'snow problem at all!

About two weeks ago we had our first and, to date, only snowfall. By local standards it wasn’t a biggie, only about 2 -3 inches at best. By South African standards of course this was a climatological adventure of note. As far as I can remember I have only ever experienced snow up close twice in my life. One occasion being a freak snow fall in Johannesburg in 1982 at the tender age of about 8 years old. The second time was on a college geography tour to Lesotho to see the construction of the Katse Dam as part of the Highlands Water Project. While the first was seriously memorable (ask any kid who was in school in Johannesburg in 1982) the second was somewhat disappointing as there wasn’t very much snow at all. Hence my complete enthrallment with the icy precipitation two weeks ago.

The danger of course with snow is that if it gets cold enough over night, the snow freezes and becomes solid ice and not the easiest surface to drive on. So at the first sign of snow and or icy driving conditions, schools are closed in our, and surrounding, counties. Well, usually anyway, but not this time. It was deemed by the powers that be, that 2 – 3 inches of snow did not warrant a snow day, and that it was still safe to transport students to school. I just happen to have witnessed at least three cars skidding across various roads with shell-shocked drivers who might disagree with this sentiment though. Never-the-less, on the second day of snow we were all contacted at about 5:00 in the morning and told that school would be starting two hours later than normal, in order for the surface ice to melt and thereby make the roads safer to drive on. What nobody took the time to tell me was that apparently that doesn’t apply to teachers. Apparently teachers are supposed to report for duty only one hour later. Oh well!

I have included some photos below of the snowfall around our apartment complex and a few photos of my students having a snowball fight. It was only upon our sodden return to the class that I was informed that we are apparently not permitted to take the kids outside and let them play in the snow. Oops! Oh well! Again!

...and at 3am you have a slice!

There is a small suburb in the northern part of Washington DC called Adams Morgan. It reminds me of Melville in Johannesburg, or even Rocky Street, Yeoville, as we used to know it back in the early 90’s. It is an eclectic mix of pubs, clubs, restaurants and coffee shops servicing a smorgasbord of people from all walks of life. On one side of the street, within the space of about 50m you will come across a bikers bar, an Ethiopian restaurant, some standard issue sports bars, a jazz lounge, a night club and a piano bar. With names like “Anarchy”, “Tom-Toms”, "Millie and Al’s" and “The Reef”, you can just imagine how it makes for an interesting evening of people watching.

And at 3am, after all the clubs, bars, restaurants and lounges have rung the bell for last round, everyone spills out onto the sidewalk and makes their way up to one of three little pizza take away spots and ends the evening (or should that be early morning) by having "a slice” of pizza. What is so remarkable about that you might ask? This “slice” is not your standard issue “slice" of pizza. It is a "slice" of pizza, not a whole pizza, which measures about 40cm from crust to tip and about 30 cm at its widest point along the crust. And it tastes great!!! NO! That’s not because we were all on a "good beer buzz early in the morning!" I have had one of these slices at about 4 in the afternoon and it was just as good. In fact my good mate, Andrew the Aussie, actually packed away two slices on one particular night. But that’s another story!

Ten Things I learned in Pennsylvania and Ohio

For the Thanksgiving holidays I was fortunate enough to visit parts of the states of Pennsylvania and Ohio and stay in the home of a colleague's family from school in order to experience a traditional Thanksgiving . It turned out to be a great way to see another part of the USA, with a local as a guide, and a learning experience of some note. Some of the lessons were one's you would expect I should know already, and others were genuine first time experiences.

LESSON 1: It is possible to put your whole lunch order between two slices of bread and make it taste good.

We stopped in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania for lunch. The restaurant is called Primanti Brothers and is famous throughout the Northeast and Mid West states for its sandwiches. I should mention that this restaurant is at its busiest at about 3am, just after last call at the pubs in town. How much this factor affects the restaurant's infamy, I am not sure. For the record, I had a corn beef and cheese sandwich with coleslaw and fries... all between two slices of bread.


LESSON 2: Pictures taken through the sun roof and back passenger window can turn out better than expected.

These are two fairly random pics of the city of Pittsburgh. The city lies at the confluence of three rivers and was at one time the hub of the metal industry in the USA. There are many interesting bridges that need to be crossed to get round the city. Pittsburgh was voted into the top 5 most beautiful cities in the USA at one time. It is an interesting mix of post-modern metal and glass design, and old style Gothic churches and redbrick warehouses.

LESSON 3: The Amish community was not invented for the movie "The Witness" and do actually exist in all their unique non-materialistic splendour.

As part of my Standard 9 curriculum we did a film study of the movie "The Witness" with Harrison Ford and a very young Elijah Wood. This was my introduction to the Amish religion. The Amish are actually a sect of the Pennsylvania Dutch which originated in Switzerland and have at least 2o other sects. Each sect has its own unwritten laws pertaining to how they integrate themselves into society at large. Chris, my host and chauffeur, was kind enough to drive me through a small Amish farm community on our way to Ohio.

LESSON 4: Pumpkin pie is best eaten with loads of whipped cream.

As part of a traditional Thanksgiving meal, pumpkin pie is served as a dessert with whipped cream. The jury is still out as to whether or not I liked it.

LESSON 5: Not everyone is born to be rock star, and that's okay!

Electronic entertainment has risen to new heights. X-Box have a game that comes complete with microphone, guitars (both base and lead) and a drum set. You then stand glued to the television set watching your particular cues to strum and play various combinations of coloured buttons on the neck of the guitar and thereby belt out scary renditions of some of the classic rock songs from the last 35 years. I could just feel Mick Jagger cringing. Even so, it was great entertainment for the evening.

LESSON 6: Snow is cool... literally!

It snowed on Thanksgiving day. This was my first experience of snow in the US. It WAS cool! And we were warm as toast indoors playing RockBand! We actually had about 3 inches of snow, but I just took too long to get outside and take photos. Hence the grass showing through in the pictures.

LESSON 7: Lebron James IS the king of Cleveland.

Chris, his bother Alex, and I got tickets to see an NBA game at the Quickens Loans Arena in the city o Cleveland. The Cleveland Cavaliers took on the Toronto Raptors and won by 111 - 108. Lebron James, the Cavs' captain, score at least a third of his teams points, as well as leading the stat in rebounds and assists. And if the there is something the Americans do well, it is keep record of game stats!!!

LESSON 8: Tequila should always be consumed in moderation!

I am not going to expand too much on this lesson. Suffice to say that courtesy of our old friend Jose Cuervo, we were too late to visit the Rock 'n Roll Hall of fame. I did get some great pictures of the outside of the imitation 'Louvre' museum though.

LESSON 9: Wind energy may be efficient and renewable but it is an eyesore on the horizon!

Being somewhat environmentally conscious, I was thrilled to have my first sighting of the turbine blades used to generate wind energy. While it was a personally exciting experience to witness these giant power generators, I couldn't help but notice how these 6 story high towers cut into the horizon. In my book though, it is still better than the cooling towers and accompanying smoke stacks of a coal power station.

LESSON 10: Black and white pictures of snow scenes can come out awesomely too!