5. Preparing to Travel by Train from Cape Town to Salisbury, Southern Rhodesia, 1957

This is story #5 in the series “Where Exactly is Home?”. The author recommends you read them in order.

Introduction:

“Where Exactly is Home?” follows the story of my parents, my two younger brothers and me, Susan, who emigrated from war-battered Britain, in the mid-late 1950’s, to Southern Rhodesia, Africa.

The effects of this move on our family were huge, as we struggled to adapt to such a different way of life. Only after further upheaval, and more long-distance travelling, did our family eventually settle in the city of Salisbury, Rhodesia.

However, we did not know then that we would not remain there for the rest of our lives, either.

When the family first went to Africa, I, Susan, was 9 years old. My two brothers, John and Peter, were almost 7 and 4, respectively.

Nowadays, as seniors, John and Peter live in England. I live in Canada. Throughout our lives, we have both benefitted from, and suffered because of, our somewhat unusual childhood.

I, for one, still sometimes ask myself which country represents home to me.

This is a series of stories under the title “Where Exactly is Home?” – I recommend you read them in order, starting with story #1.

5. Preparing to Travel by Train from Cape Town to Salisbury, Southern Rhodesia, 1957

During my life, I have taken countless train trips, in many different countries. Some of these trips have been spectacular for the scenery, as when my husband and I first saw the snow-covered tip of Mt. Fuji in Japan, or when, with our sons, we travelled on the Rocky Mountaineer train from Jasper to Vancouver, across the Rockies, in awe of the mountains, the rivers, the rugged beauty of the place, where we now lived, albeit in a different province of this vast country, called Canada.

Some trips have been amazing for very different reasons, though. Travelling deep under the sea of the English Channel from England to France, in just a relatively few minutes, was so much easier than taking the ferry to Calais. We appreciated the technology involved, as we did, too, when my husband and I watched the speed on a digital meter in our carriage in the Maglev, Shanghai’s magnetic train, reach 430km an hour. We loved the punctuality of the Swiss trains, which left the platform precisely as noted on the timetable, unlike their British counterparts which were often delayed.

Other trips were unique, too. Travelling in India is always an experience, if only for the sheer number of local people milling around the railway station, piling into, or onto a carriage at the last minute, where I felt sure someone was likely to fall off and be crushed. On the other hand, the chaos of India was certainly not visible in the orderly line-ups of the Japanese commuters, waiting for their trains, though being pushed into a crowded train by an official “pusher” was not something I wished to experience.