Spring Semester

We've settled into our second semester at Malaspina and into our last 4 months in Rainaimo (aka Nanaimo). The semester break was somewhat frenzied, but nevertheless went smoothly as our traveling slipped into the crevices in time between various winter storms, somehow avoiding the frequently bad winter driving conditions. No doubt our now unbalanced winter driving karma will, at some future date, be rectified.

Our semester break found us returning to the USA, spending most of the time in Spokane, but with a quick trip to Sandpoint to deal with various important items - including some minor rehabilitation of our Subaru's starting system. We were able to search out some Sandpoint friends, but others were spared.

Eli has started a second printmaking course, serigraphy (silk screen techniques) replacing last semester's focus on intaglio. Meanwhile, I am teaching two courses instead of the expected one, because one of our profs had a family emergency requiring a semester's leave. His courses needed to be redistributed at the last minute.

Rainaimo's rainy season took a rest the last few days to let a cold front slither over the mountains and into the valleys. Although not cold by our standards (North Idaho, Minnesota), the high humidity adds an unwelcome bite. There is even a bit of snow on the ground.

We saw a good movie recently, 'Driving Lessons', probably available in the mainstream. Then we saw a neat documentary, 'Sombrio'. It was the story of a squatter settlement on Sombrio beach, around the corner from Victoria and on the Juan de Fuca Strait. It existed from roughly the sixties into the late nineties. The squatters were an eclectic mix with perhaps the common thread being that they did not wish to live in 'normal' society. They even produced a few world class surfers. The government ultimately evicted them, making way for a provincial park. We subsequently went to a sort of multimedia short film fest, by and large disappointing. Most of the films featured adventuresome film making techniques, each film arranged in a random-seeming tour de force, leaving me feeling it was otherwise pointless - but perhaps it was too avant garde for me.

We'll continue our hiking as winter perseveres. Perhaps we'll even try the January 28 sea kayak trip. However, the possibility of more skiing this season is unlikely - the 5 December days at Whistler-Blackcomb may have to suffice. A three hour round trip for a day of crowded, expensive downhill skiing at relatively small Mt. Washington is not yet persuasive to us spoiled North Idaho skiers. Of course, Whistler-Blackcomb is another matter, but would require staying several days to make it attractive.

Richard
2007.01.13