immersion Trip has in store for all of us.
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| Members of the tribal buffalo herd |
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