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We've been a good 4 months or so in Canada now, so its probably time for more musings on life in Canada.
One truly North American custom we've had the privilege to endure is "Wings". We were taken by friends to a local establishment specifically for this purpose. I've never eaten so much chicken in my life. The wings come cheap and by the plateful, covered in delicious seasonings. The only other accompaniment seemed to be beer and possibly meatballs. This is great for those on the Atkins diet, but it definitely has adverse effects on your digestive system. I'm not sure what they do with the rest of the chicken though.
We've also been to our first ice hockey game. People laugh when I talk about going to an ice hockey game. Here it is simply known as "Hockey", as if there were no other kind. It is a pretty awesome spectator sport. We were handed free tickets on the streets (from some random friendly Canadians), and found ourselves placed near one of the goals. Within the opening minutes we watched as player after player got smashed against the glass in front of us and dropped to the
ground. Most alarming to us was when the game suddenly stopped like some silent whistle had gone. Two players dropped their sticks, removed their gloves and threw their helmets aside. They proceeded to pummel each other, swings coming from left and right, while the rest of their teammates (and the refs) looked on passively. It was only when they fell to the ice that everyone jumped in and pulled them apart. The players then sat in the naughty box for 5 minutes and the rest of the game continued as normal. Unreal. No one had told us about the "fight rule" and we couldn't believe what we had just seen. Apparently, teams hire boxers to act as "enforcers", keeping the star players from being mushed into the walls or injured. Fights erupt when an enforcer thinks the other team has overstepped the mark.
A different sort of carnage takes place during the salmon spawning season. Each year, during 6 week period, huge numbers of salmon come come to lay eggs. The poor fishies fight their way up stony streams, running past the gauntlet of eagles, seagulls and bears, only to fight amongst each other for the best spots in
which to lay eggs. By the end of it, they are exhausted, give up and die. We went and witnessed it out at Goldstream Park. We must have seen thousands of salmon all in varying stages of the spawning cycle - from those jumping up rapids, to the ones being pecked at by seagulls while still alive. A harsh lesson in the cycle of life.
It is now the depths of winter. Temperatures have dropped across the province and you see some pretty impressive weather forecasts. If you think Dunedin is cold, imagine reading this forecast for the days ahead:
Tonight
Clear. Increasing cloudiness overnight. Fog patches developing overnight. Wind up to 15 km/h. Low minus 19. Cold wind chill minus 28. Risk of frostbite.
Friday
A mix of sun and cloud. 30 percent chance of flurries in the morning. Fog patches dissipating in the morning. Wind northwest 20 km/h. High minus 15. Cold wind chill minus 28. Risk of frostbite.
Friday night
Cloudy periods. Wind up to 15 km/h. Low minus 22. Cold wind chill minus 29. Risk of frostbite.
Saturday
Cloudy with 30 percent chance of flurries. High minus 22.
Sunday
Periods
of snow. Low minus 29. High minus 25.
One happy thing about the cold is the declicious snow and we were treated to a proper white Christmas. Christmas seems to make sense in the Northern Hemisphere. It is so cold and dark everyday that having something like Christmas to look forward to is imperative. People here really get into the Christmas spirit. On the 1st day of December, the decorations go up and stay up to keep the place bright and happy when its dark at 4pm. People go crazy with Christmas lights, decorating entire houses and trees so that they look like gingerbread houses. We saw people carolling in the street and got offered copious amounts of Egg Nog (a delicious invention - a heart attack in a cup, and no, it doesn't taste like omelet), gingerbread and christmas cookies. Having eaten a ton, we felt obliged to ski it off, and spent New Years at Whistler amongst the madness, tearing through fluffy powder with huge grins on our faces!
We have also tried our hand at Nordic skiing. For the purists out there, the uniform is tight lycra, a long beard and lots of lunging. In
contrast, we looked spectacularly uncoordinated, like newborn lambs as we struggled to come to terms with the long straight skis and pick ourselves up off the trail.
Thankfully, spring comes early in Victoria, and I am looking forward to longer afternoons and more sunshine.
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