Foo Fighting Fish Fingers

The slippery piece of fried halibut danced through my fingers as if it were still a live fish attempting to escape. Laying there motionless on a bed of fries was a single piece of "Foo Fighting" fish fingers that almost seemed to be mocking me, daring me to venture further in my attempt to consume it.  Not wanting to be outdone, I finally made the resolve to end the battle with this piece of battered marine life by dunking it in tartar sauce. Although the piece of halibut graciously accepted it's defeat and would eventually succumb to having it's final resting place on top of my tastebuds, it wouldn't be without pulling one last trick up it's sleeve. As I proceeded to drown this stubborn piece of fish in tartar, it suddenly began breaking up into large chunks as my fingers neared the tartar, resulting in bits of fried batter, halibut, and tartar sauce all over my fingers. At the same time, the howling wind beat against the tent which was meant to shelter all the patrons down at Barb's fish and chips. But nothing could have stopped me from indulging from the gooey goodness that comes from fried halibut dipped in tartar :)

I don't need to tell you that that was my adventure to Barb's Fish and Chips the other day. In the past few days, I've felt that my time in Victoria has been drawing to a close. I expected to be in Buenos Aires by now but God had different plans for me and it turns out that I had things to do and people to see and connections to make before I go back. And being here longer has allowed me to enjoy the very best of the city. Activities that would be the norm for the people here are a huge treat for me.

This last Saturday was the first clear day in a long time and I decided to take advantage of it and suck in every moment of the good weather. I found myself hopping off the bus downtown and making my way towards the breakwater by Dallas rd. But on my way there, I noticed a sign that said that the James Bay Community market was on from 9-3 so I decided to have a detour and stop by the community market. It was truly a treat to listen to local musicians, and walk by arts and crafts stores and look at potential gifts and souvenirs for my friends down in Argentina.

Next I would continue down to the breakwater and from there, would take a nice long walk up to Clover Point where the rest of the afternoon would be spent on the beach, laying in the sun reading "The Life of Pi" and listening to music on my ipod. While I was on the beach, I sent a text to my best friend in Buenos Aires, Marisa and said "I'm resting on the beach here in Canada and it's so quiet and calm!  One day soon, you're gonna be sitting here together with me on the beach. I can't wait to travel with you to Canada". An hour later I got a text that said that she was so happy for me that I was enjoying myself. And that it was cold down in Buenos Aires. But it would be wonderful to get a chance to see Canada".

Life is made up of little moments and one thing she and I have learned about maintaining relationship is just to take little moments for each other. That's how we've learned to stay connected and to keep our friendship fresh during this time that I've been abroad. We don't need to be texting alot. Our texting is alway very brief but it's always very special when that moment comes where we get a chance to connect with each other through text.

After my relaxing time on the beach, I was hungry so I decided to take a stroll into Cook Street Village. Even though I didn't have alot of money on me, I couldn't have been in a better place. Cook St. Village is full of neat places that offer very good food at ridiculously amazing prices.  My search for something cheap and filling would take me to "The Bubbly Rose Bakery" where not only would i find sweet eats but I would see a very sweet site.

There was a father and a daughter in the bakery and they wanted to buy a large chocolate chunk cookie. The father only had so much change on him to buy the cookie, it was to the point he was calculating if the cookie had tax on. Seeing their plight, I offer to make up for the different in the price but another stranger sitting down at the table beat me to it. Hey gave the father the difference in change so that he could buy the cookie. The little girl glowed and the father beamed proudly and said "What other place could you find a community like this?"  Witnessing all that made my first ever visit to the "Bubbly Rose Bakery" unforgettable.

Buenos Aires is a beautiful city too, in a very different way. In the same way that they have alot to celebrate, we who live on the island have alot to celebrate also.  We not only have a beautiful city but we have so much local talent within this beautiful city. Talent like the group Santa Clara who has just launched their music video today. I took a glimpse of the music video and was very pleased to see that it was shot in some of Victoria's prime spots. The music video is a magnificent representation not just of the city but of the artistic talent that lies within it. The music video is also being featured on my other blogsite that I created as a tribute to the band Creatively Complex



Tango 2 the Moon

Santa Clara Sizzles "Sugar" with Spice

 You know, I've often wondered about this band that I've been promoting the past few months and what it would be like to get a taste for them live in concert. We all know that there are some bands out there that sound great on records and CD's but lose momentum when it comes to their live performances. And there are other groups that are the opposite, they do great live but their CD doesn't do them justice. Well tonite at their live performance at Sugar lounge, I finally got the answer to my questions.

The instant the band hit the very first notes there on stage, a sense of rapture fell over the place.  A crowd gathered around the stage where these fresh faced youngsters were making magic with their electrical guitars. Though having only been in the public eye for a short time, it was easy to see that the lead singer Tim and all the band members had quickly learned stagecraft and the art of connecting with the audience.

Santa Clara played a 45 minute set and each song they belted out with the kind of freshness and raw, organic passion that almost makes you feel as if they had written it yesterday and were singing it for the first time ever tonite. After seeing them on stage tonite, I realize that one of the greatest strengths that this band has is it's ability to be believable. And in having that kind of  believability, it brings a layer and dimension to their music that gives their sound a depth of reality.

 The lead singer Tim sang every line with such an obvious conviction that there shouldn't be a doubt in anyone's mind that nite that who was there that he was truly in the moment up there on the stage.  Each chord that he struck from his guitar and each note that his voice hit coupled with the intricate blend of vocals, instruments and  accompaniments breathed life into every single one of the lyrics. Naughty or nice? I can't decide which of those adjectives best sums up seeing Santa Clara's performance.  All I know is that Santa Clara's seamless set sizzled "Sugar" with spice.  
 
www.santaclaramusic.com  www.myspace.com/santaclaraband 

Tango 2 the Moon

Axis Of Awesome - 4 Four Chord Song

The last 40 years have brought us many classic hits by great artists. Some were "one hit wonders" while other artists went on to greatness. At times I've wondered if all these major recording artists had a secret formula they used to ensure that they songs would have success. Well it appears that this group, Axis of Awesome has a little bit of a theory of their own to what exactly makes a hit single.....

The Circle of Life

Image by DazzlingDigital via Flickr

The Lion King - Circle Of Life Lyrics

[MS: Male Singer]
[BS: Background Singer]
[FS: Female Singer (lead)]

[MS:] Nants ingonyama bagithi baba [There comes a lion]
[BS:] Sithi uhhmm ingonyama [Oh yes, it's a lion]
[MS:] Nants ingonyama bagithi baba [There comes a lion]
[BS:] Sithi uhhmm ingonyama [Oh yes, it's a lion]
Ingonyama
[MS:] Siyo Nqoba [We're going to conquer]
[BS:] Ingonyama
Ingonyama nengw' enamabaal [It's a lion and a tiger]
[repeats 5]
Ingonyama nengw' enamabala (Se-to-kwa!)
Ingonyama nengw' enamabala (Asana)
[repeats 1]
[FS:] From the day we arrive on the planet
And, blinking, step into the sun
There's more to see than can ever be seen
More to do than can ever be done
There's far too much to take in here
More to find than can ever be found
But the sun rolling high
Through the sapphire sky
Keeps great and small on the endless round
It's the Circle of Life
And it moves us all
Through despair and hope
Through faith and love
Till we find our place
On the path unwinding
In the Circle
The Circle of Life
[FS:] It's The Circle of Life
And it moves us all
Through despair and hope
Through faith and love
Till we find our place
On the path unwinding
In the Circle
The Circle of Life
 
 
You know, sometimes inspirations for a blog come out of the funniest time and places. Tonight I was simply looking for another song to add to the playlist that is on the website. I had a few ideas in my head for song choices, one of them being "Circle of Life" from "The Lion King". So I went to check out a few videos and...........BOOM! There was my inspiration for my very next blog. Not only did I find what I wanted, but I also found a couple of amazing performances of "The Circle of Life". As well, watching the performances brought me back to one of my favorite childhood memories of being able to go see "The Lion King" on stage in London.  I was brought up on musicals and there is no doubt in my mind that "The Lion King" live on stage in London was my favorite.

If you ever get a chance to, you have to see this musical at least once in your life. They have a stage that actually moves where stuff can come out from the floor. And the costumes are spectacular, I've never seen anything like it.  The opening number "The Circle of Life" is one of the high points in the musical and it is something that stays in your mind for a long time.  I hope that I sometime in my life, I get to see the musical again.





But while I was searching through performances of "The Circle of Life", there was one performance that caught my eye.  Remember how I wrote a blog earlier about Jennifer Hudson's life. Well I discovered a video of her performing "Circle of Life" on American Idol so many years ago.  How did she do?  Well how about you be the judge of that?  I've put the video of the performance right here so you can decide for yourself. All I can say is that I have no doubt that anyone who can belt out a performance like that is destined for greatness.  And although she didn't win American Idol, Jennifer Hudson would not disappoint us in the days and years to come after that awesome performance.

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Good Things Come in Threes

It's not often that you get a week where you get to celebrate several launches, successes and public recognition of more than one project at the same time. I hope all of you have been calling in and requesting Santa Clara's new single "Save Me" that hit radio waves April 12th. Here at "Making the Same Difference" we are all about celebrating launches, success, and recognition in the lives of hardworking individuals. And today, I'm having a celebration of my own.

I mentioned earlier that I came across a website called Lexiophiles It is a website dedicated to love of words, languages, and cultures. On their website, they were requesting guest writers to contribute pieces. So I sent two articles that I have written. Both articles can be found on the very top of the blogsite. One article I sent was called "Language Learning Lab" and the other was called "Cultural Quirks". Someone got back to me and said they loved both articles and they want to publish both of them at one point. Seeing as they could only publish one at a time, they would like to start by publishing "Cultural Quirks" on their website for April 15th.

I was simply delighted and gave them the go ahead. So as of today, you should be able to go onto Lexiophiles and check out the publication of my article. Or you could always click onto the link to the article at the top of this blogsite. Either way, I think you'll find it an interesting read. And I will certainly be sure to let you know when they've decided to publish the other article "Language Learning Lab".

But good things come in threes so while I am on the note of celebrating the projects people have done, I would like to highlight to you a cool project done by one of my tango teachers down in Buenos Aires. I wrote a blog awhile back about Carlos & Alison, a tango couple that I took private lessons from. Tango is just one of the many talents that this couple has and they are successful in many different ways both as an individual and as a couple. Alison is actually a filmmaker and while I was on Youtube looking for a good example of a video to post on this site, I stumbled across the trailer of a documentary that Alison made entitled "The Caprichosos de San Telmo". It's about the ghetto communities of Buenos Aires and something called "Murga" a dance started by African slaves that is done to the rhythm of colonial drums. They beat of the music together with the dancers brings people together in unity and ignites the heart and soul of the community.



www.carlosyalisontango.com

www.thehellhound.com

6 Degrees of Participation

6 Degrees of Participation. That's what the theme of this blog is today.  Being almost on the eve of the release of Santa Clara's new single "Save Me" onto radio waves April 12, you can feel the sense of excitement and anticipation in the air.  Have you ever wondered if calling in can make a difference in such a competitive industry? Well let me tell you this story that happened fairly recently. Some of you may be familiar with the band "Delirious", a Christian rock group that will go down in history for redefining Christian music as well as being able to attract mainstream audiences. They were the first Christian rock group to win the respect of those within the industry to the point that during their career, they got to open for artists like Bon Jovi and Bryan Adams and so much more.....

On Nov 29th, they did their last ever concert on stage after an announcement that that after 17 years each of them would be going in different directions. Though they accomplished much in their career and impressed many, they never had a single that actually made it into the UK's ultimate mainstream charts, that being Radio 1. A couple of weeks before Easter, some fans came up with some crazy idea to start downloading "History Maker" to see if they could get it on the charts.

The funny thing about ideas is that that often times they get pretty contagious. And they can get not only contagious but infectious when a bunch of people say "I'm in...let's do it! Let's get an inspiring song on the charts" So all these crazy Christians in the UK started aggressively downloading it as part of the campaign to get this one song on the charts for easter. Could they do it? Could they do something to mark the career of Delirious 4 months after their career was officially over. The results speak for themselves  Martin Smith, the leader of the band was beyond impressed and had some interesting words to say about the whole campaign. You can read it here and for your info, the song "History Maker" is one of the songs on the playlist I have on the blogsite.

http://www.delirious.co.uk/html/news/20100404/344/history-maker-no4-in-uk-mainstream-charts.html

http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/nottingham/hi/people_and_places/religion_and_ethics/newsid_8604000/8604615.stm

http://www.crossrhythms.co.uk/articles/music/Delirious_A_number_four_pop_hit_and_a_Farewell_Show_CDDVD/39294/p1/

I really wish I could have been part of that campaign but unfortunately, only downloads from the itunes UK counted to get Delirious on the charts. Even though you or I (who live outside the UK) couldn't have participated in putting Delirious on the map, we can certainly participate in helping Santa Clara make a name for themselves here in Canada. We really can help shape the future of this amazingly talented band. The odds stacked against a band with no major music label and no history are very great.

But you and I can help them beat those odds! How? Just by calling into your local radio station and requesting "Save Me". How about getting involved in 6 degrees of participation? And no, this campaign is different than the one I described above. Their music is for the mainstream market and purely for entertainment. And by calling in , we can give this band a chance in a "dog-eat-dog" industry.


I certainly have witnessed personally what the power of individual support can do. It is YOUR visits to this site that put "Making the Same Difference" on the map. The blogging world is extremely competitive too and getting exposure is really difficult. But each one of your individual visits and support and encouragement caused this blogsite I created that I thought would be small and intimate and has taken it to a place where this site is being seen by people from all over the world and getting a wide degree of exposure.

Like I've stated earlier, the odds area against a band trying to make it in the music industry and a blog trying to make a name for itself in the blogging world with millions of other sites. But here we stand, both Santa Clara and I. Whether you've visited this site or called in to request their song, either way you've helped put us on the map and given us a fighting chance of actually making it. Thank you!

To begin shaping Santa Clara's history, go to their website www.santaclaramusic.com for a list of radio stations in Canada that you can call into to request "Save Me". If you want to sample "Save Me", simply go to http://www.myspace.com/santaclaraband Remember that the official radio release of "Save Me" is April 12th And if you want to to go all the way from 6 degrees of participation to 1st degree participation, then you won't want to miss their show on May 1st where they will be playing down at "Sugar" here in Victoria BC along with the band "Armchair Cynics". You never know who you might see there Even though I'm making plans to go back to South America, I'm still trying to see if I can make it so I can be there. Tickets are available at the door or through "Lyle's Place". For more visit their fanpage on facebook http://www.facebook.com/pages/Santa-Clara/13488900734?ref=ts

So 6 degrees of participation.....how about it?

The Price is Right

It is not often that I come across a band with so much generosity.  As you all know, I am constantly promoting the boys of Santa Clara.  And my support of them isn't without good reason.  In a world where people are getting more consumed with money and the attitude of "Look out for #1" , it makes me feel warm on the inside to see people give the very best of themselves to others at a price that is so much less than what they are actually worth. And I myself live life with the exact same value and mindset and I find that more and more I'm surrounding myself with people who are doing the exact same thing.

For example, my friend Eduardo Saucedo down in Buenos Aires is a world renown tango master who's is much sought after as a teacher all over the world. When I was inquiring on taking private lessons with Eduardo, I was quoted a price of about $50 CDN for a private one on one.  Being quoted that amount really caught me off guard because getting the chance to learn from someone famous, he could easily set the price at so much more. And I've actually seen private tango lessons by tango teachers (who aren't tango masters nor are they well known) down in Buenos Aires who set the price of private lessons at $75 for an hour.  It even still amazes me that Eduardo does group classes twice a week for $7 CDN. If that isn't big hearted or generous, I don't know what is.

Eduardo's desire is to make good tango instruction available to as many people as possible and my desire is to make classes in english available to as many people as possible.  Private english instruction can goes for about 40-60 pesos per hour, a price that is inconceivable for a normal working class Argentinean.  Group classes in Buenos Aires for english instruction range in affordability. My friends tell me that there is a university in Buenos Aires that offers english instruction for what would be about $75 CDN a month. The size of the group is about 25 people so it is huge and there isn't alot of personal attention.

I feel a very deep sense of empathy with these people and my passion is to see them have a desire that burns deep within many of their hearts, the desire to speak english. For many of them, having no time or money, that dream seemed impossible. But as we speak, the staff at the college and I are working on developing high quality english instruction with me that would be at no cost to anyone who wants to enroll. I don't know on my end how it's going to work out with me having living expenses in that country. But as I've explained to my friends there and friends here that God is not going to send me to that country and that church and show me a problem that they have and a need that needs to be fulfilled and not give me the funds to live in the country and get things accomplished. I totally trust God to take care of all that I need now and all that I'm going to need right down to the last detail :)

The final example of generosity that never ceases to move me is with the boys of Santa Clara. In my eyes, the quality of music they are churning out is worth a million dollars but they've chosen to be people minded instead of money minded and are offering their debut album online for $1 only and if you only want a single, you can set the price. Yes, you heard what I said, you actually get one of those rare opportunities to set the price for any single that you choose if you only want one or two songs.  Having this kind of generosity, I can tell that the boys are going to go far in the music industry. So what are you waiting for? Click on the link that I am posting here and go download music worth millions for less than the price of a cup of coffee and a donut. The price is right! http://www.santaclaramusic.com/store/

Grammys 2009 "You Pulled Me Through" by Jennifer Hudson

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

 Easter morning today was a little unusual. Where most people would normally be found in church or at mass or at an easter egg hunt, I found myself this easter morning staring at my blogsite feeling like something is missing. Now don't worry, I'm not going to be alone for easter. I've been invited to easter dinner at someones house tonight so it is all good.

But back to my blogsite and the thing that was missing. Mainly it was in the area of the playlist. I know it is a good playlist but how can I make it even better?  And I did end up making some nice additions to it from artists like Whitney Houston and the song "Seasons of Love" from rent. But even after adding those on, I felt there was still something missing. Then my brain clicked in at that very moment and one name came to mind......Jennifer Hudson.

After scrounging around, I found two of the most powerful songs she has ever done and will be remembered for. The first was "I'm Telling You" from the movie "Dreamgirls".  That was such a powerful number in the movie that I've put it as the last song on the playlist.  It's totally unforgettable and it's initially what put Jennifer Hudson's name on the map as a force to be reckoned with in the music industry.

The second performance that marked her career was "You Pulled Me Through" at the 2009 Grammys. This was one of the first few appearances she was beginning to make after the tragic murders of her mother, brother and nephew.  Some of you may recall that it was all over the news last year, just when she was coming into the height of her career. Jennifer Hudson had to deal with the media, cancel plans for music video shoots that had been scheduled, go into seclusion and even while she was in seclusion, she was faced with the horrific task at one point of having to identify the bodies at the morgue.

For months during her seclusion, the world speculated if this was the end of her career and if she would be able to ever pick up the pieces of her life. And against the cynicism and the predictions of the media, Jennifer began to bounce back slowly, starting with an appearance at the Superbowl last year to sing "Star Spangled Banner".  And then she stunned the world with a performance that would go down in Grammy history with "You Pulled Me Through". I remember seeing that performance during the live grammy telecast along with millions of other people. And together, the world watched as Jennifer Hudson took the tragedy that marred her life and from it she create a performance that would mark her career.

 "I would like to thank my family in heaven and those that are here today"
  - Jennifer Hudson upon winning her first grammy in the R & B category




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Santa Clara Sizzles with a Sexy New Single "Save Me"

Wow I can't believe that I've been in Victoria almost 3 weeks now. And it seems like the journey of growth continues even during this period while I am in Canada. Life has been a combination of taking it easy and enjoying relationships while at the same time trying to keep on top of things with maintaining a blogsite and making it the best it can be. Last night I worked until midnight and all today I've been making upgrades and adjustments all morning until early afternoon now when I am sitting here writing this blog. Alot of the adjustments I make are often behind the scenes and would be things that I would know but this time the upgrades my websites are definitely obvious. So I hope you enjoy it and don't hesitate to let me know what you think.

The obvious addition to the website is the music player that looks like an "itouch" player. I don't have an itouch in real life so at least I get to have one through my blogsite :) Music is such an important part of my life and as I was putting this playlist together, I made the effort to have a mix of songs from all kinds of artists, both well known as well as local. When putting together this list, it was important for me to give exposure to some local artists such as Cindy Davis and Santa Clara. Almost all the musicians are people that I have known and met personally or who I grew up with. And I feel so proud to be able to add their music right beside well known artists like Alicia Keys as something that all my readers can experience and enjoy when they pop by here for a visit. Even as I write these words, I am testing out the playlist and making sure that the songs flow well together for your enjoyment.

If you didn't know already, Santa Clara is a local band who is getting heavy radio play and receiving much attention from the recording industry. I was in Argentina when they broke out and started to get radio play. Because of that, I was a little late in finding about the song and getting a chance to listen to it. But the moment I heard the song, I knew that they had something special to share with the world. And it would be a sound that I definitely would be wanting people to be listening and experiencing the moment they clicked into the site. Their first single "The Fool" captured my heart and I was never really the same after that song.

So I made sure that "The Making of The Fool" would be one of the videos included in the music mix. This is not the official music video. That was recently shot here in Victoria and it is the midst of being edited. You can check out pics of the music video as it was shot on the sidebar. I'll give you further updates as the dates get closer. But one date that I can tell you about is the release of their next hit single "Save Me" You can preview the song on their myspace page. Just click on the picture of the band that I've included at the top of this blog. It's another song that's definitely got my attention and just like "The Fool", it's bound to get attention of both individuals in the recording industry and the public alike when it hits the radio April 12th. Don't forget to mark that date and join in the party!

But the exciting news doesn't stop there! Recently I stumbled across a website called lexiophiles. They are a website dedicated to the art and study of languages and cultures. On their website, they said they were looking for guest writers. I submitted two pieces to them, they the ones you can find at the top of the site entitled "Cultural Quirks" and "Language Learning Lab". I got the response back from the people there that said that both pieces were excellent and they wanted to publish them both at one point. They couldn't publish them at the same time so for now, they wanted to publish "Cultural Quirks' for April 15th. I could not be more delighted and gave them the go ahead.

I feel honored to have my article featured on a public website other than mine. It gives me tremendous exposure and does so much in solidifying my identity as a writer. I'm almost at the place where I'm ready to tell people "I'm a writer" when people ask what I do. It's something that I haven't been able to do before because I felt that I didn't have enough credentials to be able to make a statement like that. What an awesome step it is! But success only taste sweet when you have someone to share it with. I would like to invite each of you to share the success of Santa Clara as they release their new single "Save Me" on April 12th. And I would also like to invite you share in my success just 3 days later on April 15th as some of by best work gets featured as articles on lexiophiles.com Whether you're the kind of person who enjoys rock and pop music or the kind of person who loves writings and articles on language and cultures..........regardless of what your taste are, success is success and it is time to celebrate and party!

La Ciudad de Furia

"Me verás volar
por la ciudad de la furia
donde nadie sabe de mi
y yo soy parte de todo"

"You'll see me fly
by the city of fury
where no one knows me
and I am part of everything [everyone]"

 Lately I've found that the lyrics to the song "La Ciudad de Furia" by Argentinean rock group "Soda Stereo" keep echoing through the walls of my mind and heart.  I became a fan of Soda Stereo while learning spanish in 2009 and the hit "La Ciudad de Furia" became my favorite song. Strangely enough, the words of the song reflected where I was in that point in my life.  The song is all about wanting to fly away to the city of Buenos Aires.  The lyrics are all about wanting to melt away and disappearing into the shadows of this grand city where no one knows your name.  And having the city hide you beneath the safety of it's wings.


"Me dejarás dormir al amanecer
entre tus piernas, entre tus piernas
sabrás ocultarme bien y desaparecer
entre la niebla, entre la niebla"

"You'll allow me to sleep until the dawn
between your legs, between your legs
You'll know how to hide me well and disappear,
into the fog, into the mist"

From: http://lyricstranslate.com

From: http://lyricstranslate.com

That has got to be one of my favorite lines in the song!  Just a brief recap here to who Soda Stereo is, they were a popular Argentinean rock band in the 80's with the lead singer and guitar player being Gustavo Cerati. They basically were the "U2" of the Latin American world. In 1997, the band decided to break up due to personal differences in the direction that the members wanted to take. But they all came together and did a reunion tour throughout Latin America in 2007.

There is a ring of truth to the words of the song. It's funny because I almost feel at times the city can be a paradox of itself. On one hand it's big and complicated and you have to be tough as nails some days to get through life there. And at the same time there is something about Buenos Aires that almost seems rather nurturing, as if perhaps the city is attempting to soothe you and wash away the harsh effects of day to day living in the city that almost feels like it wants to leave a dent in you.  Here is a journal entry that I wrote Sept 12/09

"More and more I am finding that tango is not just a dance, it is a way of life in this city even for those that don't dance tango.  The city has a way of wrapping it's feathers around me to comfort and ease all loneliness and thoughts of home and the people there.  Like a mother hen, it soothes me safe and & warm under it's wing."

On that note, I want to tell you a story of a cool moment I had while I was visiting a park in Buenos Aires. I was visiting a park in Buenos Aires where there is a pond and plenty of geese around along with their babies. It was kind of neat visiting the park because I would visit once and then a visit a few weeks later. And each time I visited, I can see the gosling going to the stages of growing up and losing their down feathers in the journey to becoming young adults.

One occasion while i was there, there was a mother duck who was sitting on the lawn and all the little babies were cuddled up all around her and snuggling under her feathers.  And just watching that, I had an unexpected healing moment that came to me. For those of you who don't know, I was abandoned, broken, abused and used. I'm going to spare you all the terrifying details of my childhood but all I can say is that it was not pretty.  But just watching the mother goose there with all her babies touched me. I was like "Wow......in broken world, nature hasn't forgotten it's role."

The mother goose is just happy doing it's job of nurturing and protecting. The mother goose doesn't say "I've had enough of sitting here taking care of you. I want MY life, MY way!" and then storms off leaving all the babies cold and susceptible. No! They know they can just come to her and trust her.  And that there is a place for each one of them underneath her wings and they are always welcome.

I never forgot that moment that day in the park seeing the mother goose taking care of all her babies.  But what's even more better is that whether I am in Victoria or Argentina, there are people in both culture who extend a hand towards me and do all they can to be nurturing. When I came back to Victoria after my first trip to BsAs, my friends didn't just take me into their home and let me stay there, they constantly made an effort to create an environment where the energy was warm, loving, and nurturing and they always wanted me to feel happy and content and were willing to go the extra mile to make that happen.

This is very healing for me because I have not had a good history with dealings with people who have had alot of time, space, and comfort and it is very easy just to think that only people in the 3rd world are open and welcoming and giving.  But it warms my heart that I have people in both cultures and both continents who extend their hand towards me without second thought no matter how much or how little that they have.  It gives me a great sense of assurance knowing that I will always have a place in this world whether I am flying from or to "The City of Fury"  :)

The City of Fury (English) translation of the song Ciudad de la Furia (Spanish) from Soda Stereo lyrics

From: http://lyricstranslate.com

From: http://lyricstranslate.com

From: http://lyricstranslate.com

From: http://lyricstranslate.

From: http://lyricstranslate.c

From: http://lyricstranslate.c

Live at La Bomba de Tiempo

We all know that there are just some things in life that words, pictures or even video cannot justify the experience of being there live in person. One of them would definitely be Iguazú falls. Months later, I still hear the haunting sound of waterfalls in my head deep into the night as they crash against the rocks again and again and again.....

There are other noteworthy experiences and things to try out while you are in the country. La Bomba de Tiempo at the Konex every monday night rain or shine. I've already written a detailed blog on my nite at La Bomba de Tiempo so I'm not going to sit here repeating what I've already written. Instead, if you would like to know the description of the event, I'll defer you to a link here that will take you to the post of the blog I had written earlier. I'm sure you'll find it quite amusing, especially the fact that it was the first and only night during that trip that I can officially say I that I lost my sobriety :)
And for your viewing pleasure, I've included some Youtube videos to give you just a little taste of the event.

Making the Same Difference: La Bomba a Tiempo