This morning out walking Diesel and Stella, I noticed the ice had started to form on the river above the falls, so had to go back out with the camera. The weather is warming up again, so all the snow and soon, I imagine, the ice will have disappeared again. It's supposed to be as high as 10 C on Thursday before dropping again - crazy weather!

Yesterday, Sunday, was a glorious day yet again. Lots of blue skies and sunshine, so Lyn took me a little further afield. She was on her way to Costco, the supermarket at Kitchener. I know we now have at least one store in Oz, but I haven't been before, and a Sunday just a couple of weeks before Christmas is not really the time to go, but we got there and with lots of others trawled the aisles. It's called buying in BULK, great if you have lots of storage room.
Aside form that it gave me the opportunity to see a little of the countryside in the daylight. It's very flat around the Wellington and Waterloo districts, with a lot of agriculture. The fields have all been ploughed  ready for the spring season. There is a large Mennonite presence in the area and it was for me, fascinating to see the horses and buggies out and about as we drove by, especially those all covered in with tail lights and indicators brightly lit on the back.

Lynne at the West Montrose Covered Bridge

We stopped by the West Montrose Covered Bridge, the only remaining covered bridge in Ontario and built in 1881, and then had a brief stop in St Jacobs, now a very popular tourist town, but what was originally a Mennonite village. The quaint shops and mills have been restored and now are filled with galleries, and other tourist  shops. I am hoping to get back and spend a lot more time there including the Mennonite Museum and the Farmer's Market - I just love markets.

The Hockey Game

The Hockey Game.

Neighbours, Lynn and John informed me that a trip to Canada in winter is not complete without a visit to a hockey game - a Canadian Institution.9 To me hockey is the game they play on wet turf and certainly do not have skates on their feet - h! field hockey I am told, we are going to the "real hockey". I had noticed that it seems to figure a lot on t.v. and there are games going on all the time, so I did have an idea of it's place in the scheme of things.
Last night, it was off to Guelph, about a half hour journey, to see the local game. Last night was a  special night, the Christmas Teddy Bear Toss night, and as we arrived there were people everywhere carrying all sorts of stuffed toys including Lynn with our bag of toys. The arena is in the centre of town in the middle of a shopping mall, and although the arena wasn't full capacity is 6,000) I think there were just under 4,000. It is quite a social event, everyone wanders around chatting and catching up. Popcorn and beer are the traditional fare, although all the usual sporting event foods are also available.

The Teddy Bear toss, has become a popular tradition at Christmas time in the local leagues, where the toys brought by the fans are all tossed onto the ice after the home team scores it's first  goal. The toys are then donated to charities.


Last night we all held onto those toys for a very long time and everyone was getting worried that they would be leaving with their toys as the home team, the Storm, were being soundly whipped and by the end of the 2nd third, they were down 6 to 0 - a disaster indeed.
John and Lynn assure me that it was a very strange game, for the 1st two thirds, the visiting team, the Colts were in complete command scoring 6 goals, much to the delight of the two ladies sitting next to us and ringing their cow bells happily and frequently.

These games are noisy with frequent bursts of advertising and music during the down moments, which I admit I didn't understand, but I have never played hockey. The home crowd became more despondent and many left early.

Finally in the last 15 minutes of the game it was time for the Teddy Bear toss - at LAST, the Storm scored a goal, the crowd went wild and stuffed toys rained down onto the ice. It  took some time for all the toys to be collected, there were lots of kids out there, but I am not sure how much they helped, and the game continued. I don't know whether it was the toys or the noise, but the Storm players went crazy and in the next few minutes the teams were only 1 goal apart, 6 - 5. Unfortunately time ran out and the Colts scored another with the final score 7 - 5. My apologies to the Colts, the final score was 8 - 5. My hosts insist it was a very unusual game, but best of all I had FUN, and a beer and some popcorn.
Thanks Lynn and John.

What to do when it snows

This morning it has been snowing steadily since I got up, which I must admit is considerably later than at home.But my excuse is that it is still dark until a lot later, and these dogs don't expect a 6.00am walk like some I know.  Anyway it's still snowing now, not heavily, but steadily. I might even have to do some snow shoveling later, don't think there is enough for the big gun yet, and shoveling will be good for me.
As I am not getting to the gym every morning like at home, I am using the rowing machine , and this morning up another km to 6. If I get too bored I can always spend some time with Liam's service station and cars down there. I am also spending a lot of time walking, usually about 6 - 8 kms a day.

The dogs on the other hand, like to rush outside and play in the snow for a while. It doesn't take long for Diesel to come back in, but Stella rushes around like a mad thing, chasing squirrels, throwing toys and barking dementedly.  Then comes inside and does the same thing.

We may get all dressed up in our warm gear soon and take me for my first walk here while it's snowing.

The Family:

 Meet Richard, Nicole and Liam, who are at this very moment hopefully enjoying a beautiful summer in Victoria, for the moment. In fact not very far at all from my home there in Melbourne. They will be wandering that vast country visiting a number of states for the next month or so, while I stay in their lovely home and care for my charges.

Richard is an Aussie, and they both lived there for some time, so have lots of friends and family to catch up with,

 And here they are. This is Diesel, in front, a long haired Dachshund, although his hair is a little shorter than usual I am told, I wont say why. And then there is Stella a very busy little rescue terrier. And busy they both are between bouts of sleeping and keeping watch out the windows for attacking humans or squirrels in the yard. At which time there is an explosion of noise - until I yell that is. But they are cute  and very entertaining, and I am convincing Diesel to like walking outside, he's not tooooo keen. Stella would go anywhere, anytime.

 And here is Miyo, who usually likes to spend time where the dogs are not, although is pretty good at holding her own when necessary.


Then there is Pao Pao the fish, but he is not particularly photogenic and a little old, so I was worried the flash might be a little more than he was up for.

I think we can all keep each other company for the next couple of months.

Snow
Woke this morning to a lovely dusting of snow, but damp enough to stick to the trees, which made for a beautiful sight, so 3 walks and 8km  later I have covered a lot of ground and taken a heap of photos. Which will appear on    www.flickr.com/photos/barbhagger     soon I hope. Just need a day or 2 to get them up - too busy walking.

What a beautiful village and the walk through the the Elora Gorge Conservation Park with neighbour Lynn and her beautiful spaniel Desi,  it was just magic

 Snowblower Lessons
Picture this:   two Aussies in the drive at around 8.00pm, pitch black, with the snowblower roaring and not a snowflake to be seen. Several neighbours passing just rolled their eyes and I am sure others thought we were just a little odd. I think I mentioned that Richard is Australian, Nicole is Canadian ( I am house sitting for them) so Richard had to give me a quick lesson in the snowblower. That is after he re taught himself!!

They tell me the thing you have to be most careful of is the direction you aim the snow. Very bad form to send it over the neighbours fence, never, never, never is it to be aimed at the road and the biggest catastrophe of all is to hit yourself in the face with it! This should be fun.

New York, New York.

One the way over I had an all to brief stop over in New York. First time and I just loved it.
Walked my little feet off .
Caught the subway to Brooklyn.
Walked over the Brooklyn Bridge and back.
Viewed the world from the tops of the Empire State and Rockefeller buildings.
Saw the unlit Christmas tree at the Rockefeller centre.
Walked my little feet off.
Visited Times Square.
Saw the Christmas lights and the city lights - wow.
Visited the 9/11 memorial, in the rain.
Ate part of a pretzel - didn't like it!
Had no time to eat or sleep.
Visited Macy's.
Visited Strawberry Fields in Central Park.
Stood in the great hall at Grand Central Station..
And best of all, saw Hugh Jackman perform live on Broadway - fantastic.

Now I want to go again.

Time to start all over again. Having lost control of my google account for some time I couldn't continue my ramblings. but it's all back now and I am on a new adventure in Elora, Ontario Canada for 2 months, so will do a little waffling on about my life here in the depths of winter. It's not quite here yet but everyone assures me that the time will come..... I am just hoping for a white Christmas.
I am here house sitting (that's the house and the snow that greeted me) for a family who at this moment are probably arriving right where I came from, Melbourne. They, and most of their friends and neighbours just can't believe that anyone would be crazy enough to come here from a summer in Australia,for a winter, but life is an adventure or nothing. So here I am in a beautiful little village a couple of hours outside of Toronto and with camera in hand to do lots of exploring. More later.

Certificado Ushuaia

Certificado Ushuaia
Originally uploaded by agypsy.

I can hardly believe it, but this is the last entry from Ushuaia.

Eight months, some great experiences and photos, the whole 8 months on another BLOG in Spanish and tomorrow I'm gone, forever....well who knows? Never say never.

¿What am I going to miss?
My friends from here: Celia, young enough to be my daughter but who has looked after me all the way, helped with everything including the language problems and correcting my translations, shared mate and always been there. Amanda & Exequiel for all their help and friendship and patience.To all those at Finis terrae, Silvina and Adriana, my friend from El Video and all the other great people who have crossed my path.
The views and the mountains that are different every single day.
The colours and the beauty, the sunrises and sunsets. Magnificent.
The life of the streets and the people.
Lots of things.

¿What am I NOT going to miss?

The dogs.....
The dust and the mud, although I love the snow.
The dogs.
The hole in the bathroom roof and the almost warm shower every morning.
The dogs.
The nena running around upstairs at 12.30 at night.
Did I mention the dogs? They are barking now.

And the next adventure? After Buenos Aires and Back to OZ ...Who knows. Guess I'll just keep writing about it here.

My Addicted Plant

Ushuaia 2007
Originally uploaded by agypsy.

I am very concerned about my plant, a gift from Celia when I arrived to brighten up a white walled rather sterile environment in my depto. The whole 8 1/2 months I have been feeding it a constant supply of Nag Champa and I am worried that Celia won't be able to continue the supply to the levels to which it is accustomed. I use a lot of Nag Champa, and although it is cheap here it is an extravagance, she also works incredibly long hours and just won't be able to feed the addiction as I do.
Maybe I will have to send money to keep it going or she can slowly wean it off it's constant hits?

The Sock Seller

Ushuaia Winter 2007
Originally uploaded by agypsy.

Every day, just like the Telebingo man, the sock seller is outside the Supermarket, rain hail snow and sunshine. He hangs all his wares in convenient gaps and waits patiently. He also has some cardboard to stand on now and helps return trolleys and with shopping, but doesn't smile like the telebingo man. He is Chilean and a little disillusioned with life in Ushuaia. He asked me about Australia and thinks it is the land of milk and honey, with no unemployment, but the grass always is greener...
Sometimes he has some sales, but the supermarket has the same goods so I don't know how well he does.

The Telebingo Seller

Ushuaia Winter 2007
Originally uploaded by agypsy.

Every day, rain, hail snow and sunshine, the happy Telebingo Fueguino ticket seller is to be found standing at the door of my local supermarket. He is one of many around town. Apparently there is a draw from the local hall on tv on Sundays and these are the tickets he sells. As I don't have a telly not a lot of point buying a ticket.
Now, in the colder weather he stand on a collapsed cardboard box to keep the cold out, but always has a smile and is on hand to help with the trolleys, or the shopping if necessary.
The supermarket "guards' also double as trolley finders, unwanted product returners and general handymen, but are dressed officially in their security uniforms.

Botella al mar

Ushuaia Winter 2007
Originally uploaded by agypsy.

Just when I am leaving, everything happens. Lots of work and now a radio interview. This was on the local community station Radio Activa 98.9. Like all community radio the focus of the station is the local community: to form a community, strengthen the local identity and to encourage the participation of the community. They are able to exercise freedom of expression and are the "voice for those that have no voice" and aim to elevate the level of debate in society, but foremost the they are a collective for social change. During the week 36 programs are presented by 64 local citizens. You can read about them, en español here

Further to An Observation.....

It's not just me, others have noticed it also: here

Reflexiones en español

Ushuaia Winter 2007
Originally uploaded by agypsy.

Si te gustaria leer mis reflexiones de un tiempo breve en Ushuaia en español está aca:

www.reflexionesushuaia.blogspot.com

An Observation

I don't know whether it's just me being sensitive, but I have been in a number of shops lately and happily being served when other customers have interrupted with an expectation of being served. What I find interesting is that the sales person has actually attended to them, sometimes leaving me standing waiting. One actually commented later how rude the person was, but attended them all the same. Another came in looking for work and to offer her resume, interesting, she couldn't even wait until my purchases were completed. Great impression! on me, certainly not. But then maybe I'm just old fashioned and expect service.

Día Del Niños

Ushuaia Winter 2007
Originally uploaded by agypsy.

Well, we've had Mother's Day, Father's Day, Friend's Day, Independence Day, Tierra Del Fuego Day, Flag Day, Secretary's Day and probably a lot of other special Days that I missed, but as you can see the next one is the Day of the Kids. I suppose there are Grandma and Grandpa days and probably one for the pets as well!
The people days are usually on a Sunday and like ours I guess they are a great way to make money - this sign was in the Supermarket window after all.
We seem to have had an enormous amount of public holidays since I have been here, and naturally I don't know when they are. Usually the first clue is the lack of traffic noise in the morning, then I check to see if the business opposite is open, they open about 8.00am, and if not I have a pretty good idea it's a holiday. Next step is to check the calendar and find out just what special Day it is.. Just checked the calendar and I'll be gone before the next one - which is when Jose San Martin passed into Immortality. It's coloured but I don't know if it's a public holiday.

El Colectivo

Ushuaia Winter 2007
Originally uploaded by agypsy.

Most of the time, if I am not walking, I travel in the local bus, the colectivo. There are 3 that service pretty much all of Ushuaia, with the imaginative names of A B C. My buses are A and B and to go into the centre the stop is a couple of blocks away and both stop there. Line A takes me along the waterfront route and is best for town, line B goes up the top and this I use to get to the 2 schools, To come home both pass close by, but A stops right at my corner, which is great with a heap of shopping.
One of the first things I noticed about colectivo travel is that everyone offers seats, to we "older" citizens, to pregnant mums and to mothers with children. Very rarely do I stand, even if I say no, they insist.Maybe I am looking really old, or because I am an extranjero.
The other thing I love to watch is the drivers compulsive straightening of the paper money. A trip no matter how far, costs 1.25P about 75c Aus. and having the right change is not always easy, so they tend to get lots of notes and as we are driving along, most of them spend time straightening out the notes and putting them into a billfold.
It's such fun people watching.

Los Taxistas

Ushuaia Winter 2007
Originally uploaded by agypsy.

Some of my best chats here have been with the taxi drivers, on the whole they are a friendly and very informative group. I guess this is true in lots of places, but usually travelling by taxis is one of the last resorts as the prices are so exorbitant. In South America, it is often the only way to travel, the buses are very crowded and one has to be very aware of all their possessions, although that is not true here in Ushuaia and I do travel by Collectivo frequently.
But back to the taxistas, some don't talk, but most are interested in their tourists and like to practice their English, but also happy to chat away to me in español. I have had all sorts of conversations, including a classical music lesson on the way home from one of the concerts. I am sure he would have liked to take the long way home so he could finish my instruction. They are very honest and helpful, generally plentiful and certainly an easy way to get around town.
There is an upgrade version of private taxis, the Remis, and to use these you have to phone, but usually for me it's faster to walk to the corner and the local rank and the service is just as good.

El Asado

Ushuaia Winter 2007
Originally uploaded by agypsy.

Every weekend and public holiday, rain, snow or sunshine, the city of Ushuaia is enveloped in a cloud of smoke from the multitude of los Asados and the smell of cooking meat penetrates everything. The local el supermercado and la carniceria are full of shoppers in the morning buying the meats, vegetables and naturally the la cerveza and el vino to accompany el asado and around mid day the plumes of smoke start to rise all over the city. On public holidays there is a very heavy smoke cover as everyone seems to be cooking outdoors and the smell is very strong.
The traditional Asado is Cordero or lamb, but all sorts of meats are used from sausages, offal, cuts of beef and of course the cordero and just like the good ol' Aussie bar-b-que the blokes are outside with the fire, the meat and the los cervezas. The weather isn't as conducive to eating outside as it is in Australia but the cooking is certainly done outside.
The apparatus, called a chulengo, varies greatly from just a simple grate over the fire to more elaborate structures and this is a pretty typical style cooker. I have seen the guys out with the welding gear creating very elaborate structures and have seen cookers on balconies, front yards and back yards - wherever there is a space.
PS One of my English students told me last night that it isn't a Sunday unless they have an Asado, and as he is a fisherman his favourite Asado is fish.

Tenedor Libre

Ushuaia Winter 2007
Originally uploaded by agypsy.

If you aren't lucky enough to have space for an Asado or live in un depto you can enjoy your bar-b-que or asado in any of restaurants in town, where they have a set price, eat all you can "tenedore libre" or literally free fork, lunch. A number of the restaurants put this on every day, particularly those out of town at the tourist stops, but the weekend is the busy time when lots of the locals can be seen enjoying their parrilla. Early morning the truck delivers the cordero (lamb) and the chef starts the fire in the window of the restaurant . When it's ready the cordero starts roasting slowly over the fire and for the next few hours all that end of town smells of the roasting meat. As a vegetarian it's not my thing, much to the disappointment of people here, who tell me it's a MUST, one of the dishes of the region.
The lunch is a buffet style with salads and vegetables to self serve and the roasted meat is served on a drip tray style stand and is refilled as often as required from the kitchen. From what I have seen the cut of meat is very different to what I am accustomed to seeing in Oz and is served with all the fat and appears to be all bone and fat, but everyone seems to love it and comes back for lots more. I know that all the offal is also cooked and served, but I would prefer not to think about that part of it.
Every Sunday most of the "tenedore libre" restaurants are filled with locals in large family groups enjoying their parrilla.

Evita

Ushuaia Winter 2007
Originally uploaded by agypsy.

Yesterday, Thursday 26th July, in heavy snow a small group of people gathered to commemorate the 55th anniversary of the death of Eva Perón, the “spiritual leader of Argentinians, who passed into immortality at the age of 33” Diario Prensa viernes 27 de julio 2007

“Evita continues as valid as in her time"

EVITA
"YO NO QUISE NI QUIERO NADA PARA MI.
MI GLORIA ES Y SERA SIEMPRE EL ESCUDO DE
PERON Y LA BANDERA DE MI PUEBLO, Y
AUNQUE DEJE EN EL CAMINO JIRONES DE
MI VIDA, YO SE QUE USTEDES
RECOGERAN MI NOMBRE Y LO LLEVARAN
COMO BANDERA A LA VICTORIA"
17 DE OCTOBRE DE 1951

Living on a Peat Bog

Ushuaia Winter 2007
Originally uploaded by agypsy.

Much of the land around Ushuaia is actually Turbal or peat and therefore a bog and always wet. There are areas where it is cut and processed outside the city, but there is also a large area within the city boundaries that is enclosed by a barb-wire fence.
But family by family squatters have been moving onto the bog and building. At first it was tents and plastic sheeting stretched over a frame, but the structures are becoming more and more permanent in appearance. In summer it was bad enough, as the Turbal is always wet, but can you imagine it now after the rain and the snow? I went by yesterday and took the photos, and discovered that the suburb, it is now called 10 de febrero, has grown and the structures a lot more solid. Originally there were 7 living there, and this has now grown to 35 people, including kids.
An article in the local paper on Wednesday said that the council has signed an agreement with the occupants of 10 de febrero to provide them with essential services, water, and power and chemical toilets in exchange for a promise from the inhabitants that they will control the numbers and not allow any new squatters. The services will be installed outside the squatter area but for their use. Included in the agreement is the promise of re-locating those on the present register to another suburb at a later date.

The signing of the accord… does not generate any rights for the occupants over the land they occupy………

Supermercado especial...

Ushuaia Winter 2007
Originally uploaded by agypsy.

After the first heavy snowfall several weeks ago the local supermarket was very quick off the mark with the snow shovels, and it looks like they sold heaps. There were quite a few of them out there this morning, and I think I will see a lot more of them today as it is snowing very heavily again. Every time the sun appears I get ready to venture out with the camera, but minutes later we are back to the white stuff.
The snow we had several weeks ago was the heaviest they have had in the town since 1995 and they had snow and freezing weather throughout Argentina, including Buenos Aires, which is the equivalent to snow in Sydney. That was the first for almost a century.
It surprised me that they don't have a lot of snow here in the city and that they were so unprepared for it in many ways. The collectivo, the local bus service coped a fine for not providing their "advertised" service, there were some hills they just couldn't get up and services were discontinued for a while in some areas and the council didn't do a particularly job on the road clearing either.
We shall see what this storm brings.