Visitors from Canada

We recently had the opportunity to have Kerri's parents come and visit us from Canada.  They arrived on February 24 in Davao, after a pretty long couple of days of travel.

While the travel went quite smoothly for them it was not without some drama.  They had booked their flights from Calgary through Manila, but had not included the Manila-Davao leg in their original booking.  It was considerably cheaper to book only through to Manila.  I booked regional flights for them from Manila to Davao on one of the smaller local airlines instead, which was quite inexpensive.  I booked the tickets in their names and paid for them on my credit card, for which they would reimburse me.  The bookings were all good, and everything seemed to to going smoothly.  We planned to pick them up at the airport at around 6AM on the 24th, so we went to bed a bit earlier the night before.

At around 1AM my phone started to ring.  I immediately grabbed it and answered with my head in a fog from being woken from a deep sleep.  The person on the other end identified herself as being from the regional airline that I had booked with, and she told me that Kerri's parents were trying to check in or their flight from Manila to Davao, but they needed me to confirm my identity and credit card number for them.  Right away I was wary, thinking it must be some kind of a scam, so I asked to speak to Kerri's dad.  He got on the phone and confirmed that it was legit, so I talked to the lady again.  She wanted me to fax a copy of my identification and credit card to her.  That would have been fine if I had a fax machine.

So she suggested that I take a picture of the cards and email it to her.  I agreed that this would work, so she hung up, telling me she would call back when she received the picture.  I got up, grabbed the camera, and fired up my computer.  I took a picture and went to send it, but no internet.  So I went over and reset the modem, which is a fairly common requirement here.  I waited for it to come online.  And waited. And waited some more.  I tried resetting it again.  No luck.  I tried again.  I think I tried it about 10 times in the next 15 minutes, but it simply would not work.  Of all the times for our internet to be down!

In my just-got-woken-from-a-really-good-sleep-to-the-sound-of-my-cell-phone-ringing fog I hadn't bothered to get her phone number to be able to call, and I couldn't exactly look it up.  So I tried calling the number which had shown up on my phone, which ended up connecting me to a fax machine (don't you love that sound in your ear?).  So I had no way to contact them, and just had to wait.

Eventually I received another call.  The lady explained that she hadn't received an email from me.  I calmly explained to her that my internet was not working, but that seeing as how the names on the booking matched the names of the passports of the people who were standing right in front of her could she not just let them through.  I offered to give my credit card number over the phone.  I figured this would be a reasonable compromise.  She had to check with her manager, so she hung up (after I got her contact information).  She called back in a couple of minutes, saying that the manager agreed to do it that way.  I gave her the number over the phone, and as easy as that everything was okay and Kerri's parents were free to check in, and Kerri and I could try to salvage a few more hours of sleep.  (Seemed like a pretty long process for such a simple solution, but what can you do?  I read the fine print later on the flight booking and it did actually say that Kerri's parents did need to have a copy of my ID and credit card.  Moral of the story: READ THE FINE PRINT ALWAYS!)

So they got here early in the morning on the 24, after leaving the sub-freezing temperatures of Calgary, to arrive to one of the hottest days we have had for a while.  We were all very excited to see them, and a few tears were shed when they finally stepped out of the airport and we saw them coming.  We headed back to our house and showed them around.  We relaxed for that day, to give them a chance to rest and get used to the heat.  Then it was pretty much non-stop from then.

Over the next two weeks we kept them pretty busy.  The kids had a list of things that they wanted to do with Nanny and Poppy while they were here, and there was a lot on the list.  We took them swimming at the local pool, to the beach on three separate days (to two different resorts), to Jack's Ridge, to the Crocodile Park, bowling, fishing at another resort, and on the zipline at Outland Adventure.  In addition to all that we went to lots of different malls and stores.

It was an eye-opening experience for them; to see life here, to see the poverty and the struggles of the average person, to see the way people drive, to try new foods (including durian!), to experience the sights, smells and sounds of Davao City.  It was great for us as well to be able to experience the newness and fascination with the culture through their eyes.  For us it has simply become life here, and many of the things which were new and exciting and fascinating when we first arrived here have become normal.  I guess that is what happens after a period of time.

So they saw lots, experienced lots, and then headed home.  We certainly enjoyed having them here, but now I need to take a couple of weeks to recover from being a tour guide!

Love in Action

"Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth"  
I John 3:18

I saw this verse in action this morning at a coffee shop that I frequent.  When I arrived, there was a man sitting at one of the tables outside, yelling and muttering to anyone who was around.  All I could understand of his Visayan was "don't enter" after that I was lost.  I gathered my backpack and my computer, ignored him and walked into the coffee shop and began to set up at a table.  I could still hear him as I was inside as could the employees.  As I watched, one of the employees went over to the window to take a look at him and then did something that surprised me - he walked outside and gave the man a coffee.  I have to admit that I thought he was going to tell him to leave the area or something similar, but instead he chose to show love to this man by his actions. 

It was a good reminder to me of the importance of showing Jesus to those around me through both my actions and my words.

The Pursuit of Slurpee-ness

If you have been paying any attention to my blog posts, Facebook status updates, newsletters, etc, you may have noticed a slight trend in my train of thought.  Since moving to the Philippines I have developed a bit of an obsession...with Slurpees, or more specifically the severe lack of Slurpees in Davao City.

I have had a few comments in my discussion of Slurpees which make me feel that I need to clarify a basic Slurpee truth.  For those of you who are not familiar with Slurpees, the simplest way to explain a Slurpee is to say that a Slurpee is a blend of crushed ice and pop syrup.  Sounds pretty simple, right?  One would think so.

A true Slurpee is not quite that simple.  It is more than just some ice and pop thrown into a glass garnished with a straw for ease of consumption.  This is no Sno-Cone.  No, a Slurpee is so much more than that.  A Slurpee is a perfect blend of ice which has been lovingly shaved by a Slurpee machine off of a chilled stainless steel core, which is done continuously in order to attain the proper size and consistency of the ice particles in the Slurpee.  The rotating drum, in addition to shaving the ice perfectly, also performs the task of mixing the exact proportion of pop syrup into the shaved ice.  It is a delicate balance which can only be attained through the use of modern technology.

There are a wide variety of Slurpee-type drinks available from various convenience stores and gas stations around the world.  They may go by a variety of names, such as Slushie, Icee, Froster, and a plethora of others.  However, for me, there is only one true Slurpee.  And it can only be found at 7-Eleven stores.  That is a Slurpee.

I wouldn't say that I was addicted to Slurpees back in Canada.  I actually was able to moderate my Slurpee cravings quite well and was able to live a normal life in spite of only having a Slurpee once a week or so.  I just really liked them.  Trust me, there is nothing better after a long hot day working construction to take a really big drink of ice cold Slurpee to cool you off (Ow, ow, ow.  Brain Freeze!).  The problem came when I was faced with the reality of not being able to indulge in one of my favorite summertime (or springtime, wintertime, or autumntime (?)) activities; a trip to the store for a Slurpee.  I was cut off, forced to go cold turkey.

To make matters worse, I was relocated to a hot, humid climate which would perfectly lend itself to Slurpee consumption.  For the first 6 months I craved the cold sweet perfection that is a Slurpee.  I searched for one.  I consulted people who have lived here for years as to where I could locate one.  No luck.

So I tried to make my own.  I tried every combination of Coke, ice and water I could think of trying to find that magical formula which would yield homemade Slurpee perfection.  I tried grinding up ice and adding Coke, I tried freezing Coke into icecubes and grinding those up, I tried adding a bit of water to make the consistency better, I added extra Coke to improve the taste.  All those attempts resulted in bitter disappointment.

I eventually searched the internet, hoping that the geniuses at Google would be able to tell me where I could go to satisfy my longings.

I was hopeful when I discovered that they do in fact have 7-Eleven stores in the Philippines.  My heart raced as I waited for our painfully slow internet connection to give me a list of store locations, only to have my hopes dashed when it revealed that there were none on this island.  I tried to figure out how to justify a weekend trip to Manila to get a Slurpee.  But the costs were too much.  To buy a plane ticket, to fly there, to hire a taxi, to search out a 7-Eleven store - it was just too much.  I was distraught.

Then it seemed like my prayers were answered.  I was required to make a trip to Manila to go to Immigration.  Hurray!  So off I went to Manila, accompanied by a couple of other guys.  Our first day there I was pleased to see about half a dozen 7-Elevens in a fairly short time.  I could almost taste that Slurpee.  I decided to wait until the next day to get one though.  The next day we got up, went and did our stuff at Immigration, and then had a bit of time to kill before we headed back to Davao.  So we looked for a 7-Eleven.  And couldn't find any.  After a bit of driving around we found one.  So we stopped, I ran in, anticipating the icy bliss that can only be found in a Slurpee.  What did I see?

Needless to say I was a bit disappointed.

Unfortunately we did not have a chance to continue to search out other 7-Eleven stores, so I was denied my Slurpee.

I was coming to the realization that I simply was not going to have a Slurpee the entire time we were here.  So I found an alternative.  Instead of the cold, refreshing goodness of a Slurpee, instead I began to drink iced coffee type drinks.  While it was still cold and contained more than its fair share of caffeine, it lacked in the ability to satisfy my Slurpee cravings.  But it worked.

The sympathy which was shown to me from friends and family was great.  People made suggestions for Slurpee making and offered to send me one in the mail.  Oh, how I wish that would work!  I even received a big refillable Slurpee cup from my nieces and nephews back in Canada, which I use every day for water or Coke.  Not quite a Slurpee, but that's okay.

Fast forward a couple of months later, when out of the blue Kerri was informed from a reliable source that there were indeed Slurpee-type beverages to be had in Davao.  Our friend happened to be in a local convenience store and noticed a Slurpee-type machine.  She immediately thought of me and let Kerri know what she had discovered.

I was intrigued and made a plan to investigate.  I was told that the supposed Slurpees could be found at a particular location of the Central Convenience Store chain.  I did not know exactly which one, so I needed to investigate a bit more.  I narrowed the possibilities down to two likely locations, and Daniel and I set out to discover this secret bounty of icy joy.

The first store we went into was a bust.  No Slurpees to be found there.  I was banking on the next location to have the long anticipated beverage.  As soon as we walked in it was like a light shone down from Heaven, illuminating the treasure that I had long dreamed of finding.  King Arthur, upon discovering the resting place of Excalibur, could not have felt more elation and satisfaction than I did in that moment.  My quest was at an end!

(Oh, and it was right around the corner from our community the whole time.  Less than a 10 minute walk and I would have been there.  Ironic, no?)

Our choices for flavor were a bit lacking, only orange or mocha, but I certainly wasn't complaining.  We bought a couple of orange Freezes (their name for a Slurpee-like drink) and headed home.  I wish I could say that it was the best Slurpee I have ever had, but that would not be true.  It was pretty good (especially for orange), but it failed to live up to the expectation I had for it.  I have resigned myself that I will not get a really good Slurpee until I get back to Canada, but at least in the meantime I have found a decent imitation.

And I still managed to give myself a pretty severe brain freeze!

Our Holiday Plans

One of the questions that we were asked frequently before we came to the Philippines was whether Kerri was going to have any holiday time from clinic shifts, birth room shifts, and all the other stuff that would keep her occupied during our time here.  The answer was (and still is) yes, she has the whole month of July off from all her various responsibilities here in Davao.

The next question we would be asked was whether we would come back to Canada during that month off.  Our answer, invariably was that we would not be coming back for the month, for several reasons.  The biggest reason was the cost of travel.  For one person it is not too bad, but for a family of four it gets quite pricey.  The other reason was that we would be in ASIA!  This would be our opportunity to see a part of the world that we may never be back to, so why wouldn't we want to take that time to check out some of the other fascinating places nearby?

So after arriving here, getting settled in, dealing with culture shock and the busyness of a really intense program, we began to really miss home, and to think about how nice it would be to be able to go back in July.  The thought of relaxation while surrounded by friends and family and familiar places was quite tempting.  Kerri mentioned to me offhandedly one day that she was really hoping to be able to go back to visit in the summer.  My reaction was to kind of ignore the suggestion.  I didn't want to get her hopes up with the idea of going back.

Why?

Finances.  I have been looking after our finances during our time here, and I knew very well that coming up with the thousands of dollars that we would need just for plane tickets was pretty unlikely.  At the time we were getting by.  The bills were getting paid.  We could eat.  We managed to come up with the money when we were faced with a larger expense that we hadn't been counting on.  But to try to save up approximately $6000 we would need for plane tickets?  Unlikely.

But Kerri was persistent about it, and I began to see how a trip back to Canada would be a great chance for us to recharge to be able to push through the rest of our time here.  We have seen over and over how God has provided for our financial needs.  But was this a need or a want?  Would God really provide that kind of money just for us to take a holiday?  I wasn't sure.  So I prayed about it.

I had mentioned to Kerri that if there was any way that we were going to do it, it would have to be a case where we were in a better monthly financial situation, and that we would have to be given the money over and above what we needed for our monthly expenses.  So I prayed (and I know that Kerri was praying for it as well!) that somehow we would be given the money to buy plane tickets, and it would have to happen pretty fast so we could book tickets and make some plans.  And I wanted to have the money in-hand before we went ahead with booking anything.  The last thing I wanted was to have to carry a balance on our credit card and try to pay it off when we got back here.  Oh, and I wasn't going to ask anyone for the money to do it.  It had to be a totally voluntary thing.

So what happened?  Well, God really does listen when we pray.  Sometimes He says no, and sometimes He says yes.  This time He said yes.

Very soon after we received notification that our monthly support was going to increase to an amount that would make us more comfortable financially here.  Now instead of having to watch every peso, wondering if we would be able to afford to stay here for the whole time, we have a little bit of breathing space.

Then the extra donations started to come in.  Over the space of the next couple of months we were given several sizable donations which were totally unexpected.  As the finances came in we started to look more seriously at the possibility.  We checked out prices of plane tickets so we had an estimate in mind.  Then we looked at the extra donations we had received and the amount we had in our bank accounts.  Somehow the numbers worked out.  We actually had the money.  After picking ourselves up off the floor we decided to go for it.  We booked the tickets the week before Christmas.

Then, for a Christmas present for the kids, we sent them on a scavenger hunt through the house, collecting puzzle pieces from a puzzle we had made up.  When assembled, the puzzle was a note informing them that we were going back to Canada for a whole month.  They didn't really get it right away, but once they finally realized what it was they were both absolutely thrilled with the idea.

So anyways, that was a really long way to say that we are coming back to Canada for our holiday!  And we are really looking forward to it.  A month of relaxing, Slurpees, visiting with friends and family, going for Slurpees, lots of rock climbing, post-climbing Slurpees, taking the kids to a park, getting Slurpees, going on dates with Kerri (like going for a walk by the river with a Slurpee...), and lots more stuff that we used to do and have been missing since coming here.  (Can you tell what I have been missing?)



And speaking of Slurpees, I received what I think is one of the best Christmas gifts I have ever received:

A great big refillable Slurpee cup!  I love it!  I use it pretty much every day (but unfortunately have to fill it with Coke or water, not Slurpee!).

This was a gift from my nieces and nephews back in Canada.  How did they know that I would like it?  Hmm...

Printer Frustrations Part 2

I realized that I didn't update everyone with the follow-up to my printer ordeal.  If you don't know what I mean please read the post below this one first!

So after everything that happened previously, the ink company sent someone from their company to my house to see if they could get the old cartridge to work.  She came in, I put the old cartridge in the printer, did a test print, and guess what?

It still didn't work.  Big surprise.

So I put the new cartridge in and did a test print to show her that it wasn't a problem with the printer.  She then sent a text message to her boss, and had to wait for a reply.  Eventually she received a reply, packed up the old cartridge, and told me that I would be getting a refund.

At this point I have no idea when that will be.  Ahh, frustration.

Printer Frustrations

Having been here for 6 months now I have pretty much become used to the way that things work here.  Grocery shopping?  No problem.  Driving?  No problem (until I get back to Canada!).  Paying bills?  Got it figured out.

So I was a bit surprised recently when I went to get toner for our printer.

A bit of background first though.  When we arrived we knew that we would be printing out lots of stuff.  So obviously we needed to buy a printer.  We went out to check out our options.  Thankfully in several of the malls here they have whole sections of stores all grouped together all selling electronics, so it was pretty quick to do so.  We hit a few different stores, all of which seem to sell the exact same products, and discovered that our options were a bit more limited than we had been accustomed to in Canada.  Cumulatively between all the stores we had a choice of about a dozen popular models.  As expected, most of these models were fairly inexpensive inkjet printers.  Unexpectedly there were also several options to convert those inkjet printers to use refillable tanks for the ink, rather than having to buy new ink cartridges.  Seems like a really good idea (if it works properly).  Can you imagine what the printer manufacturers think of that?  There go their profit margins! No more ridiculously overpriced ink cartridges! (I have heard a statistic that ink jet ink is the highest price consumer product on the market per mL!)

There was also the choice of several laser printers, including one particular fairly inexpensive model from a reputable manufacturer (available in pretty much every store).  Back in Canada we had gotten used to the speed and convenience of a laser printer, and seeing as how all of our printing would be in black and white it seemed like a good idea. So we bought the laser printer.

It worked great for the past 6 months.  We printed out hundreds of pages without an issue.  Then the toner started to run out.  One of the tricks that the printer manufacturer used in selling this printer was that the cartridge that comes with the printer only contains about half the toner that you would get if you were to buy a new cartridge. I guess it helps to keep the costs down and the profit margins up. So I didn't really think anything of it when it started to print lighter and lighter.

Well, I figured I would get back at the printer manufacturer and not buy a new cartridge.  Instead I would go to one of those places in every mall that offer to refill printer cartridges.  I can just imagine the shock on the face of the CEO when he hears about that!  I am sure that he immediately sent out a memo, something like this:

PRIVATE INTERNAL COMPANY MEMO

TO ALL EMPLOYEES

EXTREMELY IMPORTANT!

IT HAS COME TO OUR ATTENTION THAT STEVEN OISHI HAS REFUSED TO BUY A NEW PRINTER CARTRIDGE, CHOOSING INSTEAD TO GET THE OLD ONE REFILLED.  BECAUSE OF THIS I MAY BE FORCED TO SELL MY PRIVATE JET AND MY PORSCHE (the red one, not the black one, the green one or the yellow one). THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE!

THERE WILL BE AN EMERGENCY MEETING OF ALL STAFF THIS AFTERNOON TO COME UP WITH STRATEGIES TO GET HIM TO CHANGE HIS MIND.  ATTENDANCE IS MANDATORY!

Okay, maybe not.  But I still figured that I could save myself a few thousand pesos and have one less thing to go in the garbage.  So I took it to the place to get it filled.  The ladies working there told me the price and asked me to come back in about an hour.  I was a bit surprised.  I figured that you just need to pull out the plug on the cartridge and pour in more toner.  I thought it would be really simple.

So I went and wandered around in the mall for a while.  After about an hour I went back to pick up the cartridge.  They weren't done, so they asked me to come back in about 15 minutes.  No problem.  So I wandered some more.  I came back in 15 minutes and they still weren't done.  And my printer cartridge was in pieces and they didn't seem too confident that they knew how to get it back together.  Hmmm.  By this point I needed to get home, so I told them I would come back later to get it.

A couple of hours later I received a text from them saying that it was all done.  By this point they had been working on it for about 4 hours.  I went in a bit later to pick it up.  Everything seemed fine, so I paid and went home.  I put the cartridge back in the printer, turned it on, did a test print, and discovered that the test print looked horrible!  There were black streaks all over the page (front and back) and the writing was difficult to read.  So I took the cartridge out to find that there was now toner all over the inside of the printer.  I'm not sure if they overfilled it or what happened, but I was not impressed.

I spent about 2 hours that evening cleaning out the printer, cleaning the printer drum, and trying everything I could to get it to work properly.  In the end I was unsuccessful.  And mad.

So the next day I went back to the store and showed them the test pages I had printed.  They took the cartridge and cleaned it off a bit.  They told me that should fix the problem and to take it home and try it.  So I did.  I drove back home, put it in the printer, and guess what?  No change.

Very frustrated I went back, figuring that this cartridge was shot and planning to just go buy a new one.  I would even leave the old cartridge with the ink people so they could recover the toner they had just put in.  I just wanted a refund and I would leave relatively happy.

Yeah, it doesn't work that way.  They would be happy to refund my money, but in order to do that I had to fill out a form, then the cartridge gets sent off to their head office in Manila (I guess to see what the problem is?) and I can expect to get a cheque in about a month.  Not impressed, but what can you do?

So I filled out the form, left the cartridge with her, and left skeptical that I will ever see that money in my lifetime.  But we still needed our printer to work, so off to the electronics stores we went.  As I mentioned, there are lots of electronics stores all grouped together all selling roughly the same things, so finding a new cartridge wasn't a problem.  The first store we went into had them.  I asked the price.  Now thankfully I had gone into another store the day before to check the price, because this store was a lot more expensive.  Unfortunately the other one didn't have any in stock.  Go figure, the place with the lower price is sold out.

I politely declined and proceeded to the next store, where they again had the right one, this time at a much better price (400 pesos saved just by walking to the next store).  We went home after a quick stress relief ice cream sundae at McDonald's (not a Slurpee, but it was okay), put the brand new cartridge in the printer, did a test print, and discovered that it worked perfectly!

Moral of the story? Don't mess with the CEO's Porsche.

PRIVATE INTERNAL COMPANY MEMO

TO THE CEO:

I MAY HAVE FIGURED OUT A WAY TO SOLVE OUR PROBLEM.  THE CLERK AT THE INK STORE IS MY COUSIN.  SHE WILL TAKE CARE OF IT FOR US.  HER ONLY REQUEST IS A RIDE IN YOUR PORSCHE AND A FLIGHT TO MANILA ON YOUR PRIVATE JET.

Steve's Post Script:  The day after writing this post, but before I got it posted, I received a text message from the ink people.  Apparently they want to bring the cartridge, which I had left for them to send to Manila, to my house to try it in my printer and see if they can fix it.  I figure they are either being extra diligent about their customer service, or they think I am trying to scam them out of 1400 pesos. Either way it's really annoying.  I just want a refund.  Not a repaired toner cartridge.  I already bought a brand new one! Just a refund.  I will keep you posted when I find out what happens!

Davao Weather Forecast

One of the more common questions that I get asked by friends and family back in Canada has to do with the weather here.  That question has both a simple answer and a more complicated one.  I will start with the simple answer.

It is hot and sunny. Always.

Seriously, it is.  Weather forecasters are the butt of many jokes in Canada, because it seems practically impossible there to forecast what the weather will be the next day, let alone the next week.  Here it is a bit different.  The forecast looks like this all the time:

Hot and sunny.  High of 33C.  Possibility of limited cloud cover.  Chance of late day rain or thunderstorm. Little wind.  Humidity between 80-95%.

This goes for pretty much any day.  There are some days which vary a bit.  Some days it only gets up to 31C.  Other days it may rain a bit for most of the day.  Some days it is cloudy all day.  Those are the days that we look forward to because 33C with 90% humidity feels pretty hot at times.  (There was one day that I can remember that I considered taking a sweater with me when I went out, but by the time I left it had warmed up!).  

We have actually gotten so used to the heat here that it has just become normal.  The other day Kerri was telling me that she was feeling a bit cold.  It was a cloudy day and was noticeably cooler then normal.  I checked the temperature on a thermometer to discover that it had cooled down to... (wait for it...) 29 DEGREES CELSIUS!  I think she even had goosebumps.  I ran to get her a sweater (okay, not really, but she was quite comfortable wearing jeans that day).

As for typhoons and tropical storms, we are located close enough to the equator that we are not located in a typhoon-prone area.  We did have a tropical storm warning here recently, but it turned out to just be one day of rain for us.  Usually when there is a typhoon or tropical storm in the Philippines it is quite a ways north of where we are.  In fact, for us here it seems that when a typhoon is passing through the northern Philippines our weather is not bad at all, often it is warmer and less rain than normal (which is a different kind of bad weather!).

Now, I can totally understand the curiosity which people back in Canada have about the weather here.  Coming from a temperate climate (which really means a cold climate, but they can't call it that or no one would live there!) one of the most noticeable differences here is the lack of variation in the weather.  It is the same day in and day out, week after week, month after month.  The concept of seasons is difficult to apply here.  It's like perpetual summer (which is mostly good...).

Back in Canada we had seasons.  It went from Summer (a week or so of hot dry weather) to Fall (becoming cold) to Winter (COLD! How cold? How does -40 sound?) to Spring (still cold, but with lots of snow too!).  There was a bit of a pattern to it every year, unless Spring didn't feel like showing up, or sometimes Summer stayed for 2 weeks.  Some years it snowed lots before Christmas, other years it all waited until after.  But regardless there was a change of the seasons.

The change of the seasons brought a whole topic of conversation.  How many times have you had a conversation that went something like this: (fill in the blanks)

Me: Sure is (hot/cold/rainy/windy) today, eh?

You: Yes it is.  Nice change from last week though.  It was too (hot/cold/rainy/windy) last week.

Me: I agree.  Hard to believe that it is already the end of (spring/summer/fall/winter).

You: No kidding. (Spring/Summer/Fall/Winter) is just around the corner, eh?

Me: Sure hope it is better than last year.  Remember how (hot/cold/rainy/dry/windy) it was last year?

You: Yeah.  I heard that this year they are saying it is supposed to be a (long/short) (hot/cold/rainy/dry/windy) (spring/summer/fall/winter).

Me: (Hope so/Hope not).  After the (spring/summer/fall/winter) we have had it would be nice if it would (warm up/cool off/dry out/rain more).

 

That type of conversation is one which takes place in every Canadian workplace, social gathering, family get together, and church function.  Put two Canadians in a room and they always have something to talk about (and often complain about!).  I would imagine it would be similar in many other countries as well (except substitute "eh?" with the local catchphrase).

That kind of conversation doesn't seem to be as popular here.  Probably because it would go something like this:

Toto: Sure is hot today.

Tata: Yes it is.  Just like yesterday. and the day before.  And last week.

Toto: Now what do we talk about?

 

So please feel free to ask how the weather has been for us, but know that inside I am (laughing/crying/rolling my eyes).