National Adult Literacy Database

May 7, 2001

Clurite Delpeche has been coming to the Reading Council for Literacy Advance in Montreal (RECLAIM) for 3 years now. She is the mother of 5 children. last year she won the Canada Post Award for Literacy. She is very involved with the Centre and she hopes to continue improving her English.

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Train Ride

by Clurite Delpeche

Boarding the train from New Haven, which arrived on time, I found it was very crowded. I finally found a seat, settling myself down for the long journey to Montreal. The train slowly left the station with the blowing of its whistle. As it then picked up speed the ride felt much smoother on the tracks. The train personnel went from car to car checking passengers for their tickets and to verify their destinations. When the conductor finished checking the tickets it became very quiet in the car. My attention then turned to the outside as the train got further away from the residential and industrial areas. Now the train was moving extremely fast.

There were no buildings in sight, only trees, as far as the eye could see, and the peacefulness of nature. After a while in the open wilderness I felt the speed of the train begin to decrease. When I looked out of the window I saw that the train was crossing a huge bridge over a body of water. A few miles after the bridge, I heard the sound of the train whistle. I looked out and saw small houses here and there in an opening among the trees. A few hours later the train pulled into the first station. I was very surprised. It was nothing like the New Haven station. The level of the platform was the same as the street. The platform had a roof and under it was an office where the station personnel stayed to monitor the trains that passed through. We stayed there about fifteen minutes to half an hour while a few passegers boarded and got off the train.

Slowly the train began to leave the station making a clicking sound until the small town was out of sight. By now the new passengers were all in their seats. We were half way to our destination. I began to get hungry and sleepy. I made my way to the restaurant car located in the middle of the train. Crossing between the moving cars was very scary. I finally got to the restaurant.

The food, soft drinks, chips, coffee and all snacks were very expensive. The tuna fish sandwich was not the best I have eaten.

Heading back to my place I settled down with a book. The book was boring and I dozed off. Lo and behold! When I opened my eyes the glare of the setting sun over the trees, with its beams spreading out like a fan, was breathtaking. Words could not express my inner feelings.

By now we were pulling into St. Albans, our transfer point. The passengers bound for Montreal boarded a bus. The bus driver checked our I.D.s and gave a lecture about what we could expect at the Immigration border.

The ride to the Canadian border was enjoyable. As we passed several landmarks the driver brought our attention to them.

We arrived at the border on time and went through the customs with flying colors. The bus driver congratulated us for being his first 48 passengers that got through customs in fifteen minutes.

As we were crossing the Champlain Bridge, on our way to down town Montreal, the driver pointed out the Olympic Stadium and La Ronde park. The Olympic Stadium is a great piece of art with a tower. From the tower there is a spectacular view of the city.

Looking at LaRonde Park from a distance you could see the huge wheel that was lit up beautifully. It is a wonderful place to visit in the summer.

The train ride was a wonderful experience for me. It gave me the pleasure of seeing some of Mother Nature's handiwork.

I finally got to my drop off point in downtown Montreal and there to meet me was my family.