Saturday, March 29, 2008

The Week of Saturday

This week seems to have been fairly uneventful except fro Saturday which had a number of occurrences. As well, the weather is changing and it's very obvious that autumn is upon us, with winter soon to follow. My studies proceed apace and I think I'm getting the hang of the law, at least the basic concepts. Contracts is the least interesting of my courses not because of the lecturer, but there appears to be little consistency in the enforcement of contracts. Even if a contract is valid on its face it can still be negated in equity, which is a whole other league of law.

Anyway, there has been a marked change in the weather of late with temperatures dipping to levels with which Canadians are accustomed. Little more than a week ago, daytime highs were just over 30C but now are just under 20C. At night, the temperature drops by about 15 degrees making for chilly mornings. Canberra does receive snow but only on the rarest occasions. During winter frost is much more common. Actually, it snowed the other day in Victoria's high country. It's a little strange to equate Australia and snow but it does happen.

Easter Monday was also a welcome break in the scholastic routine. Although there will be a 2-week holiday later in April, it's still nice to get a few days off. Nonetheless, I spent most of it studying and reading. I'm actually I'm finding some of the case extracts quite interesting, although some of them are a little too long and the judicial reasoning is sometimes opaque. I even find myself questioning the decisions at times, which I'm told is a good skill to develop at law school. I believe that knowing the law is only part of law school and it is the creative (often very creative) application of the law which is more important.

An interesting darkening occurred today with the advent of Earth Hour. For 60 minutes (20:00-21:00) Australians were encouraged to turn off their lights to call attention to the issue of global warming and climate change. The Parliament extinguished all its lights, except for the one which lights the flag atop the flagpole. I also think that it serves to remind us just how important electricity is in the developed world. It is so ubiquitous that we take it for granted and do not realize its importance until it's gone. I am reminded of the 2003 North American blackout which left 50 million people in the dark --- the largest blackout in history. Government, business and society in general in northeastern North America shut down for nearly a week.

I witnessed a Fenner Hall tradition today with the annual wedding of 2 first year students. The wedding is, of course, not legally binding, and meant to be all in good fun. 2 first year students were selected at random and they then had a wedding ceremony followed by a reception. According to tradition, the couple stays "married" for a week and the "divorces". I can't wait to see if something happens for that event. I can say, though, that it was very amusing and in the fun-loving spirit of the Hall.

Lastly for this week, I also officiated my first aussie rules game this season. It was quite some ways away so I had to get a lift from one of the other officials. I was even given a proper fluorescent brown-orange shirt and baseball cap as part of the uniform, which go with black pants, dark socks and dark shoes. The game itself was reasonably good and gave me a few challenges to my officiating skills. I think I came out alright, though. I'm looking forward to many more of these opportunities.

Sunday, March 23, 2008

My World this Week

I knew I should have started taking notes on the important events of the last week and now I'm having difficulty remembering just what to write about. I think from now on I will keep a quick reference guide to events.

After the weekend, I had a Plast meeting at the Ukrainian community center. I was asked to run the "novatstvo" (noh-VAHTS-tvo), 6-12 year old boys and girls, meeting as the regular counsellor had to travel to Sydney on business. I took over and told the kids the differences between Plast in Australia and Plast in Canada. The biggest difference is the level of Ukrainian used, with Canada using much more. Ukrainians in Australia have become more assimilated into Australian culture than Canadian-Ukrainians and fewer of them know Ukrainian very well. Most of my meeting was conducted in English. This phenomenon is partly due to the relative sizes of the Ukrainian communities in each country, Australian with 50 000 and Canada with 1 500 000. It can also be attributed to settlement patterns where in Canada Ukrainians played a large part in the development of the West, in Australia there was no such geographic settlement. More locally, Canberra is a very small community and I had only 5 novaks under my care. The older scouts, "yunatstvo" (yu-NAHTS-tvo), number only another half-dozen.

On Tuesday, I had more goal umpire training and I've been given my first game to officiate, which will be Saturday the 28th. I'm looking forward to it. I'm going to get paid for doing something I enjoy.

The next interesting thing that week was my trip to the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory. This is what would probably be the equivalent of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, that is to say, criminal matters and the like. In Australia, Supreme Courts are the highest judicial bodies in the particular state or territory, with the Full Court of the Supreme Court being the highest appellate body in same. The highest court in Australia is the High Court of Australia. Anyway, I went with a classmate, Nabilah, and it was our task for a class to sit in on a proceeding and report on it. We arrived in the afternoon and most things were already concluded. However, we managed to get in to a bail application for a young man who was up on some serious charges, possession of a prohibited weapon (knuckle-duster), harbouring a fugitive and 2 others. It was very interesting to see the way the judge handled the matter. The young man was remanded into custody pending a confirmation of his place in a Wollongong drug rehabilitation center.

The long weekend has been a welcome change to the usual routine. With 2 4-day weeks in a row, this has allowed for some breathing room and a bit of time to mentally distance oneself from the rigours of law school. I've spent some time resting but some time reading as well. Still, a few days off never hurt anyone.

Happy Easter.

Sunday, March 16, 2008

The Story So Far

It will not be easy to summarize the events of a whole month in just one post but I will try. Inadvertently, some events may be omitted and for that I apologize. However, from now on, I shall be making regular weekly updates to my blog.

The morning of the 18th heralded my departure from Sydney and my arrival in Canberra. Alex drove me to the train station where I caught the train. He offered to pay the difference between the economy and first class seats (which was $10), if I paid the student economy fare (which was $30). I accepted so I got to ride to Canberra first class. Al it really meant was a slightly larger seat that reclined further and I was a little closer to the food. I don't think I'll go first class again. Nonetheless, I am grateful to Alex that he allowed me to stay with him for those few nights; his generosity is boundless.

I arrived in Canberra just past noon on the 18th, was picked up at the station and was driven to my residence. This is a university residence off campus named Fenner Hall. I was greeted by other residents of the floor and was immediately made to feel welcome. I settled ion as best I could for the first day.

Canberra is a city a lot like Ottawa. As the capital, the largest employer is the federal government and many people here are civil servants. Like Ottawa, it was chosen to settle a rivalry between 2 larger cities, Sydney and Melbourne, who were both vying to be the capital of the new Australian Commonwealth. I have described Canberra, based on its reputation, as Ottawa 1/3rd the size and 1/10th the fun. Unlike Ottawa, Canberra does not seem to have yet grown out of its shell. That being said, fireworks are legal here and can be set off by anyone on the Queen's Birthday holiday. Canberra is administered separately as the main component of the Australian Capital Territory.

One of my first tasks was to get my student card and signed up for courses at university. I went to the campus of the Australian National University (ANU) and had to wait in line to register for courses. For some reason, ANU, like most universities does not do first-year registration online. It took hours but I finally got my courses and student card. The whole thing was a convoluted process involving waiting in several lines and moving between buildings.

I should say now why I'm in Australia and studying law. A while back I came to the tragic realization that the law was one of the only things I was actually good at. I applied to various Canadian schools but none accepted me. I then applied to Australian law schools, at my mother's suggestion, and was accepted to all of them. I chose ANU because it is consistently ranked the best school in Australia, and by extension the southern hemisphere, and it is in the middle of the price range. Taking all that into account, I made my choice.

After my scholastic duties, I became involved in Plast in Canberra, and the Ukrainian community in general, which is small. I have been invited to several events and homes, including barbeques, sailing and birthday parties and the legendary Ukrainian hospitality is affirmed. Having Ukrainian visitors to Canberra, particularly from outside the country is quite rare so I am something of an oddity. However, I could not feel more welcomed.

I have also become involved in residence life and assisted in Fenner Hall's victory in the Interhall Trivia Competition. As the name suggests, this was a tournament involving all of the residences of the university. Actually we tied for 1st with archrivals John's but they said we could keep the trophy. As it happened, I took custody of it and it is sitting on my shelf although it is not meant to be there much longer. It will soon be put in the trophy case. Fenner also just won the Interhall Chess Tournament and our cricket teams are in good positions this year. I also attended the Commencement Dinner.

I have also been training as a goal umpire for aussie rules football. I will shortly be umpiring games in the various junior leagues in and around the city. It will provide a little extra money and keep me fit at the same time.

Law school so far has not been terribly onerous, though there are many cases to read. My dad says that the most important thing to consider when studying is what is the issue being decided, though I think most important is whether the judge was sober when making their decision. I think my dad is correct nonetheless. Although I'm a little anxious with assignments starting to be distributed, I will be putting every effort in to excel and make the most of this opportunity. I may even find that being a soulless, evil lawyer (as if there were any other kind) is not so bad.

Please stay tuned for photos and more adventures.





Sydney and Newcastle

As usual, I lost an entire day flying from San Francisco to Australia. Because I left late the night of the 11th, by the time I arrived in Syndey it was early morning the 13th. The flight over the Pacific was quite calm, though I seem to recall some turbulence. However, I was better able to entertain myself this time around. All QANTAS flights now have movies on demand in economy so I made full use of that facility. For the comfort of the passengers on this 14-hour flight, eye covers and blankets were provided. I managed to get some sleep on flight which helped me combat jet lag.

After the usual pro forma motions through customs, I emerged into the terminal of Sydney's Kingsford-Smith International Airport. I had returned. One thing I find particularly enjoyable about Australian culture is the more lax attitude in the country. A case in point was that going through customs there were two sets of lines, one for Australian/New Zealand citizens and permanent residents and another for everyone else. In North America I find that you must line up in the proper queue but in Australia, the guy in charge said, "Ignore the signs.", so everyone lined up wherever they chose.

As it turned out, I had arrived in Australia on a very special occasion. The new government, headed by Kevin Rudd and the Australian Labor (note the spelling) Party, was apologizing to Aborigine Australians for their maltreatment at the hands of previous governments. Much like the Canadian experience with residential schools, Aborigines were separated from their families and placed in schools or homes where many faced abuse; this practice continued until the beginning of the 1970s. Previous governments had refused to apologize, particularly the Liberal (read conservative) government of the previous Prime Minister, John Howard. He claimed that it was improper for contemporary administrations to be held responsible for the acts of previous administrations and that it might open the government to large civil claims. Neverthless, following an election promise, Kevin Rudd gave the apology in the Australian House of Representatives. February 13th, 2008 will forever be known as "Sorry Day". I hope that it was the first day of a new Australia, one finally able to come to grips with the demons in its past. Cosmopolitan Australia and Aborigine Australia may now be able to move on.

After leaving the airport, I got in touch with Alex, a friend of mine from my previous stay in the country. He and his father had agreed to let me stay at his place for a few nights while I travelled around the area. I spent my first night in a hotel by the airport but the subsequent night I spent at Alex's house. I met up with some of his friends, one named Helen I also remembered, aand we went to see the movie Jumper, which was so-so. I only stayed one night as I left for Newcastle the next day. I had an evening train so I managed to meet a few more of Alex's friends during the afternoon of the 15th.

The evening of the 15th was the beginning of my adventure to Newcastle, a city about 160 km north of Sydney. There live the Motyka family, friends of my family and I had stayed with them previously. I met with Oleksander on the train from Sydney and we rode it together all the way up. Unfortunately, the weekend I was going up work was being done on the track between Sydney and Newcastle which delayed the train. It took about a half-hour longer than ususal for it to arrive. When I arrived at the Motyka home, I was immediately made welcome; I always enjoy going up to Newcastle.

Already arrived was Platon (plah-TOHN), a guy from Winnipeg now studying medicine at the University of Queensland. Although like me he is in Plast (Ukrainian scouts), neither recalls ever having met the other though only 2 years separate us, with him being older. That is somewhat unusual given that the Plast community is fairly tightly knit. A friend of mine from Ottawa, Roma, arrived much later as she had to take a train from Wollongong, a city about 70 km to the south of Sydney. She is studying interior design at the University of Wollongong. I found it interesting that 3 Canadians, studying 3 different subjects at 3 different universities, should meet up in yet another city. Nonethless, we got to talking about out programs and Canada and soon we were all at ease with each other.

The4 next morning, Olenka Motyka treated us to a fabulous tour of the Hunter Valley. The Hunter river to the north of Newcastle is renowned for its wines with some prominent labels such as Rosemount, Pelham Estates and other having their vineyards there. Olenka, who has completed her legal studies, drove us to the Tyrrell Wines vineyard where we took a tour of their facilities. Viticulture is actually a very complex process, to the point that the wood selected to make the barrels must be of a specific type. After the tour, we had lunch on the lawn of the Blue Lizard Brewery. We then drove around some more visiting a liqueur shop, a chocolate shop, the Smelly Cheese Store, and a few more vineyards. Roma was particularly exciting about seeing the Rosemount Estates building but it turned out to be very anticlimactic. The house on the property is n ot much bigger than a normal house while we were expecting something more grandiose. We suggested that Roma buy it, rebuild it and rename it Romount Estates. We drove back to Newcastle through the stunning countryside.

That evening at dinner, various running jokes emerged. Somehow, Platon, Danylo (Oleksander and Olenka's brother) and Oleksander started quoting Queen Elizabeth I from Black Adder to the point that, "Who is Queen?" (in a high voice) became a running gag. Another one which emerged was a line from Robot Chicken, "What a twist!" However, the funniest thing Platon, who's a great guy, said was, while parodying himself, "My name is Platon. I talk like this and I'm unusually dark-skinned for a Ukrainian." I couldn't stop laughing. It wasn't just what he said but the way he said it.

The following day Olenka took us ona tour of Newcastle. We drove around the city which is experiencing a revitalization. There are many new hotels and apartments going up. We walked along the boardwalk, visited a public bath and a cathedral. We even saw the spot where a large ocean vessel became beached after a particualry harsh storm. It has since been removed but has become part of Newcastle lore. However, Olenka was particularly interested in showing us what used to be the Governor' private Gardens and a pool hewn from the living rock. You walk down to the pool via a pathway while a short distance away, the surf pounds. It is a truly spectacular sight.

We returned home to have an early dinner as Roma and I had to make our way back to Sydney that night. I will always be thankful to the Motykas for the hospitality they have shown me. Roma and I boarded a bus as the train service between Sydney and Newcastle had stopped for track work that weekend. After arriving at the Central train station, Roma boarded a train to Wollongong while I boarded one back to Alex's house.

I hope to visit Newcastle again during my stay in Australia and hopefully the opportunity is not too distant in the future.


Tuesday, March 11, 2008

A New World Order

I didn't have much time this day to explore the city but I managed to get in some sights that may not be as well visited but are important none the less. I returned to the Transamerica Pyramid and took some more photos of it. It really is one of the most interesting buildings in the world. The joke going around is that whoever has the office at the very top must have a pointy head.

I went to visit City Hall, which had been closed the day before. I spent quite a bit of time exploring the building, though the Mayor's Office and the Council Room were closed. The entire structure is built in a grandiose neo-classical style. It was built following the great earthquake of 1906 which levelled most of the city. The city rebuilt itself into one of the finest in the world and its emblem is the phoenix rising from its ashes, just as the city did. In 1989, during the Battle of the Bay, the World Series between the Oakland As and the San Francisco Giants, there was another powerful earthquake which occurred right in the middle of the game as Jose Canseco was stealing second base. It only last 15 seconds but it did cause considerable damage, though thanks to stricter building codes it was not as extensive as the 1906 quake.

Following my self-guided tour of City Hall, I travelled across the street to the Veterans Memorial Building which houses the Herbst Theatre (notice the British spelling). It was in this room that the UN Charter was signed and the post-war world took its shape. In many ways, we are still living with the consequences of the event, most notably, a belief in a system of international laws. Unfortunately the theater was closed so I was unable to see the actual ceremonial place though a quilt given to the theater on the 50th anniversary of the UN I saw hanging in the lobby. The building, along with the Opera House, was built in honour of American World War 2 veterans and the Memorial Building still houses veterans' associations.

With this, my adventure in the City by the Bay drew to a close. I explored much of San Francisco but I still have much to explore. As I left the city on the BART to the airport, I passed through a region of fog. I worried that my flight would be delayed but it cleared long before I reached the airport. While this adventure drew to a close, more lay ahead across the Pacific in the Land Down Under. Although I had a measure of trepidation, I was excited to once more glimpse Australia. I hope that my adventures here are many and exciting.

The City Life

This day I ventured up another of San Francisco's famous buildings, Coit Tower. Named after a woman who spent some time as a volunteer firefighter in the city, Coit Tower sits atop a prominent hill in the city. From its summit, you have unrestricted views of all of San Francisco. Although I did not spend a great deal of time at the top, I did get some great shots of the city. The tower, constructed in the 1920s with an art deco motif, has a mural inside which goes around every wall. On it are depicted scenes of everyday life in San Francisco.

After coming down from Coit Tower, I spent some more time wandering the city, eventually making it to Chinatown. San Francisco has the largest Chinese population outside China and the largest Chinatown. It was filled with many traditional Chinese decorations. I had arrived in San Francisco on Chinese New Year and many people were still celebrating it.

I also made my way to the City Hall area and UN Plaza. The United Nations was born in San Francisco following an international conference there in 1945. To commemorate this, there is a plaza which leads to City Hall. San Francisco can truly be called the place where the modern world was born. Just behind City Hall is the San Francisco Opera House where the opening reception for the San Francisco Conference was held.

Towards the end of the day, I dropped in on the Drake Hotel, a very opulent establishment known for its porters who dress as Beefeaters. I then went to Pier 39 for dinner. This is a famous, now inoperative pier, which has been converted into a pedestrian mall with shops and restaurants. It is own of the main tourist areas in San Francisco and as such was still bustling with people when I arrived around 20:00. After dinner, I returned to my hotel room thinking of how to spend my last day in San Francisco.








Be Sure to Wear Some Flowers in Your Hair

Although I didn't wear flowers in my hair as the song suggested, I did visit on this day the most famous of San Francisco's neighbourhoods, Haight-Ashbury. San Francisco was the at the founding city of the hippie movement and on the corners of Haight (HATE) and Ashbury Sts. was where it all started. Ever since, the area has been a bastion of progressive thinking and counter-culture. Even though there's a Ben & Jerry's on the corner, the area has retained its hippie roots. Everyone who goes to San Francisco must visit the area both for its colour and its history.

Following my excursion through Haight-Ashbury, which amounted to a stroll down Ashbury St., I entered Golden Gate Park; a vast area of green space in the west end of the city stretching to the Pacific. I wandered through the large recreational area which included lakes, musea, gardens, a racecourse and many pathways. I searched in vain for the place which served as the landing site for the Klingon Bird of Prey in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. It is entirely possible that the grounds have changed in the intervening years, but if it's there I couldn't find it.

I feel as though I must have done more that day but I can't remember. I do remember that Golden Gate Park took up a great deal of time but it was a pleasureable experience. I must have gone to sleep that night contemplating the next day's adventures. One thing I will always remember was an exchange between a street car operator and a man while riding on a street car along the Embarcadero towards Fisherman's Wharf. The man, obviously a tourist, boarded with his family and even though the sign on the street car clearly said "Fisherman's Wharf", the man asked the driver, "Do you go to Fisherman's Wharf?", to which the driver replied, "No. We just have that sign to fool people." Everyone had a good chuckle.





Monday, March 10, 2008

The City of Fog

One must never forget that above all else, San Francisco is still a maritime city, subject to the power and the whim of the ocean. San Francisco sits at the crossroads of major air masses and often finds itself encased in their result, fog. While not the foggiest city in the world, that honour goes to St. John's, NL, the fog has become something of an iconic image of that city by the sea. It was to the site of fog that I awoke this morning.

Despite the reputation of fog, the bizarre aspect of it is that it stays primarily close to the water and does not venture inland very far. I was no more than 2 kilometers from the water's edge at my hotel but not a trace of fog could be seen there. Once I travelled towards the docks, I saw much more. The fog enveloped buildings, filtering the light.

This day was spent walking and getting around San Francisco so I could get a feel of my surroundings. I first stopped by the turnaround to see the famous cable car. Although it is one of the iconic symbols of San Francisco, it may surprise you to know that there are only 3 lines of cable car. The system, which uses a cable underneath the road to pull the vehicle along, was developed in San Francisco to deal with the steep streets. The city is built on a series of steep hills which descend very rapidly towards the bay. The cable car system was almost discontinued after World War 2 but survived. I bought a 3-day transit pass which allowed me unlimited travel on municipal transit lines.

I rode the cable car up some steep hills and disembarked. Riding outside the cable car is an experience everyone who goes to San Francisco should have. After I got off, I took the time to walk down to the waterfront to witness the fog. Along the way, I snapped some pictures of the tallest building in the city, the Transamerica Pyramid.

The Pyramid was built in the early 1970s by the Transamerica corporation, too quite considerable opposition. Many worried that it would ruin the skyline and drive property values down but like the cable car, it has since become a symbol of San Francisco. I found the tower veiled in fog and it made for an excellent photograph.

I then proceeded to the water's edge and found myself staring at a very opaque fog bank. It seemed to be a solid mass upon the water though behind me the city basked in the warm sun's glow. Throughout my stay in San Francisco I endured only sunny skied and temperature of 20C, with not a trace of the sometimes frosty weather which can blow in from the cold Pacific Current. Along the wharves were fishing vessels, old museum ships and various other things that one expects to find in a working port. This was the famous Fisherman's Wharf which has many restaurants and other establishments dedicated to seafood.

Along the water's edge, I heard a fog horn in the distance. Although I could not see where it was originating from, I guessed that it was the Golden Gate Bridge, another venture on my list that day. I entered the northern portions of the Golden Gate Recreational Area and managed to snap photos of the iconic bridge as it poked through the fog.

Making my way through the Golden Gate National Recreational Area, a sort of large park and conservation area all in one, I managed to walk to the base of the Golden Gate Bridge. Perhaps the most recognizable symbol of San Francisco, this bridge spans the Golden Gate, a trip of water between San Francisco and neighbouring Marin County. It was built in the 1930s as a make-work project during the Great Depression though the idea for a bridge at that point was several decades old. The bridge is actually painted international orange despite its name. There is also enough cable in the bridge to stretch around the world more than 3 times.

I walked across the Golden Gate Bridge both ways, which offered several spectacular views of San Francisco. There are even suicide hot line telephones on the bridge to discourage people from jumping off it. Having walked across the Golden Gate Bridge, I made my way by bus back to the city.

From the Golden Gate Bridge it's very easy to see Alcatraz Prison, once the home of the most notorious criminals in the US. Named for the Spanish world for pelican, the island was a prison from the time of the American Civil War until 1963 when it was closed because of exorbitant costs. It is now a famous tourist attraction though I did not get a chance to visit it this trip. Once is amazed how close the prison appears to be to other landmasses, especially when one considers that no one has ever escaped the island, except Sean Connery. The distance do not seem to be too great for a decent swimmer to traverse. However, the water is quite cold and the currents very powerful making any swimming or rowing attempt very dangerous. No trace of the 3 men who staged a highly planned escape of the island was ever found.

One of my final daylight stops was Lombard Street, known for 1 section of it that winds at 90-degree angles down a steep hill. Cars are only allowed to go down the street but people do live there and park their cars in garages that face the street.

This night I had dinner at a small Chinese restaurant, a must for any visitor or denizen of San Francisco.






If You're Goin'...

My journey to Australia was punctuated by another stop in one of the great cities of the Pacific, San Francisco. Those who've been, say that the city is one of the most beautiful in the world and it's not hard to see why. The climate is often agreeable, the city is vibrant with cultural life and it is a bastion of progressive thinking. San Francisco, also called "San Fran" and "Frisco", has attracted many to it with its vitality and spirit. The phrase "I left my heart in San Francsico" can ring true in more ways than 1.

I spent the better part of 5 days in the city and I shall endeavour, as much as is reasonably possible to convey the adventures, or at least their highlights, on a day-by-day basis. The blogging site I'm using only allows 8MB of photos per post so I must be more selective than I was with my previous blog. However, I hope that I can convey at least some of spectacular scenery I saw in San Francisco. By virtue of the passage of time, I may not be able to remember everything of interest that happened to me but here it goes.

Departing Regina, I was excited to visit San Francisco, a city to which I had previously not been. My parents had travelled there some months before and had enjoyed it. A few other people had been there but all had positive recollections of the city. I couldn't wait to see the city for myself. In the air, I crossed the Rocky Mountains on my way to Vancouver, where I cleared US customs and boarded my plane for San Francsico.

I arrived in the evening and having collected and stored my baggage, I boarded the BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) to go to my hotel, the Powell. It sits just off market street, the main thoroughfare, right beside the Powell Street Cable Car turnaround.

After settling in to my hotel, I stepped out into the night to see the goings on. The square was still alive with people well after sunset. I wandered the streets for a little while before I returned to my hotel room to sleep. I anticipated many exciting, though all too brief, days ahead.

Sunday, March 2, 2008

The Canadian Prairies

On my way to Australia, I stopped by my grandmother's place in Regina, the city in the heart of the prairies. I left on the morning of February 4th, and after a short stop in Toronto, I found myself disembarking on a typical Regina afternoon --- sunny, windy and cold. Although there had been a small "thaw" just before I arrived (temperatures had climbed to about -15C), a week before my arrival saw temperatures of less than -40C. My grandmother informed me that the windchill had made it feel -52 and even the trains had stopped running. My grandmother has lived in Regina since 1957 and has seen more than her fair share of cold weather, but even she said that she could not remember a previous occasion such as this.

My grandmother picked me up at the airport and I drove us both back to her house. Along the way, the road conditions, though not terrible, made the car difficult to handle. If I have one complaint about Regina it's the snow removal; there's none really to speak of. One would expect that a city so used to winter weather would have fairly decent snow removal. In Ottawa, even after major blizzards all urban and suburban streets are cleared generally within 24 hours, but not in Regina. It seemed to me that the city simply doesn't remove the snow and the streets, though there had not been significant snowfall for some time, were still covered in snow. Both my grandmother and mother assure me that in previous years the snow removal service had been even worse.

I spent the 4th to the 7th in Regina with my grandmother and had an absolutely fabulous time. My grandmother enjoys staying active so we went out on several occasions. On evening we went bowling and another we went to the movies to see The Golden Compass. We went to see an IMAX film about dinosaurs but perhaps the highlight of the trip was going to the Andy Warhol exhibit. Warhol was one of the most famous photographers of the 20th Century and he was Ukrainian as well, though that is less well known. He was born Andrij Warhola, pronounced an-DRIY var-HOLA, and his parents anglicized the name. To be more accurate, he was a Carpatho-Rusyn, which is to say an ethnic Ukrainian born in the Carpathian mountains outside Ukraine, Slovakia in this case. There was a large exhibit of his photography and it was very enjoyable and enlightening. There was even a lesser known photograph he took of another fellow Ukrainian, Wayne Gretzky (I'll leave the very complicated debate about Gretzky's heritage for another time).

Speaking of Ukrainians, there is an Eastern European tradition that I feel compelled to point out, since my grandmother follows it. When a grandchild is visiting, there is no such thing as "too much food". I don't know how she does it, but my grandmother prepared many wonderful dishes for breakfast, lunch and dinner: meats, breads, fruits, cereals and other goodies. I would sit down and be fed many wonderful courses, honed by decades of skill and practice. By contrast, I remember one breakfast I asked my grandmother what she would be having and she said just a small bowl of fruit with some cottage cheese and tea. In speaking with some Ukrainian friends, I found out that this is at least a Ukrainian custom, probably more generalized to Eastern Europe. Whatever the case, I thank my grandmother immeasurably for her time and patience in making those wonderful meals.

While in Regina, I managed a bit of a side trip one day. I travelled down to Rouleau (pronounced ROW-low), a small town just outside Regina that serves as the town of Dog River, setting for the comedy Corner Gas. The pictures which accompany this post show Rouleau and a few other things.

After several wonderful days in Regina with my babunya (bah-BOO-nyah), "grandmother" in Ukrainian, I bade her farewell as I left for San Francisco. During my time in Regina, we had talked about several things and I had always intended to record some of it, but somehow I didn't have my mp3 player handy when we talked. I always enjoy going to Regina and I hope to go back many more times.