Settling in... - From the coast to crops

I knew the moment I was flying over Saskatchewan.
I’d been in the air for five hours. I’d left Halifax at four in the morning, and despite having been awake for seven hours, my clock told me it was now six a.m. Time zones are designed to destroy the human psyche.
I was next to a window  (because who needs the leg room of an aisle seat, right?) I saw  the massive sprawl of Quebec, the vast lakes of Ontario, and the...adequate vistas of Manitoba.
At some point, I fell asleep. Rough turbulence jostled me awake. Semi-conscious, I pressed my forehead against the window and looked down. I blinked to make sure I was seeing things right.
I was looking at a grid. It was a gigantic patchwork of fields and farms, all interconnected like a quilt. Huge squares of yellow and green stretched on for miles. Thin strips of highway ran between them. It looked like something God would use for Tic-Tac-Toe.
They reminded me of crop circles. You could almost see the hidden images they projected to aliens in space. “Nice parking here.” “Try the poutine.” Stuff like that.
Of course, E.T., Alf, and the gang had nothing to do with this grid. It was built by human hands, which only made it more impressive. An almost perfect layout of this size was created by people.
As I touched down in Saskatchewan for the  first time, I was dazzled. The horizon seemed to extend out forever. It felt like potential.
I’m from the East Coast, specifically Nova Scotia. I’ve lived there my whole life. I’ve swam in the Atlantic Ocean, I’ve eaten donairs at two in the morning, and I’ve eaten my fair share of lobsters. If you know a Maritimer stereotype, I’ve probably done it.
Until two weeks ago, I’d never been further west than Toronto. I’ve  wanted to see more of the country, but I haven’t had the opportunity. Well, now I do. I’ve been hired  as a reporter for Yorkton This Week. I’ve sold my things and traveled to the Prairies to work. I imagine there’ll be some culture shock.
That’s what this column is about. I want to chronicle my integration into the Saskatchewan lifestyle. I want to document how a Maritimer transitions from life by the coast to life in the fields. Maybe we’ll learn something along the way. At the least we should get a good chuckle out of it.