Snow Dogs

Life gets serious this weekend with Amanda doing night shifts (x4) at the Hostel. The boys had Hockey on Saturday morning and we went skiing today at a local ski hill, Tawatinaw.

We're all pretty pleased with our progress on the slopes. Boys ready to attack the moguls in three weeks at Jasper.

I've done the maths - and the physics (I'm ever so thorough) - on the length, width and age of my legs and have decided that at best I'm a Blue Run Kind Of Guy.

Meanwhile, I'm writing the blog but should be writing reports. The hemisphere may have changed, but some things remain the same.

Canmore, Banff - Family Day Weekend

Long drive after school to Canmore in the Rockies west of Calgary. Dog-sledding, Banff (including Gondola), pizza night with fellow ITF's, snow-shoeing on Sunday, ice skating at Lake Louise on Monday morning then 7 hour drive home. Pictures might tell the story. The Rockies defy description.

Our Welcome

We have received a fabulous welcome from the school and the town. The town of Barrhead is the centre for a population of around 10,000 people (I think) - less than half of whom live in the town itself. The school services a wider farming community with many students bussing in from nearby farms. Being at the school puts us at the heart of the community.

We've slipped into the life of our exchange partners very happily. Family of four replaces family of four. Children of similiar ages. Symmetrical.

The school community has made us feel right at home - which is a fair effort given the distances and differences. We are pleased not to be in a city.

We've been on the receiving end of many generous invitations and have gladly followed the advice of all previous exchangees that we have met by saying 'YES' to everything. Repaying all the generosity is a challenge that we look forward to.

At the end of the first week of school, I left via the front of the school and looked up to see my name in lights. Felt good. Warming. That night we were off to watch the ladies Bonspiel - a Curling competition - and I took Jack, Amanda and George on a small detour past the school. A nice thrill. We hopped out and took some snaps.

I like the way the snow sits on top of the sign. There's a small deposit of snow on top of most things around here at the moment.

Toboganning

We had planned to conquer the slopes of Rabbit Hill again today but Amanda has a cold and we thought we'd save ourselves for our dog-sledding and snow-shoeing adventure in Canmore next weekend. Instead we headed back for Barrhead - the short way this time - and the Jack, George and Will spent the afternoon hurting themselves and laughing on the hill behind the school.
Amanda has secured a job at a Hostel - Shepherd Care - just around the corner and has taken on some night shifts. Tonight is her second shift. She starts at 11pm and finishes at 7am. The work is not too strenuous.

the weather

One of the things that occupied our tiny minds before leaving for Canada was the weather. How would we survive, let alone enjoy life, in extreme cold. We survived the worst blizzard since 1986. School was cancelled. 65% of the students at Barrhead Elementary School travel to school on a bus. The snow was coming in sideways. The weather following that was seriously cold. We headed for school the next morning in -39 C.The boys enjoyed the blizzard and spent a couple of hours in the back yard digging in the snow.


The temperature has rarely climbed above zero. The temp hovers between 0 and -25. The air is dry and mostly there is little wind. Layers of clothes good gloves and headgear are enough to keep out the cold. -17 C is about the temperature at which your nasal hairs get frosty. Now that's a nasty sensation.

Many Canadians hate the snow. We still love it. It offers us a whole range of new joys. The snow that falls just stays. Because of the cold the snow is not at all sticky and mostly it runs like loose sand between your gloved fingers. We need to wait for spring before we can make snowmen.

Snow means work. Local by-laws stipulate that you need to clear your sidewalk within 24hrs of a snow fall.

teachers convention in edmonton

We're in Edmonton for the North Central Teachers' Convention Association of the Alberta Teachers' Association. This is an annual event. All Albertan teachers attend such a convention in Today I heard from a range of speakers.
One, retired teacher/comedian/speaker Dave Mitchell offered me something like this:

MEETINGS
Feeling a little LONELY?
HATE making decisions?
Then call a MEETING.

YOU CAN:
have people LISTEN to you
draw FLOWCHARTS
hand out PAPER
WATCH others sit around

MEETINGS...
The practical alternative to WORK

I thought of Blair.
Meetings are noticeably absent from my new life. Things seems to continue to function without them.

The conference was a big event. Thousands of teachers in the one location (that's a lot of people with Aspergers). Some of the speakers and topics were excellent. Our boys have been copping a tough time since I heard 'The pampered child" speaker.

While I did THAT, Amanda and the boys were doing THIS... (their last pampering for some time. From now on its, "Go outside and play in the blizzard.")

Australia Day

There are a number of couples that we have met who have been on exchange to Australia. We celebrated Australia Day with a party inviting those with Australian connections. We even put a flag up in the house - very patriotic - if only we could get rid of that Union Jack in the corner...

George took the snaps.















On Australia Day I managed to commandeer the PA microphone to ensure that everyone stand to endure 'Advance Australia Fair'.