Norway, Day 10
I didn't get this written on June 30 because I was just too tired to do more than brush my teeth after travelling all day yesterday, So I'm typing on the next day instead from my mother-in-law's apartment in Barrie. It's still very early in the morning but of course I'm hopelessly jetlagged & after 20 games of solitaire (trying to bore myself back to sleep) decided to do something productive.
Yesterday started out as yet another hot sunny Oslo day. Rhia & Eivind helped me haul my luggage the kilometer or two from the house to the train station. After another combination of trains & buses (it really helps to have a policy of bringing no more luggage than you can manage & still leave one hand free) I arrived at the airport. There's not much to say, really. The naturally high prices for everything in Norway, coupled with the exhorbitant prices that you usually get subjected to in airports, freed me from the temptation to shop for souvenir gifts.
The trip was uneventful with no missed connections, no surprises. I did get called out at the security checkpoint in Frankfurt to explain my little XO laptop... The very efficient security supervisor, in grey suit & tie, took me to a little room & wanted to know what this is ('It's a special laptop computer developed for children in Third World countries'), where I was going ('Toronto, Canada') & where my trip had begun ('Oslo'). 'Hm,' he said, writing all of this down, 'Oslo, Norway... ' but apparently that was the right answer because he stopped writing, motioned to the door, & told me I was free to go.
Would I choose Norway as a tourist destination? Probably not. For one thing, it's just a bit too similar to Canada so you don't feel you're satisfying the natural desire for novelty when travelling. The sticker shock is another damper. I would not describe the Norwegian people as a whole as outstandingly effusive & warm, although the people we visited specifically were extremely generous & hospitable. So would I visit Norway again? Given the coelescing family ties between Rhia & Eivind, a return visit seems inevitable.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Norway, Day 9
Norway, Day 9
June 29
As planned (totally out of character) we did go to the folk museum today. This is a place that you want to allot plenty of time. For one thing, the museum covers a lot of territory, physically; for another, there is just so much to see. It is kind of like Fort Steele/Barkerville/Ste. Marie among the Hurons etc. & the National Museum of Canada, combined. How do you portray a country with so much extant history?
They have divided the area into a number of villages, sort of, each representing a particular epoch in Norway's history. So they have representive structures from the edge of history, Saami dwellings. And they have structures from the Viking era. And Middle Ages, Renaissance, etc. etc. They have gathered all sorts of structures from all over the country & have reconstructed them here, complete with all the logs and/or boards, furnishings, linens, ... even the graffiti. Once again, it is eerie for someone like me from North America to run my hands over human constructions so old.
Tbe stave church was especially interesting. It dates from about 1200, shortly after Christianity arrived in Norway. It is exceedingly apparent how the church worked to adapt its message and expression to the existing rituals and mythology of Viking-era Norway: the church is decorated with dragons and the peak of the roof looks like a Viking prow.
The other very interesting part for me was the costume exhibit in the museum exhibition area. It's hard to fathom the incredible variety, the sophistication of clothing in this part of the world. For example, if you look at the variety of women's hats alone, you will be dumbfounded: there were separate styles of hats for girls and unmarried women, for a bride on her way to church, for a bride on her way from the church, for a bride on the day after her wedding, for widows, and for unwed mothers.
The other interesting costume phenomenon is the bunad: the national Norwegian women's costume. Maybe I have written about this before. Anyway, apparently there has been incredible variety in women's costumes in Norway; maybe not quite so interesting when viewed over time but certainly when viewed from region to region. The costume starts with a white linen blouse with heavy crossstitch embroidery on the collar & bodice area. Then there is a dark navy woolen dress with a very full skirt, embroidered & weighted around the hem. This is overlaid with an apron which may also be dark navy with hem embroidery or it may be another colour. After this, I kind of lose track. There appears to be a broad embroidered belt or cummerbund or something like that. There is a fair bit of silver dress-jewellery on top of that (especially for a bride). There are special shoes & stockings. And of course a hat as described above.
I mentioned my fascination with all of this when I returned to the home of our hosts tonight. So the daughters showed me their bunads. It is all so complicated & beautiful but what was most impressive was their obvious pride in knowing how to wear it. Apparently the folk dress was almost eclipsed by modern wear around the turn of the last century but Norway was at the time ruled by Sweden & the growing Norwegian nationalism movement revived the significance of wearing the bunad. Obviously it caught on.
Time to head for bed. I have to be up early tomorrow in order to head for the airport in time for my flight out of here.
June 29
As planned (totally out of character) we did go to the folk museum today. This is a place that you want to allot plenty of time. For one thing, the museum covers a lot of territory, physically; for another, there is just so much to see. It is kind of like Fort Steele/Barkerville/Ste. Marie among the Hurons etc. & the National Museum of Canada, combined. How do you portray a country with so much extant history?
They have divided the area into a number of villages, sort of, each representing a particular epoch in Norway's history. So they have representive structures from the edge of history, Saami dwellings. And they have structures from the Viking era. And Middle Ages, Renaissance, etc. etc. They have gathered all sorts of structures from all over the country & have reconstructed them here, complete with all the logs and/or boards, furnishings, linens, ... even the graffiti. Once again, it is eerie for someone like me from North America to run my hands over human constructions so old.
Tbe stave church was especially interesting. It dates from about 1200, shortly after Christianity arrived in Norway. It is exceedingly apparent how the church worked to adapt its message and expression to the existing rituals and mythology of Viking-era Norway: the church is decorated with dragons and the peak of the roof looks like a Viking prow.
The other very interesting part for me was the costume exhibit in the museum exhibition area. It's hard to fathom the incredible variety, the sophistication of clothing in this part of the world. For example, if you look at the variety of women's hats alone, you will be dumbfounded: there were separate styles of hats for girls and unmarried women, for a bride on her way to church, for a bride on her way from the church, for a bride on the day after her wedding, for widows, and for unwed mothers.
The other interesting costume phenomenon is the bunad: the national Norwegian women's costume. Maybe I have written about this before. Anyway, apparently there has been incredible variety in women's costumes in Norway; maybe not quite so interesting when viewed over time but certainly when viewed from region to region. The costume starts with a white linen blouse with heavy crossstitch embroidery on the collar & bodice area. Then there is a dark navy woolen dress with a very full skirt, embroidered & weighted around the hem. This is overlaid with an apron which may also be dark navy with hem embroidery or it may be another colour. After this, I kind of lose track. There appears to be a broad embroidered belt or cummerbund or something like that. There is a fair bit of silver dress-jewellery on top of that (especially for a bride). There are special shoes & stockings. And of course a hat as described above.
I mentioned my fascination with all of this when I returned to the home of our hosts tonight. So the daughters showed me their bunads. It is all so complicated & beautiful but what was most impressive was their obvious pride in knowing how to wear it. Apparently the folk dress was almost eclipsed by modern wear around the turn of the last century but Norway was at the time ruled by Sweden & the growing Norwegian nationalism movement revived the significance of wearing the bunad. Obviously it caught on.
Time to head for bed. I have to be up early tomorrow in order to head for the airport in time for my flight out of here.
Norway, Day 8
Norway, Day 8
June 28
Yes indeed, Rhia & Eivind got home very late (or very early depending on how you look at it) so the day's activities were delayed considerably. This was fine with me: I was up before anybody else for the first time & so had time to catch up on email, do a little reading, & even have a cup of tea without conversation. Georgiana was the next one up so the two of us went for a walk on the pilgrims' path. I am just starting to learn about the tradition of pilgrimage in Europe. Like many other historically Catholic countries (it seems) Norway had a long path suitable for the journeying of pilgrims. It provided a means of demonstrating religious commitment, an opportunity for atonement, and no doubt a way of spiritual retreat for those who found it hard to sit still. This path went from Oslo to Trondheim, a distance of several hundred kilometers. We didn't go the whole way (of course); just a kilometer or so, but it was enough for me to imagine that this would have been on the whole a pretty pleasant thing to do. The forest is beautiful in the summer: lush & green, lots of deciduous trees & birdsong.
Later, we all helped out in the garden for a while where that lush green Norwegian summer growth is more of a deficit than a pleasure. Lots of weeding.
And that was pretty much the day. To tell the truth, I was glad to have a day without spending money. It's interesting how us North Americans get used to the idea that going on holidays often means going to a place where things are cheaper than at home. But in Norway everything costs more, far more. Did I mention that Norway is the richest country in the world? That's what Eivind says & I wouldn't be surprised. I really feel like a [relatively] third world tourist here, complaining about the high price of everything & feeling reluctant to buy so much as a cup of coffee. But no doubt that's how most of our project partners feel when they come to Canada & realize that their money has so little buying power.
Tomorrow we are going to go to the folk museum!
June 28
Yes indeed, Rhia & Eivind got home very late (or very early depending on how you look at it) so the day's activities were delayed considerably. This was fine with me: I was up before anybody else for the first time & so had time to catch up on email, do a little reading, & even have a cup of tea without conversation. Georgiana was the next one up so the two of us went for a walk on the pilgrims' path. I am just starting to learn about the tradition of pilgrimage in Europe. Like many other historically Catholic countries (it seems) Norway had a long path suitable for the journeying of pilgrims. It provided a means of demonstrating religious commitment, an opportunity for atonement, and no doubt a way of spiritual retreat for those who found it hard to sit still. This path went from Oslo to Trondheim, a distance of several hundred kilometers. We didn't go the whole way (of course); just a kilometer or so, but it was enough for me to imagine that this would have been on the whole a pretty pleasant thing to do. The forest is beautiful in the summer: lush & green, lots of deciduous trees & birdsong.
Later, we all helped out in the garden for a while where that lush green Norwegian summer growth is more of a deficit than a pleasure. Lots of weeding.
And that was pretty much the day. To tell the truth, I was glad to have a day without spending money. It's interesting how us North Americans get used to the idea that going on holidays often means going to a place where things are cheaper than at home. But in Norway everything costs more, far more. Did I mention that Norway is the richest country in the world? That's what Eivind says & I wouldn't be surprised. I really feel like a [relatively] third world tourist here, complaining about the high price of everything & feeling reluctant to buy so much as a cup of coffee. But no doubt that's how most of our project partners feel when they come to Canada & realize that their money has so little buying power.
Tomorrow we are going to go to the folk museum!
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Norway, Day 7
June 27
Another incredible summery day, too warm really. I'm sure that whenever I think of Norway in the future, I will remember this tropical place where finding a patch of shade was a relief, where men walk around without shirts & young children even more than half-naked, where you can hardly find a seat outside to recover with a cold beer.
Today we got a rather late start & then headed for The Island. In fact Oslo's harbour has a number of little islands all connected by small passenger ferries (no cars). The island we went to was the largest & best known because on it you can visit the remains of a monastery built in the 13th or 14th century. I wonder if all North Americans are as astounded by thousand-year-old ruins as I am? Canada's first peoples did not leave much in the way of stonework and so our continental history is visually kind of thin. To be able to crawl around, casually & unsupervised, on such an ancient monument is incredible.
Norway has many aspects that strike me as incredible. There are very few tourists & very little catering for the whims of tourists; this is an authentic sort of place. Even though it's so far north as to be an almost frontier kind of place, Norway can compete culturally with any other European nation. It is capable of hot summer weather. It truly does have a different feel from Sweden.
The young people are out on the town tonight & who knows when they'll be back... I am predicting an even later start to the day tomorrow.
Another incredible summery day, too warm really. I'm sure that whenever I think of Norway in the future, I will remember this tropical place where finding a patch of shade was a relief, where men walk around without shirts & young children even more than half-naked, where you can hardly find a seat outside to recover with a cold beer.
Today we got a rather late start & then headed for The Island. In fact Oslo's harbour has a number of little islands all connected by small passenger ferries (no cars). The island we went to was the largest & best known because on it you can visit the remains of a monastery built in the 13th or 14th century. I wonder if all North Americans are as astounded by thousand-year-old ruins as I am? Canada's first peoples did not leave much in the way of stonework and so our continental history is visually kind of thin. To be able to crawl around, casually & unsupervised, on such an ancient monument is incredible.
Norway has many aspects that strike me as incredible. There are very few tourists & very little catering for the whims of tourists; this is an authentic sort of place. Even though it's so far north as to be an almost frontier kind of place, Norway can compete culturally with any other European nation. It is capable of hot summer weather. It truly does have a different feel from Sweden.
The young people are out on the town tonight & who knows when they'll be back... I am predicting an even later start to the day tomorrow.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Norway, Day 6
June 26
I suppose everybody who has maintained a blog or any kind of semi-public writing has run into the problem of how public it should be. On the one hand, you want to write personally in order to really connect with what you're writing about & have your best chance to make it interesting. On the other hand, you want to protect the privacy of those who share your story & also of yourself.
It's been a rather intense week, emotionally, with several personal events impacting my life but at the risk of sounding insipid, I will (for the reasons above) simply tell you about my day.
We headed into Oslo via a combination of buses and subway. The first place we visited was the statue park. The statue park (is that really its proper name?) is such a fantastic place I am amazed that I had never heard of it before. Apparently sculptor Gustav Vigeland was commissioned in the inter-war period to produce a series of statues for a park area near downtown Oslo. He produced a LOT of statues, perhaps a hundred? in bronze and concrete. I am not quite sure what his vision was: maybe he wanted to capture every human emotion or perhaps to portray human life at every stage of the life cycle. Certainly that's what you see on the surface. But there are also some strange sub-themes... I don't really know anything about sculpture but our hosts, Juan & Georgiana, agree that there is also a sort of celebration -- probably innocent -- of nordic-ness or even aryan-ness. The figures are all naked and are posed singly or in pairs, sturdy individuals with very north european features, women with braids. And babies, LOTS of babies! Curiously, it's mostly the men you see with babies. One sculpture is called something like 'man being attacked (or swarmed?) by babies, if that whets your curiousity. But the overall impression was about the power and mystery of emotions... something like that. Or perhaps that was simply the mood that I brought to it.
We spent most of the afternoon just wandering around the downtown, drifting in & out of shops, watching people, walking past the landmark buildings. Oslo has been burned down (mostly by accident) so many times over the years that what we see are mostly the newer (<150 years) buildings.
One can't help notice that, unlike Vigeland's statues, there are a lot of non-aryan people in Oslo. Georgiana says that 38% of the children in Oslo's school are not from Europe. Certainly the Middle Eastern & African residents stand out most but there are also many people from India, Pakistan, and Asia. It's especially interesting because according to Eivind immigration to Norway was essentially unheard of until about 25 years ago. At that time, the Norwegian immigration department (if there was one) allowed in one solitary immigrant from Lebanon (I think) on an experimental basis. But just to be on the safe side, they insisted that he remain in quarantine for a while to be sure that he did not immunulogically threaten the Norwegian people. So he had to live all by himself in some lonely cabin somewhere for a few months before joining the Norwegian milieu! My, how things have changed.
And now my feet are tired & it feels very good to lie down. More tomorrow.
I suppose everybody who has maintained a blog or any kind of semi-public writing has run into the problem of how public it should be. On the one hand, you want to write personally in order to really connect with what you're writing about & have your best chance to make it interesting. On the other hand, you want to protect the privacy of those who share your story & also of yourself.
It's been a rather intense week, emotionally, with several personal events impacting my life but at the risk of sounding insipid, I will (for the reasons above) simply tell you about my day.
We headed into Oslo via a combination of buses and subway. The first place we visited was the statue park. The statue park (is that really its proper name?) is such a fantastic place I am amazed that I had never heard of it before. Apparently sculptor Gustav Vigeland was commissioned in the inter-war period to produce a series of statues for a park area near downtown Oslo. He produced a LOT of statues, perhaps a hundred? in bronze and concrete. I am not quite sure what his vision was: maybe he wanted to capture every human emotion or perhaps to portray human life at every stage of the life cycle. Certainly that's what you see on the surface. But there are also some strange sub-themes... I don't really know anything about sculpture but our hosts, Juan & Georgiana, agree that there is also a sort of celebration -- probably innocent -- of nordic-ness or even aryan-ness. The figures are all naked and are posed singly or in pairs, sturdy individuals with very north european features, women with braids. And babies, LOTS of babies! Curiously, it's mostly the men you see with babies. One sculpture is called something like 'man being attacked (or swarmed?) by babies, if that whets your curiousity. But the overall impression was about the power and mystery of emotions... something like that. Or perhaps that was simply the mood that I brought to it.
We spent most of the afternoon just wandering around the downtown, drifting in & out of shops, watching people, walking past the landmark buildings. Oslo has been burned down (mostly by accident) so many times over the years that what we see are mostly the newer (<150 years) buildings.
One can't help notice that, unlike Vigeland's statues, there are a lot of non-aryan people in Oslo. Georgiana says that 38% of the children in Oslo's school are not from Europe. Certainly the Middle Eastern & African residents stand out most but there are also many people from India, Pakistan, and Asia. It's especially interesting because according to Eivind immigration to Norway was essentially unheard of until about 25 years ago. At that time, the Norwegian immigration department (if there was one) allowed in one solitary immigrant from Lebanon (I think) on an experimental basis. But just to be on the safe side, they insisted that he remain in quarantine for a while to be sure that he did not immunulogically threaten the Norwegian people. So he had to live all by himself in some lonely cabin somewhere for a few months before joining the Norwegian milieu! My, how things have changed.
And now my feet are tired & it feels very good to lie down. More tomorrow.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Norway, Day 5
This post will be short because it really is very late. We spent most of the day being ready to leave Vidaråsen for Oslo. At first we were going to leave at 10 & then catch the train from Tønsberg; then leaving at 2; then someone would come to get us at 4... Finally we got away at 6 or so. And now we are spending the night with the people who came all the way from Oslo to pick us up, some friends of Eivind's, a couple who are a little younger than me & have 3 children of about Rhia & Eivind's age. The husband, Juan (I'm sure his name is not really spelled that way, he's Norwegian) is a filmmaker & the wife, Georgiana, is a professional storyteller. They are fascinating people & their house reflects many interests. I had not counted on being able to stay with friends! - this is a bonus.
This is my first glimpse of Oslo while being in a conscious state. Oslo is a big city of half a million people spread between city core & surrounding areas. The harbour is FULL of little boats, surely there must be one (maybe more) for every single citizen of Oslo. More interesting facts about Norway, learned on the trip from Vidaråsen: Norway has the second longest shoreline in the world (after Canada). The shoreline is so convoluted that there are little towns & valleys that were never occupied by the Germans because they never even knew the towns were there! Norway is the richest country in the world. Norway is the only Indo-European language that is tonal, like Chinese (I honestly thought I was told last year that Swedish is also tonal?) Norwegian has more unique composite sounds than all the dialects of English put together.
OK, that's more than enough for now. Tomorrow we do some sightseeing.
This is my first glimpse of Oslo while being in a conscious state. Oslo is a big city of half a million people spread between city core & surrounding areas. The harbour is FULL of little boats, surely there must be one (maybe more) for every single citizen of Oslo. More interesting facts about Norway, learned on the trip from Vidaråsen: Norway has the second longest shoreline in the world (after Canada). The shoreline is so convoluted that there are little towns & valleys that were never occupied by the Germans because they never even knew the towns were there! Norway is the richest country in the world. Norway is the only Indo-European language that is tonal, like Chinese (I honestly thought I was told last year that Swedish is also tonal?) Norwegian has more unique composite sounds than all the dialects of English put together.
OK, that's more than enough for now. Tomorrow we do some sightseeing.
Norway, Day 4
June 24
Today was another quintessential summer day, with sunlight so brilliant I can actually feel the tinge of a sunburn on my neck. No doubt the sun's effect was magnified by being on the water all day. This happy circumstance came about because Barnt -- who until recently worked at Camphill -- offered to take us out on his boat. I don't know what I expected; perhaps an hour or so of pleasuring about. But Barnt & his wife, Erika, had something more in mind.
Barnt & Erika picked us up after lunch in a boat which I think was called the Casseopeia. The boat wasn't awfully large, 7 m perhaps, a wooden lapstrake touring boat in a classy-but-in-need-of-repair condition. We spent a good hour motoring out to some small islets near the mouth of the fjord. The islets were amazing. There were perhaps 20 of them, rounded rocks rising like whales' backs out of the water. There was very little space between them -- maybe a couple of meters. However, the space was just enough for a small boat to slip through into the protected water. Lots of other boats were already nestled between the rocks and their passengers were spread out over the rocks with picnic chairs and portable barbeques and children in swimming suits. We cruised on a little further until we found an islet to ourselves, tied up, pulled out the barbeque, and made ourselves comfortable.
While Barnt fired up the barbeque & Rhia & Eivind worked up the courage to go swimming, I explored the islet. When a Canadian thinks of 'Norway' what do we think of? Fish, perhaps, & spectacular fjords with lots of fishing boats. I would never have imagined the delicate beauty of that islet. Although from the water it looked like a lump of rock, scrubbed smooth & clean by glaciers, it had a surprising interior. Wherever there was an indent or a cranny or a crack, a microenvironment had formed. The islet was dotted with tiny rock gardens dense with yellow, purple, white and pink flowers. There were rose bushes and tiny cherry trees, a miniature bog and 2 little lakes that looked like something out of a Japanese painting. Barnt said that long ago people even lived on the islets. I can understand the attraction but I do wonder how they handled such practicalities as drinking water, food, firewood, and cabin fever....
When I returned, the picnic was almost ready. We had potatoes and mackerel, tea and honey cake with butter. Rhia & Eivind did go swimming after all & said the water really wasn't all that cold -- apparently it gets heated up by the rocks all around.
We didn't get back on shore until 7:00 & not back at Camphill until after 9 but in spite of the tiredness & sunburn it was truly a great day.
Today was another quintessential summer day, with sunlight so brilliant I can actually feel the tinge of a sunburn on my neck. No doubt the sun's effect was magnified by being on the water all day. This happy circumstance came about because Barnt -- who until recently worked at Camphill -- offered to take us out on his boat. I don't know what I expected; perhaps an hour or so of pleasuring about. But Barnt & his wife, Erika, had something more in mind.
Barnt & Erika picked us up after lunch in a boat which I think was called the Casseopeia. The boat wasn't awfully large, 7 m perhaps, a wooden lapstrake touring boat in a classy-but-in-need-of-repair condition. We spent a good hour motoring out to some small islets near the mouth of the fjord. The islets were amazing. There were perhaps 20 of them, rounded rocks rising like whales' backs out of the water. There was very little space between them -- maybe a couple of meters. However, the space was just enough for a small boat to slip through into the protected water. Lots of other boats were already nestled between the rocks and their passengers were spread out over the rocks with picnic chairs and portable barbeques and children in swimming suits. We cruised on a little further until we found an islet to ourselves, tied up, pulled out the barbeque, and made ourselves comfortable.
While Barnt fired up the barbeque & Rhia & Eivind worked up the courage to go swimming, I explored the islet. When a Canadian thinks of 'Norway' what do we think of? Fish, perhaps, & spectacular fjords with lots of fishing boats. I would never have imagined the delicate beauty of that islet. Although from the water it looked like a lump of rock, scrubbed smooth & clean by glaciers, it had a surprising interior. Wherever there was an indent or a cranny or a crack, a microenvironment had formed. The islet was dotted with tiny rock gardens dense with yellow, purple, white and pink flowers. There were rose bushes and tiny cherry trees, a miniature bog and 2 little lakes that looked like something out of a Japanese painting. Barnt said that long ago people even lived on the islets. I can understand the attraction but I do wonder how they handled such practicalities as drinking water, food, firewood, and cabin fever....
When I returned, the picnic was almost ready. We had potatoes and mackerel, tea and honey cake with butter. Rhia & Eivind did go swimming after all & said the water really wasn't all that cold -- apparently it gets heated up by the rocks all around.
We didn't get back on shore until 7:00 & not back at Camphill until after 9 but in spite of the tiredness & sunburn it was truly a great day.
Norway: Day 3
June 23
Today we just hung out in Vidaråsen and enjoyed village life. Vidaråsen is a Camphill community, in which the entire village is structured to support adults with developmental delays and mental disabilities. And it really is a village: there are more than a dozen houses, a store, a home for seniors, a community hall, chapel, and countless outbuildings. At least a hundred people live here. On paper about half are identified as 'villagers' (those with the disabilities) while the other half are 'co-workers' (those providing the care and assistance). But in practice, the distinction is not nearly so clear, and according to those who have lived in a Camphill community some time, the distinction grows fuzzier as you get to know them better.
Most Camphill communities were developed with the ideal of providing meaningful, self-sufficiency work for all. Most include a farm plus workshops in which community members process the food and do a variety of handicrafts. Whatever is not consumed by the village is sold in the community store.
So after a leisurely breakfast (Rhia & Eivind are on holidays and so don't have to get up early to get villagers ready for the day) we went down to the barn to see the new calf & watch the cows getting milked. We visited the weavery workshop where Rhia assists during the week; watched the weaving projects underway & stayed for coffee break. We picked our salad ingredients fresh from the garden. After lunch we went for a long walk to a little lake (not yet warm enough to swim, not for me anyway!) Later there was a big picnic-barbeque to celebrate midsummer but by then we were too pooped to participate.
I have been acquainted with the Camphill movement for more than 30 years because Richard's sister has worked & lived in a Canadian Camphill community since the mid-70's. Village life sounds seductively idyllic & in some ways it is. It's interesting to hear the perspective of Rhia & the other young co-workers sharing tea around the table. They like the community, like the work for the most part, & love being with the villagers. But many of them long for more privacy & autonomy than the traditional Camphill lifestyle affords & they are more skeptical of the anthroposophical ideals that underlie village life. Why no TV, no microwave oven, no wireless internet? Some of the rules seem arbitrary and the decisions not consultative enough. The agricultural activity feels like an add-on in this post-agrarian world.
Still, they appreciate the opportunity to live & work in what has got to be one of the most interesting communities around. To keep the young co-workers coming Camphill will no doubt have to change a great deal over the next 10 years but for now, on a sunny Norwegian holiday it's hard to get too worked up about the issues.
Today we just hung out in Vidaråsen and enjoyed village life. Vidaråsen is a Camphill community, in which the entire village is structured to support adults with developmental delays and mental disabilities. And it really is a village: there are more than a dozen houses, a store, a home for seniors, a community hall, chapel, and countless outbuildings. At least a hundred people live here. On paper about half are identified as 'villagers' (those with the disabilities) while the other half are 'co-workers' (those providing the care and assistance). But in practice, the distinction is not nearly so clear, and according to those who have lived in a Camphill community some time, the distinction grows fuzzier as you get to know them better.
Most Camphill communities were developed with the ideal of providing meaningful, self-sufficiency work for all. Most include a farm plus workshops in which community members process the food and do a variety of handicrafts. Whatever is not consumed by the village is sold in the community store.
So after a leisurely breakfast (Rhia & Eivind are on holidays and so don't have to get up early to get villagers ready for the day) we went down to the barn to see the new calf & watch the cows getting milked. We visited the weavery workshop where Rhia assists during the week; watched the weaving projects underway & stayed for coffee break. We picked our salad ingredients fresh from the garden. After lunch we went for a long walk to a little lake (not yet warm enough to swim, not for me anyway!) Later there was a big picnic-barbeque to celebrate midsummer but by then we were too pooped to participate.
I have been acquainted with the Camphill movement for more than 30 years because Richard's sister has worked & lived in a Canadian Camphill community since the mid-70's. Village life sounds seductively idyllic & in some ways it is. It's interesting to hear the perspective of Rhia & the other young co-workers sharing tea around the table. They like the community, like the work for the most part, & love being with the villagers. But many of them long for more privacy & autonomy than the traditional Camphill lifestyle affords & they are more skeptical of the anthroposophical ideals that underlie village life. Why no TV, no microwave oven, no wireless internet? Some of the rules seem arbitrary and the decisions not consultative enough. The agricultural activity feels like an add-on in this post-agrarian world.
Still, they appreciate the opportunity to live & work in what has got to be one of the most interesting communities around. To keep the young co-workers coming Camphill will no doubt have to change a great deal over the next 10 years but for now, on a sunny Norwegian holiday it's hard to get too worked up about the issues.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Norway: Day 2
June 22
Over tea this morning we made our plans. On Thursday we will head into Oslo and do some sightseeing. We will travel to a fiord somewhere. Then we will return to Oslo to look around some more before I head back to the airport on Tuesday. Activity-wise, it sounds reasonable. Financially-wise, it is perhaps a little ambitious: as Rhia put it, Norway is not a bargain-basement tourist destination. For example, we had lunch today at a nice but not-at-all pretensious sidewalk cafe. We each had a salad & a glass of beer. The cost? More than $80 CAN. Wow. No wonder there are no busloads of tourists seeing the sights.Nevertheless, we spent a very pleasant day touring Tønsberg, the nearest town. Tønsberg is not a big place - 10 000 perhaps - but it feels much more impressive than a town of similar size would in Canada. Maybe this is because the accumulated population is so much greater and the concomitant history adds to the impact. Tønsberg is the oldest city in Norway & celebrated its 1000th birthday not long ago! We climbed the hill (which contributes the 'berg' part of the city name) & walked all over the old walls as well as the foundations of the church, king's home, and guard buildings.
I still find it fascinating to be at such a latitude. We walked around all day in the brilliant sunshine - not a cloud all day. But even though we wore no sunscreen the entire day and even though Eivind is blonde Eivind & Rhia is a redhead, none of us perceptively deepened a tan. And here it is almost 11 pm again & I still don't need a light in my room.
I'm hoping if I can get a decent sleep tonight I can feel more or less at home in this timezone.
Norway, Day 1
June 21
It seems unnatural to be going to bed when it's still mostly broad daylight. But that's really what I must do. After all, it's 10:30 pm & I have been awake for 32 hours straight. The answer to my last question of yesterday is 5:30 pm: that's when I finally stumbled off the train in Tønsberg to see Rhia running towards the platform.
So what's Norway like, so far? I wish I could tell you more. Since touching down at Oslo's airport around 2:30 this afternoon, I've mostly been too stunned to notice much. There was a lot of hanging around the airport, waiting for the train and not surprisingly Gardermœn airport looks pretty much like any other airport. Once getting on the train I was able to get a bit of a view of the countryside around Oslo... for the most part, it appears beautiful with rolling hills, forests, & a lot of land under cultivation. It's a bit reminiscent of Nova Scotia only much more domesticated & brought into order.
It was wonderful to see Rhia again, looking well, speaking good Norwegian (!) and keen to show off all the summer plumage of this place. Tomorrow we three (Rhia, Eivind, me) will plan a strategy for spending our time together & making the most of the visit.
And what a treat -- to be at such a significantly northern latitude on the longest day of the year! -- not only that but under relatively clear skies too.
That's it; time to sleep.
Norway, Day 0
June 20
Well, that didn't take long. To become significantly late, that is. I arrived this morning at YVR & when I went to check in, I discovered that the departure time for the second leg of my flight -- from Toronto to Frankfurt -- would be delayed one hour. How can they know a delay so far ahead of time? Isn't is a contradiction in terms to have a planned delay... ? Of course, given the law of compounding lateness, this means I miss my connection from Frankfurt to Oslo & taking the following flight makes me three hours late. And now this will cause me to miss my train from Oslo to Tønsberg. Who knows when I will arrive at Andebu to connect with Rhia?
Well, that didn't take long. To become significantly late, that is. I arrived this morning at YVR & when I went to check in, I discovered that the departure time for the second leg of my flight -- from Toronto to Frankfurt -- would be delayed one hour. How can they know a delay so far ahead of time? Isn't is a contradiction in terms to have a planned delay... ? Of course, given the law of compounding lateness, this means I miss my connection from Frankfurt to Oslo & taking the following flight makes me three hours late. And now this will cause me to miss my train from Oslo to Tønsberg. Who knows when I will arrive at Andebu to connect with Rhia?
Norway, Day -1
I am just basking in the afterglow of the educational technology conference. What a pleasure it is to connect with new ideas, old friends, and familiar passions! The open education movement -- a topic always dear to my heart -- has obviously gained momentum over the past year.
And now I am decompressing, overnighting in the cheapest possible motel room in which one can still get a free shuttle ride to the airport in the morning. EARLY in the morning, when I will be beginning my trip to Norway.
[Note: photos for this blog are here.)
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Ecuador, Day 8
It seems there is no rule that says a travel day can't be longer than 24 hours. It's already March 18 but I haven't slept more than an hour or two since yesterday morning so it sure feels like just one long day.
Our big presentation yesterday at the University went well. We had a good turnout & a good PowerPoint, thanks mostly to the efforts of Jeff & Sonja. People seemed interested, there were plenty of questions, & the Rector assigned some solid tasks & timelines. The translating seemed to work out OK. It was definitely a good move to have our primary handout & the presentation in both English & Spanish. A new program -- & especially a new program concept -- is confusing enough without adding the complexity of language.
After the presentation, a few of us stayed behind to talk about how the field work component could work best. This was a very interesting discussion. Because the program is so short, each student will be in the field for only a short while; probably somewhere between 2 & 4 weeks. How can we cultivate a trusting, productive relationship with communities when students are coming & going like popcorn? We talked about criteria for community selection, identification by the community of significant issues in which each student could build on the work of others, & the intense need for coordination to make sure this happens. There are so many issues to consider & we are lucky to have people on the ground in Ecuador who can help us to understand what's needed.
I started heading for home almost right after lunch. It was so hot in Guayaquil that it did not occur to me to remove my jacket, sweater, slacks & socks from my suitcase before checking it through. Now I am sitting in Calgary airport, awaiting my last flight, but considerably underdressed considering that it's barely +3 outside. My journey so far has been relatively uneventful except for being processed through the extreme drug & security checkpoints at Bogota airport. My oh my, I would not want to have so much as an aspirin out of place there!
It's been a great trip. We did a lot of work & I believe we have left the project somewhat more moved-ahead than when we arrived. Learning more about sustainability in general, getting familiar with the project specifically, doing the community visit to Dos Mangas, working with great people... the icing on the cake.
Our big presentation yesterday at the University went well. We had a good turnout & a good PowerPoint, thanks mostly to the efforts of Jeff & Sonja. People seemed interested, there were plenty of questions, & the Rector assigned some solid tasks & timelines. The translating seemed to work out OK. It was definitely a good move to have our primary handout & the presentation in both English & Spanish. A new program -- & especially a new program concept -- is confusing enough without adding the complexity of language.
After the presentation, a few of us stayed behind to talk about how the field work component could work best. This was a very interesting discussion. Because the program is so short, each student will be in the field for only a short while; probably somewhere between 2 & 4 weeks. How can we cultivate a trusting, productive relationship with communities when students are coming & going like popcorn? We talked about criteria for community selection, identification by the community of significant issues in which each student could build on the work of others, & the intense need for coordination to make sure this happens. There are so many issues to consider & we are lucky to have people on the ground in Ecuador who can help us to understand what's needed.
I started heading for home almost right after lunch. It was so hot in Guayaquil that it did not occur to me to remove my jacket, sweater, slacks & socks from my suitcase before checking it through. Now I am sitting in Calgary airport, awaiting my last flight, but considerably underdressed considering that it's barely +3 outside. My journey so far has been relatively uneventful except for being processed through the extreme drug & security checkpoints at Bogota airport. My oh my, I would not want to have so much as an aspirin out of place there!
It's been a great trip. We did a lot of work & I believe we have left the project somewhat more moved-ahead than when we arrived. Learning more about sustainability in general, getting familiar with the project specifically, doing the community visit to Dos Mangas, working with great people... the icing on the cake.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Ecuador, Day 7
Another day done; my last full day in Ecuador. Sonja & I spent the morning at the university, roughly planning 3 potential workshops about curriculum quality. We could not deliver them this time: faculty were out on inter-semester break & besides, it is still not at all clear that they are the ones responsible for curriculum development here. But at least we have come up with a plan & theoretically Sonja (who is living in Guayaquil) would be able to deliver the workshops later if necessary. We came back into town, had a late lunch, & spent the afternoon & evening preparing for our presentation tomorrow. I worked on reconstructing a pivotal diagram while Sonja worked on all of the translation into Spanish. It was after 7 before we became seriously aware that we hadn't eaten yet. And it was almost 8 before Pat & Jeff returned from their tasks & joined us with a bottle of wine & a bag of chips. We nibbled & drank & planned our strategy for tomorrow & finally began a very late supper after 9 pm.
So now I am tired but mellow, thinking about what a treat it is to be able to mix work with travel. There is something very pleasant about balancing the humdrum & responsibility of work with the excitment of being in a foreign place. I love the structure of having defined tasks to complete, a timetable to keep, meetings to make. And I appreciate the opportunity to meet plain ordinary working people, to connect as colleagues rather than solely in a service provider-tourist relationship. I am lucky & I know it.
But tomorrow will be a busy day with an early start so I must cut this short & head for bed.
So now I am tired but mellow, thinking about what a treat it is to be able to mix work with travel. There is something very pleasant about balancing the humdrum & responsibility of work with the excitment of being in a foreign place. I love the structure of having defined tasks to complete, a timetable to keep, meetings to make. And I appreciate the opportunity to meet plain ordinary working people, to connect as colleagues rather than solely in a service provider-tourist relationship. I am lucky & I know it.
But tomorrow will be a busy day with an early start so I must cut this short & head for bed.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Ecuador, Day 6
This was a transition day of no special merit. We left Manglaralto & took the 3-hour bus trip back to Guayaquil. We connected with Pat, brought her up to date on the project, & worked for a while in the afternoon on our presentation for Tuesday.
Late in the afternoon I went to the cathedral. The cathedral, which is right across from the famous iguana park, has been completely renovated in the past couple of years as some sort of urban renewal project. They have done a marvellous job. The space inside is magical; marble floors, beautiful paintings, stained glass windows, intensely high ceilings. Every little sound echoed & the music sent chills up my spine (although it was difficult to hear -- never mind understand! -- a word that was said).
Later still, we all went for supper along the Malecon where we ate seafood on an outdoor balcony. There was just enough of a breeze to keep the mosquitoes from biting & to make the heat bearable. We watched lightning flash noiselessly to the south & scared each other with stories about tsunamis, earthquakes, tremors, & flash-flooding during El Niño.
Back to the university tomorrow.
Late in the afternoon I went to the cathedral. The cathedral, which is right across from the famous iguana park, has been completely renovated in the past couple of years as some sort of urban renewal project. They have done a marvellous job. The space inside is magical; marble floors, beautiful paintings, stained glass windows, intensely high ceilings. Every little sound echoed & the music sent chills up my spine (although it was difficult to hear -- never mind understand! -- a word that was said).
Later still, we all went for supper along the Malecon where we ate seafood on an outdoor balcony. There was just enough of a breeze to keep the mosquitoes from biting & to make the heat bearable. We watched lightning flash noiselessly to the south & scared each other with stories about tsunamis, earthquakes, tremors, & flash-flooding during El Niño.
Back to the university tomorrow.
Ecuador, Day 5
This was officially our R&R day in Manglaralto. We woke up late, drank a lot of coffee, slowly, & ate banana pancakes. Then we headed for Dos Mangas to do a little work.
Dos Mangas is a small community about 20 km inland from Manglaralto. To get there, you have to wait by the side of the road until enough people congregate to fill the truck-taxi. We rode in the back of the truck with half a dozen other people. One was a young boy who was transporting his new puppy -- very cute.
After a half hour or so of bumping along a badly-potholed road (worse even than the streets of Cranbrook), we arrived at Dos Mangas. The name 'Dos Mangas' means 'two sleeves', because this community is where 2 tributaries join together to make a larger river. This is a small community of perhaps 1000 people but it is very difficult to determine the population & in fact everybody had a different estimate.
We had a bit of a mission in Dos Mangas: to begin sketching out a 'community asset map' for this place. Community asset mapping is a key learning outcome for the new program we're working on, & Dos Mangas will probably be a pilot site for this activity. I had read about community asset mapping & did a rudimentary exercise on it for my Master's research but I was very keen to practice it in a more structured way. I highly recommend this as a fun activity to do in a community you want to get to know better. To do community asset mapping, you wander around a community & you sort of survey everything that's working for this community: the geographical features, the natural environment, the governmental services, associations, & human resources. We noted beautiful scenery, a good adult education system, strong community government involvement, & considerable artisan involvement in tagua ('vegetable ivory') carving & paje (a special kind of straw) weaving. We also made notes about all the NGOs operating in this community -- probably close to a dozen. The only serious thing missing as far as we could tell was a source of microcredit for new enterprises.
We made copious notes & took lots of pictures. So our next step, I suppose, is to prepare a framework for the students who will end up doing the bulk of the asset mapping in many other communities besides Dos Mangas.
We arrived very hot & tired back at Manglaralto. We bought cold beer & sat on the beach & watched the sun set. Manglaralto is so close to the equator so the sunsets are almost the fastest in the world, I suppose. It's daylight all along until that sun slips into the ocean & then CLUNK; in barely 10 or 15 minutes, it's night.
Dos Mangas is a small community about 20 km inland from Manglaralto. To get there, you have to wait by the side of the road until enough people congregate to fill the truck-taxi. We rode in the back of the truck with half a dozen other people. One was a young boy who was transporting his new puppy -- very cute.
After a half hour or so of bumping along a badly-potholed road (worse even than the streets of Cranbrook), we arrived at Dos Mangas. The name 'Dos Mangas' means 'two sleeves', because this community is where 2 tributaries join together to make a larger river. This is a small community of perhaps 1000 people but it is very difficult to determine the population & in fact everybody had a different estimate.
We had a bit of a mission in Dos Mangas: to begin sketching out a 'community asset map' for this place. Community asset mapping is a key learning outcome for the new program we're working on, & Dos Mangas will probably be a pilot site for this activity. I had read about community asset mapping & did a rudimentary exercise on it for my Master's research but I was very keen to practice it in a more structured way. I highly recommend this as a fun activity to do in a community you want to get to know better. To do community asset mapping, you wander around a community & you sort of survey everything that's working for this community: the geographical features, the natural environment, the governmental services, associations, & human resources. We noted beautiful scenery, a good adult education system, strong community government involvement, & considerable artisan involvement in tagua ('vegetable ivory') carving & paje (a special kind of straw) weaving. We also made notes about all the NGOs operating in this community -- probably close to a dozen. The only serious thing missing as far as we could tell was a source of microcredit for new enterprises.
We made copious notes & took lots of pictures. So our next step, I suppose, is to prepare a framework for the students who will end up doing the bulk of the asset mapping in many other communities besides Dos Mangas.
We arrived very hot & tired back at Manglaralto. We bought cold beer & sat on the beach & watched the sun set. Manglaralto is so close to the equator so the sunsets are almost the fastest in the world, I suppose. It's daylight all along until that sun slips into the ocean & then CLUNK; in barely 10 or 15 minutes, it's night.
Ecuador, Day 4
There's not much I can write tonight because we're in Manglaralto & I don't really have my computer easily available. So I'm typing this on my little 'palm pilot' & I'll upload it when I can.
We spent the morning working, putting together a rudimentary PowerPoint presentation for our meeting on Tuesday. The Tuesday meeting will be an important one for the project, attended by all the relevant coordinators, deans & even the head of the university. So we took our time with the presentation; we wanted to do a good job.
But by 4 o'clock we'd had enough; we packed our things & headed out to the Terminal Terrestre (bus depot) to get the bus to Manglaralto. Manglaralto is a small town about 3 hours north of Guayaquil, towards the equator. One of our colleagues who works at the university here & has been involved in past projects lives in Manglaralto & runs a small hostel there. He had invited us to come out for the weekend.
I was surprised at how much the Terminal Terrestre had changed since I was here back in 2002. Back then, it was a scary place. I remember it as being noisy, dirty, smelly & sinister, with a stained concrete floor & endless little stalls selling the kind of minor goods you buy for bus trips. It was poorly lit & perhaps that was just as well except that made it all the easier for the pickpockets to do their work. Most disturbing of all were the beggars, especially the mothers anxiously displaying babies who were plastered with bandaids in a haphazard way, to make them look injured or at least more pathetic. Someone told us the babies were drugged so that they would be more placid about being dragged about all day, or to make them look more sickly (and hence more worthy of donations).
But all of that has changed. The reborn Terminal Terrestre now incorporates a shopping centre which could (almost) be any mall in Canada. The place is clean & I didn't see even one beggar or limp baby. The floors are finished, the lighting is fine, & even the washrooms are clean (so I'm told). The only thing that hasn't changed are the ubiquitous stalls selling bus food & magazines. So we picked up some plantain chips for the trip & jumped aboard the bus for Manglaralto. More on that mañana.
We spent the morning working, putting together a rudimentary PowerPoint presentation for our meeting on Tuesday. The Tuesday meeting will be an important one for the project, attended by all the relevant coordinators, deans & even the head of the university. So we took our time with the presentation; we wanted to do a good job.
But by 4 o'clock we'd had enough; we packed our things & headed out to the Terminal Terrestre (bus depot) to get the bus to Manglaralto. Manglaralto is a small town about 3 hours north of Guayaquil, towards the equator. One of our colleagues who works at the university here & has been involved in past projects lives in Manglaralto & runs a small hostel there. He had invited us to come out for the weekend.
I was surprised at how much the Terminal Terrestre had changed since I was here back in 2002. Back then, it was a scary place. I remember it as being noisy, dirty, smelly & sinister, with a stained concrete floor & endless little stalls selling the kind of minor goods you buy for bus trips. It was poorly lit & perhaps that was just as well except that made it all the easier for the pickpockets to do their work. Most disturbing of all were the beggars, especially the mothers anxiously displaying babies who were plastered with bandaids in a haphazard way, to make them look injured or at least more pathetic. Someone told us the babies were drugged so that they would be more placid about being dragged about all day, or to make them look more sickly (and hence more worthy of donations).
But all of that has changed. The reborn Terminal Terrestre now incorporates a shopping centre which could (almost) be any mall in Canada. The place is clean & I didn't see even one beggar or limp baby. The floors are finished, the lighting is fine, & even the washrooms are clean (so I'm told). The only thing that hasn't changed are the ubiquitous stalls selling bus food & magazines. So we picked up some plantain chips for the trip & jumped aboard the bus for Manglaralto. More on that mañana.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Ecuador, Day 3
It has been a very long day of doing almost nothing but curriculum development, but I think we're moving forward. When I first arrived here, I felt like a social worker for an abandoned child. I was struggling to get to know this new program myself, while at the same time trying to introduce it to others & encourage one of them to take an interest in it. Of course I was hoping that somebody would find the program idea attractive & fall in love with it or at least feel sorry for it & adopt it into their portfolio. And I believe we accomplished that today: the program developer for environmental studies has asserted her ownership & has been increasingly coming up with ideas & plans for its future.
This project has been especially challenging because the program idea was the brainchild of the former University president. Unfortunately, he died a few months ago before anyone else was really brought into the project & the vision for its unfolding died with him. So we have been doing a fair amount of detective work, reading over the project proposal with a fine-toothed comb, looking for details about how it was intended to work. Gradually we have been reconstructing it from the forensic details.
It's too bad: if you mention the phrase "curriculum development" at a party it can be a real conversation-stopper but it's not fair: this work can be creative, challenging, & (dare I say it?) even exciting at times. This does not include the great perks, like occasional travel!
Otherwise, not much to report today. Like I said, we worked almost the entire time. As we were leaving the university, just as it was getting dark, the skies broke & it began to rain. Actually, rain is hardly the word for it: a solid blanket of water came down & continued to come down steadily for almost an hour. In no time at all the university plaza was overfilled & the water started to move like a tidal force into the marble hallways (which are completely open to the outside & almost flush with the lawn). We were soaked in no time. We jammed into a colleague's waiting car where we pushed damp hair off our faces & drove slowly through streets like rivers.
This project has been especially challenging because the program idea was the brainchild of the former University president. Unfortunately, he died a few months ago before anyone else was really brought into the project & the vision for its unfolding died with him. So we have been doing a fair amount of detective work, reading over the project proposal with a fine-toothed comb, looking for details about how it was intended to work. Gradually we have been reconstructing it from the forensic details.
It's too bad: if you mention the phrase "curriculum development" at a party it can be a real conversation-stopper but it's not fair: this work can be creative, challenging, & (dare I say it?) even exciting at times. This does not include the great perks, like occasional travel!
Otherwise, not much to report today. Like I said, we worked almost the entire time. As we were leaving the university, just as it was getting dark, the skies broke & it began to rain. Actually, rain is hardly the word for it: a solid blanket of water came down & continued to come down steadily for almost an hour. In no time at all the university plaza was overfilled & the water started to move like a tidal force into the marble hallways (which are completely open to the outside & almost flush with the lawn). We were soaked in no time. We jammed into a colleague's waiting car where we pushed damp hair off our faces & drove slowly through streets like rivers.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Ecuador, Day 2
This was our first full day in Ecuador. Neither Jeff (my colleague) nor I slept very well so we lingered over breakfast & tried to come to terms with the fact that this was to be a working day. And not just any working day, but a full working day in a place in which we had no firm arrangements. So we decided to walk around a little, wake up a bit further, & plan a strategy.
We headed down to the Malecon, that beautiful riverside walk that is the crown of Guayaquil. We walked to the end & looked for the huge semi-illegitimate marketplace known as the Bahia. The Bahia (rumour has it) is the place where 150 years ago pirates used to unload their booty & trade it at bargain prices. But we couldn't quite locate the entrance so we headed back inland & looked for the Iguana park instead.
The Iguana park deserves a mention. If you have ever been to 'Pigeon park' in Vancouver you will understand the concept. Like Pigeon park, the Iguana park is right smack in the middle of the city, surrounded by the usual buildings & busy-ness of urban life. The park has trees but they are the sort of generic unremarkable trees you could see in any unremarkable tropical city. At first, you might wonder why it is even called 'the iguana park'; after all, where are the iguanas? Then, suddenly, a 1-meter long lizard runs across the sidewalk right in front of you. It continues onto the lawn & starts climbing a tree & as your attention follows it up the trunk you realize that there's another iguana already up there. And as your eyes adjust to the clever camoflage, you realize that there's yet another. And another. And another & another & another & another... Then you start to feel just a bit creepy as you come to the realization that there are maybe hundreds of iguanas -- one or two on every single tree-branch -- in this tiny urban bit of real estate. And it's not that they are little iguanas: each one is 1 to 2 meters long. People bring their bread crusts & rotten fruit here to feed them. If you don't have any rotten food, you can buy a bag of corn or whatever just outside the gates.
After the Iguana park, we organized ourselves & headed to work. The university (UEES) has grown a lot since I was here last so we started out with a tour. It was challenging to find the specific individuals & the curriculum we needed to start our task but people were helpful & we were able to make a good start.
There's really not much else to tell. We worked, we returned to the hotel, we ate a bit of supper, and now I'm just tidying up some loose ends & email before heading for bed.
We headed down to the Malecon, that beautiful riverside walk that is the crown of Guayaquil. We walked to the end & looked for the huge semi-illegitimate marketplace known as the Bahia. The Bahia (rumour has it) is the place where 150 years ago pirates used to unload their booty & trade it at bargain prices. But we couldn't quite locate the entrance so we headed back inland & looked for the Iguana park instead.
The Iguana park deserves a mention. If you have ever been to 'Pigeon park' in Vancouver you will understand the concept. Like Pigeon park, the Iguana park is right smack in the middle of the city, surrounded by the usual buildings & busy-ness of urban life. The park has trees but they are the sort of generic unremarkable trees you could see in any unremarkable tropical city. At first, you might wonder why it is even called 'the iguana park'; after all, where are the iguanas? Then, suddenly, a 1-meter long lizard runs across the sidewalk right in front of you. It continues onto the lawn & starts climbing a tree & as your attention follows it up the trunk you realize that there's another iguana already up there. And as your eyes adjust to the clever camoflage, you realize that there's yet another. And another. And another & another & another & another... Then you start to feel just a bit creepy as you come to the realization that there are maybe hundreds of iguanas -- one or two on every single tree-branch -- in this tiny urban bit of real estate. And it's not that they are little iguanas: each one is 1 to 2 meters long. People bring their bread crusts & rotten fruit here to feed them. If you don't have any rotten food, you can buy a bag of corn or whatever just outside the gates.
After the Iguana park, we organized ourselves & headed to work. The university (UEES) has grown a lot since I was here last so we started out with a tour. It was challenging to find the specific individuals & the curriculum we needed to start our task but people were helpful & we were able to make a good start.
There's really not much else to tell. We worked, we returned to the hotel, we ate a bit of supper, and now I'm just tidying up some loose ends & email before heading for bed.
Ecuador, Day 1
I suppose it's not really fair to call this 'day 1' when at this point I've been in Ecuador barely an hour. And technically it's already tomorrow. After 30-something hours of travel I am once again much too tired to write anything coherent so this will be another short post. Highlights of the day? We changed planes in Bogota so now I can (lamely) add Colombia to the list of countries I've visited. The other big highlight was landing in Guayaquil & seeing how upbeat it all looks compared to when I was here in 2002. We are planning a late & gentle start to the day tomorrow, not commiting to heading for work at the university until later in the morning.
Who knows, maybe I will have something more coherent or at least authentic to write about tomorrow! Oops, I mean 'later today'.
Who knows, maybe I will have something more coherent or at least authentic to write about tomorrow! Oops, I mean 'later today'.
Monday, March 9, 2009
Ecuador, Day 0
I am trying very hard to enjoy the sensation of -25 weather. Really. I am in Calgary, overnighting before heading for Guayaquil tomorrow, and it is incredibly, bitterly cold. It's not that I am unfamiliar with inclement weather: we had quite a spell of -20 to -30 weather in Cranbrook during December. But when you get these really cold temperatures during March -- when really it should be spring -- it just feels more savage. Google tells me that it was 31 in Guayaquil today so perhaps in barely 24 hours (or so) I will be wistfully remembering this sojourn in Calgary.
We must be up at 4:45 tomorrow morning so I will cut this short!
We must be up at 4:45 tomorrow morning so I will cut this short!
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