We Bought a New Home!

Hi there Gumboot Enthusiasts.

The Weekly Gumboot has gotten ambitious and moved across the interscape to www.dailygumboot.ca. Check out our new location and continue to be part of the community!

Kind regards,

John Horn
Editor-in-Chief, The Daily Gumboot

Publish Post

The Gumboot is Under Construction

Good day, community-minded readers of The Weekly Gumboot. Over the next few days/weeks, your favourite blog will be undergoing some changes so that, forever more, we can provide some sexier and more cutting edge service to you, the people. We're making this happen with a two-fold strategy. First, our Correspondents will be attending a two week long "community twitblogging for the interscape" and team-building retreat in Prince Rupert; they will return better than ever and with a thirst for community-building. Second, we're making The Gumboot prettier from the back-end (not sure exactly what what means, but the guy we "hired" won't stop talking about it).

Keep your eyes open for our new direction. And thanks, as always, for your support, comments and, most importantly, the memories.

Stay classy. And keep reaching for those rainbows.

Your pal always,

John Horn
Editor-in-Chief

Buenos Aires and the Journey Home - Chapter 3

Hola, Gumboot readers! Well, Michellé y Juan have returned home to Downtown Canada (Editor`s note: on Sunday night, we flew over mountains and ocean and rivers and green space into Vancouver...and then we were lucky enough to meander up and down The Drive during the tail-end of Summer Days - people, we are so, so fortunate to live where we do...tourists must orgasm when they arrive in this part of the world!).

But enough about Vancouver and beautiful British Columbia. Let`s get back to Downtown South America! So, the last time we checked in with Juan y Michellé, we had thrived in the Andes, learned about olive oil, defended against nuclear zombies at the Difunta Correa, and survived precarious paragliding. The next challenge for this delightful power couple: smog, traffic, rain, and a hospital in Buenos Aires!

So, Buenos Aires is a city of 13 million people (give or take a dozen). Some of the city's highlights include the world's largest street, 9 de Julio, and Christianity's answer to Disneyland, the Parque Tierra Santa. According to the country's maps, Argentina, not Britain, owns the Malvinas, not Falklands (shhh, don't tell the United Kingdom!). Argentinians, as described by the "rest of South America" and "Lonely Planet" are "Italians who speak Spanish, want to be French and behave like the English." One travel writer also used the term "a-hole" to depict these "Europeans of the Third World." In the experience of Juan y Michellé, the Canadian travelers were discriminated against more by French Canadians named Martin than by Argentinians; everyone was pretty darn nice, in spite of the hazy busyness of the city. In the end, Buenos Aires grew on us.

First highlight, Caminito: ladies and gentlemen, welcome to La Boca, a neighbourhood built on Italian immigrants (not literally), tango and Maradona's football club, Boca Juniors, where the now coach of Argentina's National Men's Club played his career. Caminito was/is a tourist mecca. Throughout our travels, Juan typically looked out of place with his Panasonic Lumix draped around his neck; however, amongst the restaurants, souvenir shops, cheesy tango dancers, and colourful buildings of Caminito he was right at home. Besides, dozens of Argentinian tourists had, ahem, much longer lenses than he did. Fun fact about tango: contrary to popular belief, tango is actually not at all about dancing; originally, the art form was created as a comment on class-romance-relations, where a man would sing to a woman about, well, forbidden-esque love. For questions about tango, please email Martin Renauld at renauld14(at)hotmail.com. Probably the most hilarious part of the Caminito trip was the Maradona impersonator. For a modest price of, we think, 10 pesos, you - yes, you - can have your photo taken with a guy who looks like Maradona. Again. He's not Maradona, but he kinda sorta maybe looks like him. Needless to say, we don't have a photo of this gent. But we do have a great idea. A "business venture" if you will. Would you rather pay 10 pesos for a picture with a fake Maradona, or 8 pesos for a picture of the real Martin Renauld. We know the answer...

Second highlight, San Telmo Market: as Summer Days in Vancouver sputter towards cancellation (such is the word on the street about carless streets), the San Telmo Market, which is exactly where the thoughtful, visionary, humble, street-savvy, and amazing Andrea Reimer will be taking Vancouver in the years ahead, will be the vibrant, colourful and, yes, carless Sunday street market that it has been for decades. Hey, man, Buenos Aires defines itself as a "European City," so it's understandable that such street culture survives and thrives amidst the rise of the automobile in the Southern hemisphere. Argentinians see cars as a status symbol, sure, but having a street or two closed in a neighbourhood will never deter people (most of whom still walk everywhere, which is why the wine and meat can't make 'em all fat!) from visiting the neighbourhood. From the locally made crafts (most of Argentina's consumer products are also local) to the amazing street performers (see video and prepare to dance!) the market was a delightful romp that was so extensive that it took up all of Sunday afternoon and most of the evening.

Third "highlight," public health care in Argentina: nothing says "adventure" like heading to one of Buenos Aires's hospitals during a swine flu epidemic that has inspired a "state of emergency" from the city's mayor, Mauricio Marci. While free health care for all is certainly admirable, in a city of 13 million with a 51% poverty rate, it obviously comes with a fair share of challenges. One such challenge is limited resources coupled with high demand: there's nothing quite like waiting 2 hours in a crowded waiting room only to share a 6x8 ft doctor's office with three other individuals, each suffering from a different ailment. Despite the 'health care for all' mantra, a tiered system was still fairly obvious: one of the first questions Michellé was asked was why she had come to the public hospital and not the nearby private hospital. With symptoms that some sources (mostly questionable organizations like the WHO) say represent the swine flu (5 out of 6 symptoms isn't that bad, right?) Michellé was lucky to have made it out alive two x-rays, one ventilator, numerous threats of quarantine, and 5 hours later.

Fourth highlight, artful museums, cemetaries and freezing rain: for two days in Buenos Aires it rained like it was November in the Pacific Northwest. And we took the bus. First, buses in Argentina are superfun, because they only stop for, like, 30 seconds to let people on. And, when you get off, sometimes you just have time to jump off the back as the bus slows down. Needless to say, a fun time. What is not fun is putting 2.50 pesos in change (biggest coin in Juan's hand was 25 cents) into a rickety old machine that eats a lot of them (bus companies may or may not be a leading cause of Argentina's coin shortage). And what is hilarious is when a five-person line up forms behind Juan as the bus careens around Buenos Aires streets and he tries - with little success - to pay for the tickets from 10 blocks ago. And what is amazing and community-inspirational is when the five-person line-up cheers Juan on and gives him high-fives when the tickets finally spit out of the machine. And then the unraveling travelers got off the bus at the next stop... So, we nerded out in a couple of musems, including the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes (picture), and then braved the chilly weather in one of Buesnos Aires's coolest, and creepiest, attractions: the La Recoleta Cemetery. Some of the famous burials include Eva Peron, Domingo Sarmiento and Isabel Walewski Colonna (grandchild of Napoleon Boneparte). After walking for 20 minutes in the wrong direction, Juan y Michelle arrived a little later than expected at the cemetery, which inspired them to split up - each with a camera - and document the amazing history of the site. Soon, we were approached by security guards who were understandably cold and ready to shut things down. And so began a giant game of hide-and-seek. Basically, there were two strategies: first, Michellé pretended to not understand what anyone was saying (which she took to quite naturally); second, Juan just ran, man. The game was highlighted by pointing, shrugging and yelling of infinitives and nouns: "Amigo?! Amigo?!" That's right, Recoleta Cemetary Security, Juan leaves on his own accord...and because hypothermia was setting in. Oh, and, needless to say, given how the journey began, we took a taxi back to Ximen and Martana's place...

Fifth highlight, Tigre on the Delta: one can only imagine how excited Michellé was to travel into the river delta of Buenos Aires on a train and a boat! While the train was, well, a jam-packed, uncomfortable commuter train that makes the B-Line look spacious, the boat-ride was enjoyable and adventurous (see "transportation culture" community-takeaway below), mostly because the boat doesn't really "stop" for you to get off; the Captain (we're nautical now, people) sorta backs up, the First Mate loosely wraps a rope around the "dock" and then you hop off as the boat pulls away. Making the day even more enjoyable was the delicious lunch we had on one of the islands. Perhaps it was our nautical savvy, or our delightful Canadian air, but somehow we even managed to score free drinks at the end of the meal. We later learned that such drinks are given to customers when they (a) spend a larger-than-normal amount on a meal or (b) are well liked by their patrons. Given that Juan's meal consisted of "Provaletta El Hornero" - fried cheese - it was probably mostly column b that earned us the drinks. Top score for efficiency. Top score for deliciousness and customer service. Top score for adventure. Low score for safety. Still, well played, Argentina.

Our big night out with Ximen and Martana: finally, we experienced an authentic tango show. Ximena, breaking with Argentinian culture and social norms, called out to the singers with requests for songs. People turned and sent curious looks her way, but the performer totally got it: "this is normal in Uruguay," she explained to the audience. You're darn right it is! After several bottles of delicious malbec and the best steak Juan has ever had, Martin and Juan bid goodnight to the ladies and ventured out into the chilly San Telmo, well, morning. [INSERT YOUR GUESS ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED BETWEEN 3AM AND 6:30AM HERE]. And then we meandered home to get a restful few hours of sleep before striking out into the city in search of delightful goods to smuggle into Canada. (Editor's note: look, Canada Border Services, we might've brought a green herb back into the country, but, relax, it's only maté.) In any case, Monsieur Renauld, you got it like you did in our Bishop`s University days, good sir.

And then we came home. As it turns out, South America is far from the West Coast. But after 36 hours of traveling, which included extended stopovers in Santiago and LA, we made it home. Terrifying fact about LAX: you can buy iPods and digital cameras in vending machines. On the way home, there was really only one glitch. We had an unannounced two hour stopover in Lima, Peru. It was almost that medium-sized, um, thing that makes travelers lose it, break down and get a little nuts. Luckily, we channeled our craziness through humour. And, so, here is an excerpt of our "things we hate about Lima" list:

1. The "L" has something to hide.
2. Alpaccas, unlike sharks and bears, are naturally violent, aggressive and angry creatures.
3. In Lima, terrorists outnumber teachers 11:1.
4. Machu Pichu was actually built in 1987.
5. We had to go there.

Luckily, Limans (number six on the list) have a good sense of humour.

As you, the readers, know, The Weekly Gumboot is both about community and the actionable steps/tips/ideas that can be implemented to build said community(ies). So, in no particular order, here are the five things Juan y Michellé would like to share about the Argentinian/Urugyuan community that, well, we North Americans can certainly learn from:

1. Maté - the green herb of which we spoke. This warm drink is all about community. It is commonly shared between family and friends over stories and laughs. Here are some rules about mate: only the server can touch the straw or "re-arrange" the maté; drinkers must drink until a slurping sound is made; once you finish your turn you must return it directly to the server. If anyone wants to stop by commercial drive for a little maté-party, like we said, we smuggled some back.
2.Transportation Culture - imagine how much fun it would be to take the 99 B-Line if, say, it only slowed down at Commercial and Broadway. And, hey, imagine if the bus from Vancouver to Calgary served champagne, unlimited wine and the biggest glass of whiskey you've ever seen. Not only that, imagine if, for a few dollars extra, you could lie down and sleep in a full sized bed the whole way. People in Canada don't take the bus over long distances because, well, they're shabby. But recent findings show that, because of things like oil disappearing, traveling by plane as we do will most certainly change. Don't worry. There's a large reserve of whiskey and 1980s music videos in supply.
3. Eating - like maté-drinking, meals are typically a time when families and friends share moments and community is built. So, what better way to widen and deepen the community net than, well, adding another meal to the day? In Argentina, like in many South American countries, dinner is eaten much later in the evening - as late as 11pm - with a smaller meal eaten at about 6pm. While indulging in a small-child sized steak and a bottle of wine close to midnight takes some getting used to, the opportunities for community this tradition brings with it does not.
4. Coins (even if they are part of a black market racket) - if one stereotype can be said to be true about Argentinians - from the perspective of two humble Canadians - it's that they're laid-back. Symbolic of this laid-back lifestyle is the Argentinian attitude towards coins. With a low-supply-high-demand situation on their hands, the laissez faire Argentine solution is not to fight over limited resources (which cannot, sadly, be said about much of the world's population), but to instead not worry about the details and round up or round down to the nearest peso.
5. Martana y Ximen - it is Canada's loss that one of its greatest revolutionaries left Quebec in search of a "real" revolution in Argentina (without Che the place is pretty calm, though, Martin). And Ximena, well, she's just hilarious and makes up for any lack of English-speaking with dramatic flare. When asked what her favourite part of Juan y Michellé's visit was she said, "when you left and went to Cordoba." The delivery was deadpan, too. In all seriousness, our hosts defined friendship and community, constantly putting themselves out to welcome us in. If Martin's PhD dissertation doesn't get finished on time, we are partly to blame. But, then again, it is South America. Being on time is just a little bit different in that neck of the woods. So, Martana y Ximen, muchas gracias!

So there it is. The end of the unraveling travels of Juan y Michelle. Keep your eyes open for The Unraveling Traveler, our new adventure guide for community minded travelers (appendix on shade-finding included for free). We hope you've had as much fun reading as we have writing. So you know, we did our writing in installments... Our final tip: if and when all else fails, just say 'si'...

Adios!

- Juan y Michellé

From East to West in Argentina ­- Chapter Two

As Juan and Michellé ventured out on our own for the first time in Argentina, without the wise advice and watchful eye of our trusted friend and guide Martin Martin (who taught us, among other things, the intricacies of bus riding and peso procurement) a few questions crossed our minds - will our combined knowledge of about 50 words en éspanol get us across the country and back? Will Michellè's vegetarianism be compromized due to a lack of sin carne options? Are we unknowingly venturing into a fire-ridden, flu-ravaged pool of terror and disease? Ah - fear not, friends! With a combination of luck, wit, and a few uttered threats from a tall, bearded Canadian who constantly boasts a sun-inspired-scowl, it was pretty darn certain that everything would be perfecto. I mean, hey, we made it back to write the blog post, right?

Our adventure started before we even left Buenos Aires. With four minutes to go before our bus departed for Mendoza, we found ourselves madly rushing from one end of the terminal to the other, attempting to figure out how and where to catch a bus that wasn't registering on any of the schedule boards. Luckily, we made it. Not only was this good because it allowed us to, you know, reach our destination, but it also afforded us an opportunity to experience the unexpected bus culture in Argentina. In just a few words: champagne, wine, whiskey, and blaring 80s music videos. 10 hours and some Tears for Fears later, we found ourselves stumbling off the party bus and watching the sun rise in Mendoza province ...

First stop, Uspallata: the town of Uspallata is located in the province of Mendoza and finds itself nestled in the Andes in the middle of the Argentine and Chilean frontiers. Upon arriving, we naturally started looking for a taxi to get to our hotel. Without a taxi in sight, we walked a block and found ourselves smack dab in the middle of town. Town, of course, being one street. Lucky for us, the beautiful landscape more than made up for the lack of cityscape. Our time in Uspallata was spent mountain biking in the Andes, walking through fields and streets with our adopted dog, Carlos, and musing over the inexplicably large and rather threatening military presence in town (It was quite an experience to have a fully armed and camouflaged military batallion pointing guns at us - Argentinians can sleep soundly knowning that the Grupa de Artilleria de Montaña is prepared to defend a Chilean advance through the Andes!). Hey, Lonely Planet and Fodor's, why no love for the Pizzaria?! The two "travel guides"totally sidestepped what is clearly the best kept culinary secret in Uspallata. Folks, if you happen to be in the Andes, stop off at La Pizzaria on Uspallata's main street. For 60 pesos you can dabble in some delicious pizza (vegetarian options available if pre-beginner Spanish spoken), a bottle of outstanding Malbec and a healthy, tasty salad that will leave you stuffed. The tolerant staff even let two talkative - and slightly oblivious - foreigners remain in the restaurant well after closing time. Well played, Uspallata, well played.

Second stop, Mendoza City: welcome to wine country! Mendoza accounts for 70% of Argentina's wine production, and recent findings show that the province exports nearly 95% of it's wine around the world. The city of Mendoza is kinda like the West Coast Canadian city of Victoria - it is quaint, quiet and sanitized for the millions of tourists who flock their from around the world. The city was actually destroyed in 1861 by an earthquake that levelled the city and killed over 11, 000 people. By the end of the 19th century, Mendoza was "reconstructed on a grid, making it easy to explore on foot." Well said, Fodor's. But you forgot to mention the five outstanding and community-centred plazas (Espana, San Martin, Italia, Chile, and Independencia) that create a vibrant hang-out for youth, seniors, senors, police, philosophers, luncheoning businesspeople, and folks who just wanna make out (there was and is a lot of love in Mendoza). Our hotel - La Hotel Zamora - was located right in the centre of town and had a garden-hallway (complete with koi pond) that made my dad smile just by being there. We toured two wineries (Vistandes and Granata) as well as the Laur olive oil factory. Good times were had by a lot of Argentinians, some Dutch, a Swiss fellow, a Columbian, some Irish lasses, and a couple of Canadians who, after some direction, stopped drinking the olive oil and putting wine on all their bread. Just kidding, we're totally cultured. In fact, Brenda Enegren, my co-worker/sommelier/friend, would've been proud of us. Michellé even caught the hint of red peppers in the Granata Malbec! Mendoza also offered a range of culinary experiences. First, there was La Florenica, a Boston Pizza of a place that got Juan's order wrong and proceeded to drench Michellé's rice and chicken in enough oil to put the Laur factory out of business. The kitchsy ambiance was great, but it wasn't enough. And then there was La Tasca de Plaza España. Amazing atmosphere (we even got an intimate table in the back), amazing tolerance of our limited Spanish and, most importantly, amazing vegetarian-sensitive food. The fish au gratin was out of this world in a way that matched the tastiness of the torrentes wine with which it was paired. Mendoza, it was a pleasure.

Third stop, San Juan: oh my God!!! Nuclear Zombies have attacked the town of San Juan and no one in the city survived!!! Oh wait, it's Sunday in Argentina. Let's back-track, though. The visit to San Juan started with a rather eccentric and risk-taking taxi driver, who chucked our backpacks in his trunk and, well, didn't close it. We sped off into the dusty, cold night with the trunk's lid bouncing up and down. Further to this, we also stopped next to some rather seedy characters who sneakily eyed our bags. Juan was perched on the edge of his seat, ready to burst out the door and chase down any theives, but it never came to that. Now, back to the zombies. Okay, so there weren't any zombies. More likely, a combined love of rest, family, markets, sport, and Jesus kept 99.9% of San Juanians off the streets on our first day in the town, Sunday, which made searching for food and drink slightly challenging. Speaking of food and drink, San Juan, of all places, possessed a leafy green vegetarian buffet called Soychu. It was delicious and yielded a wide range of vegetarian dishes that ranged from quiche to homemade pasta to stuffed peppers to, thank heaven, a salad bar!!! But, dear readers, the piece de resistance for San Juan province was, without a doubt, the Difunta Correa shrine in Vallecito. Pictures say more than words, and we added a few of em. Here are some words, though: Correa was following her husband, a soldier fighting in the civil wars of the 1840s, through San Juan when she died; her baby, however, lived by suckling on her breast and this has been declared a miracle by a grassroots community (ironically enough led by long-haul truck drivers) that has, for over a hundred years, championed her cause in, well, one of the weirdest and most amazing displays of spirituality that anyone has ever seen. Michellé and Juan walked around like this [insert image gaping, awestruck face here] the entire time. All the license plates, bottles of water, trophies, model houses, plaques, and countless other trinkets are purposed to thank Correa for creating miracles (like cars, houses, success). The Catholic Church, officially, doesn't like it, either. Perhaps they are displeased with a massive grassroots movement that represents a fusion of Catholic and indigenous beliefs. Oh, be sure to pee before arriving in Vallecito, as bathrooms are hidden and the bus ride is two hours. San Juan, you started off with mixed reviews but came through strong in the end - it might have been, um, a miracle!

Last stop, Cordoba: worst. Bus ride. Ever. After the initial party bus to Mendoza, we were pretty excited about spending the night in gluttunous bus glory. One can only imagine how disappointed we were to spend the night on a cold bus with - no lie - only Ricki Lake in a horrid 1984 film to keep us company. No champagne, no whiskey. Life was hard. Luckily, Cordoba was amazing and well worth the torturous journey. The vibrant city was chok-a-block full of university students and colonial architecture. The final leg of the journey was spent exploring the numerous museums and art galleries (since when do notebook scribbles classify as post-modern art?), and marvelling at neo-gothic cathedrals. A highlight includes the Parroquia Sagrado Corazon de Jesus cathedral, which boasts a missing steeple to symbolize human imperfection. Speaking of human imperfection, we capped off our journey with a trip to La Cumbre to go paragliding. After nearly missing our bus after two individuals guided us incorrectly to a nonexistent ticket booth at the bus stop (44 is pretty close to 68, right?), we made our way up to one of the world's top paragliding destinations. Despite some human error in misjudging Juan's weight (it's okay, Pablo, you landed us safely after a scary few minutes caught in an updraft) and resultant free spin in the clouds (oh, the joys of human imperfection!), we experienced other-wordly beauty as we flew with the Condor's through the Sierras. If you're ever in the neighbourhood, look up Fechu - a former Argentine paragliding champion who showed us a very wicked and adventurous time. Food, architecture, culture, adventure, young people; Cordoba had it all, baby!

Juan's reflections: "If I had to rank the cities I would probably do it this way: Uspallata, Cordoba, Mendoza, and San Juan. It's the rural hick in me, man. The rugged outdoorsy-ness of the frontier town just made me feel right at home. The cultural highlight was definitely Difunta Correa - never seen anything like it, and probably never will again. And, hey, I gotta say that I was pretty impressed with my ability to 'speak Spanish' throughout the journey. Mostly, though, I was impressed by my ability to consume an entire cow over the course of 10 days...thanks for that, Argentina. And Michelle was and is a terrific travel companion who tolerated my saying 'si' over and over as 'speaking Spanish' as well as my shoes, which rightfully lived in the closet of our hotel rooms following our mountainbiking through the Andes."

Michellé's reflections: "The trip really couldn't have offered any more. Nature, adventure, culture, and delicious food! Mountain biking through the Andes was definitely a highlight for me - although it's annoying to hear, it really is one of those 'have to be there to believe it' experiences. the scope and scale were unlike anything I've ever seen. Regrets? Well, there were a few ridiculously cute babies and dogs (Carlos!) and many bottles of wine that I would have like to bring back with me. Alas, they must live on in photos (or must they?? insert evil laughter here...). In all seriousness, a fantastic trip with a fantastic travel partner. Despite signing up for an annual membership at a Cordoban grocery strore and possibly offering to sell me, Juan's Spanish savvy was superb (si!), and his humour and sense of adventure were unparalleled."

After a Suite Class bus ride home, which saw our seats turn into beds that even Juan, the tallest person in Argentina, could sprawl out on (Canada, we can learn something from South American bus culture) our unravelling travelers arrived in Buenos Aires a little tired, pretty smelly and ready to relax before living it up in the big city on their last week of vacation. The final chapter will tell such tales!

Adios!

- Juan and Michellé

The Community of South America - Chapter One

¨¡Hola! Mi llamo Juan. Yo soy Canadiense. El nombre es Michelle y el es vegetariano. Nosotros hablamos un poquito de espanól. ¡No como la carne roja!¨And so concludes the Spanish portion of this update; not because we don´t like Spanish (far from it) - it´s just that we don´t really speak much more. Given Michelle´s vegetarian status, we figured this would be an important sentence to weave into our lexicon as soon as possible.

First, let´s introduce each other. You see, dear readers, this is the first time that we (Michelle and John) have traveled together; so, while we know each other well, there are always a few new things that arise during adventures. So, here we go:

John introducing Michelle: ¨Michelle, or Michellé, as she is called in South America, slept for the first four days in Buenos Aires/Montevideo. Fair enough, as the 27 hour flight and lack of non-steak-protein would be enough to hamper even the toughest vegetarian traveler. Michellé is exciting, curious, fearless, and provides energy and laughter to those lucky enough to travel with her. She also falls down out of nowhere, which is hilarious.¨

Michelle introducing John: ¨John, or Juan, as he is referred to down in South America, is a clever and thoughtful traveller. When I would, say, forget my glasses on a 27 hour flight or bring shoes that were falling apart to Uruguay, Juan would be there to help me, you know, see or walk. Besides piggybacking a blind companion through Uruguay, Juan is very good at picking out wine - and drinking it. And he´s always up for joining me in some tomfoolery, such as salsa dancing in a tango bar.¨

Let´s start at the beginning, with our journey from YVR to EZE. It took two transfers, two airlines, three flights, and 27 hours. We were both a little crazy by the end of it, but that might´ve been due to the nerves we were feeling because of the peanut butter smuggling operation we were also running. Speaking of nerves, Mexicana Airlines almost left our bags in Mexico City, a quaint, quiet and clean town in the middle of Mexico. So, unscathed and with contraband peanut butter in-bag, we arrived in Buenos Aires.

Soon we were met by our hosts/tour guides, Martin Martin and Ximena Ferrer (pictured), or, as they were called two nights ago after some delicious Malbec, ¨Martana and Ximin¨- amazing. Martin is a PhD student and Freedom Fighter at the University of Buenos Aires. He comes from a long line of Coureurs de Bois and sports charming wool socks year round. Ximena is an Actress and peddler of Argentine leather. She also makes outstanding chop suey and brings a dramatic flare to all the backstories and context-providing she does.

Our first little tourist-jaunt saw us meander through the streets of Buenos Aires. It was like 19th century Europe meeting 21st century USA, with a lot of dirt, smog, traffic, congestion, businesspeople, and the seven bicyclists who are brave enough to ride through the streets of the city. We also came across a few South American emo-hipsters; however, unlike many of the hipsters who frequent our neighbourhood of Commercial Drive, Canada, these folks were not douchebags. Also, Buenos Aires has, so far, yielded no fewer than 37 different hairstyle-types. Recent findings show that this is well above the international average. One particular point of interest in Buenos Aires are the cirujas, who make up a union-organized social class of collectors of raw materials that people throw away. They´re a lot like the recyling leaders in Vancouver - homeless people - but there are just, like, way, way, way more and they´re organized.

And then we moved on to Montevideo, Uruguay! Like Canadians, who are generally well liked and respected around the world, Uruguayans are similarly percieved. Kinda like how American travellers often say they´re Canadian to avoid a doubled taxi fare, Argentinians tend to say they´re Uruguayan when visiting neighboring Brazil (this is all, of course, according to some lovely Uruguayans we met on our journey, which may or may not make this a biased account of Latin American relations). Needless to say, we noticed a difference between Buenos Aireans and Montevideans, and felt a bond with the kind, well-liked Uruguayans. In Montevideo we stayed at Ximena´s mother´s house - she will hereby be referred to as our ´Uruguayan mom´. Despite the language barrier that existed between us (not getting very far passed ´Ola!´ or ´Ciao!´) we formed a bond laughing at a ridiculous Canadian travel book with 80s-era photos. Oh, those poor Uruguayans thinking us Canadians still sport one-piece neon ski suits and handlebar mustaches. Even though it´s winter here, one can still appreciate the spectacular beauty of Montevideo, which is a city that wraps itself around a flawless sandy beach. La Rambla, a sidewalk that spans the entire beach/city, provides everything from a space for young people to drink/make-out to safety-seeking bicyclists to maté drinking joggers to tired Canadian tourists wishing they had worn better shoes for a long, long walk around a city. It´s a beautiful thing, La Rambla!

John´s observations on the journey thus far: ¨Argentina´s flag has a giant, angry Sun in the middle of it, and I don´t like it one bit. For a porphyria-riddled traveler, this omen does not bode well. This being said, the wine is the best I´ve tasted (many kinds are never exported to Canada, so it´s quite a treat to experience them here) and the meat is plentiful and delicious. People are friendly and tolerate us butchering their language while we point to things. I also really missed Martin´s beard and his Quebecois shenanigans; it´s good to see them again! Finally, I´ve yet to meet an Argentine and/or Uruguayan person who is taller than me; therefore, I am officially declaring myself the tallest person in South America. Please keep your eyes peeled for the upcoming parade on 9 de Julio in Buenos Aires in the coming days. Thanks.¨

Michelle´s observations on the journey thus far: Okay, so I don´t really `get´ the food culture down here, seeing as I don´t eat meat. However, I have been lucky enough to experience another facet of the culture that is as ingrained as meat and futbol (which, sadly, I don´t really `get´ either): Maté. A tea drunk out of a small container (the maté), the traditions surrounding maté drinking are deeply ingrained within the culture, and involve strict rules: when drinking maté in a group, it must be returned to the initiating person between drinks. All tea must be finished before being returned. And the water must be boiled to just the right temperature before being poured over the tea. Sharing food and drink is a defining aspect of any culture, and I feel lucky to have experienced it.

Coming soon ...

Juan y Michellé venture out on their own (sin guia) ... with limited Spanish but big hearts and adventurous souls, what shenanigans will they find themselves involved in? Whatever happens, these two correspondents from the Weekly Gumboot will be back with reviews, critiques, questions and stories that will give Fodor´s and Lonely Planet a run for their money ...

The Community of South America

Good day, good readers! In a matter of moments, a couple of The Gumboot's contributors - Michelle Burtnyk and, well, yours truly - will be heading way, way down South to the country of South America! Crap, I know better than that. After all, I am an historian. Michelle and I will be visiting our Latin America Correspondent, Martin Martin. He lives in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Funny story about Buenos Aires. The city's mayor, Mauricio Macri, just declared a state of emergency in Argentina's capital. Now, pessimists will tell you that traveling through a city and/or country during a state of emergency will doubtlessly present problems. But I beg to differ. There will be fewer tourists jamming the streets downtown area. The many rides in Buenos Aires will be free (I've been told/promised that there are several fun rides throughout the city). And here's the biggest positive as I see it. Two words: discount pork.

In all seriousness for any of our friends and family who are seriously concerned, we'll be fine. Michelle speaks fluent Portuguese and is a vegetarian ("Yo soy vegetariano!"). In 2004, she also, I kid you not, was teaching English in Guang Dong, the Chinese town that was where SARS started. She's got street cred in spades, people. And, hey, even though I'm allergic to the Sun I went to Africa and survived - if not thrived - in the Dark Continent (which isn't really dark at all, is it, misguided European colonial storytellers?!). And, much to my surprise, it turned out that I traveled through Northern Uganda during a civil war. Has Argentina been in a civil war since the early 1980s? I don't think it has. But do you know what China, Uganda and Argentina do have? Adventure.

We will keep you abreast of our story-filled travels. Not swine flu nor revolution nor Sun nor emergency dental surgery will stop us from calling it as we see it and telling it like it is. We will collect stories from South America and use them to build community. At home, and abroad.

Happy travels!

- John and Michelle

Five Ways to Build Community

Here I sit in my lovely living room, ready to bust out into the Commercial Drive community on what looks like a sunny Sunday morning. Or maybe I'll head out to Yaletown and see how the binary opposition of yuppieness and homelessness is getting along. Needless to say, I love action items that will help us all to work on building community.

During the 2009 CACEE Conference, which I was lucky enough to emcee, I was inspired by the keynote speakers, especially Ginger Grant, and some of the workshops to launch a new segment here at The Weekly Gumboot. The team here at Vancouver's coolest new blog is all about collecting ideas from everywhere and using them to build community. This new feature, Five Ways to Build Community, empasizes the "using" aspect of our ideas from everywhere. Enjoy!

1. Talk to Strangers: step outside of your comfort zone and start a conversation with someone you normally wouldn't talk to; whether it's a homeless person with a shopping cart, a businesswoman in a power suit, or an emo-hipster in skinny jeans, you will gain a new perspective and, possibly, expand your literal and figurative idea of "community."

2. Experiment with Food: recent findings show that food is grown, prepared and served differently around the world; trying a new dish will provide you with an interesting - and delicious - insight into another culture.

3. Give Hugs: my goodness does a big hug every make people feel great! Sure, be aware of "Canadian Space" - Jerry Seinfeld would advise on not being a "hugger" or "close-talker" - and pick your moment, but, hey, just ask The Kindness Crew just how impactful a hug can be. Hugs can change the world!

4. Take Public Transit: a great place to meet strangers! Having your hands off the wheel and your eyes off the road gives you an opportunity to experience your community from a different perspective.

5. Ask Questions: don't just ask questions; listen intently to the answers - "active listening" is what the kids call it - and make your co-conversationalist feel like they're the centre of the universe. You'll probably learn something new and amazing about people, places and things, too!

Stay classy. And have fun with it!

- JCH

Learning from Pirate Communities - Entrepreneurship

This post is certainly for general-viewing, as it has a relevant, snappy and important message - albeit a rather lengthy one. This post is also a Web 2.0 guide for members of the 2009 CACEE Conference who are participating in Philippe Desrochers's and John Horn's round table discussion: "What do Pirates and the Economic Crisis have in Common?" Enjoy, and make lots of comments to help continue the discussion!

Entrepreneurs love a downturn. And there's no better - or worse - downturn than the one our global economy is wringing us through right now. According to an up-and-coming business publication, the Harvard Business Review, "entrepreneurs look at financial challenges or a recession and, instead of wringing their hands, find ways to innovate and spin them into gold for social transformation." The biggest immobilizer today is fear. Fear to take risks. Fear to innovate. Fear to change. People don't need to possess a natural risk-taking personality to excel as entrepreneurs, either. You can set yourself apart from your competition simply by being adaptable and adept at managing change. Be nimble. Respond quickly to market shifts and the opportunities they might create.

Speaking of market shifts, let's talk about Somalia. In his article, "You are being lied to about pirates," The Independent's Johann Hari examines the circumstances by which many Somali fishermen have been thrust into the world of piracy. After the fall of the country's government in 1991, Africa's longest coastline (Somalia's coast spans about 2,000 miles) has been unprotected. This power-vacuum has provided a perfect opportunity for the international fishing industry to steal Somalia's food supply and use the region as a dumping ground for nuclear waste ("yes: nuclear waste," says Hari - cadium and mercury were also, allegedly, thrown in the mix). Hari interviewed Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, the UN envoy to Somalia, who claims that "there has been no clean-up, no compensation, and no prevention" of such a gross example of pollution. But one can also see how market forces have driven them to think outside the box, get creative, take risks, and work together in innovative ways. In a recent Time magazine article, Ishaan Thardoor argues that "Somali piracy has metastasized into the country's only boom industry. Most of the pirates, observers say, are not former fishermen, but just poor folk seeking their fortune. Right now, they hold 18 cargo ships and some 300 sailors hostage — the work of a sophisticated and well-funded operation."

"But John," you're undoubtedly saying. "What the heck do pirates have to do with the economic crisis and entrepreneurship? Where are you going with this?" Oh dear readers, by this point in the history of The Weekly Gumboot, you shouldn't be so wary of my ability to link, connect and develop seemingly unconnectable ideas, events, facts, and findings. As ideas-man and innovation-guru Franz Johansson outlines, "individuals, teams and organizations can create an explosion of remarkable ideas at the intersection of different fields, cultures and industries." Some of the interesting "intersections" of which Mr. Johansson speaks include, but are not limited to, computers and candy, burqas and bikinis (pictured), locusts and Volvo, and Dr. Martin Luther King and Russian Techno music.

As we connect the entrepreneurial spirit with the service we provide to students and clients around the world, what can we take as the answer to this equation: economic crisis + pirates + CACEE = ? Well, there's only one way to find out. Read on!

Let's examine four tales of piracy that reflect four pillars of entrepreneurship: risk-taking and creativity, knowing the most, personal/professional branding, and relationship-building. Here we go:

Risk taking and creativity in the Gulf of Aden. To quote Stephen Colbert, "it takes balls" to navigate a tiny speedboat nearly 300 miles off the coast of Kenya into the Gulf of Aden, climb aboard a Saudi oil tanker, capture it, steer it into port, and then hold it ransom for $20 million. But that's what happened in November 2008, when a rag-tag bunch of think-outside-the-box pirates captured the Sirius Star and its crew, which was carrying 2 million barrels of oil, 25% of Saudi Arabia's daily output. From the BBC to CNN to Al Jazeera, the world suddenly became very interested in these seemingly small-time hijackers. They did what nobody thought possible and they got noticed. Like, really noticed. Oh, and they made $3 million from the ransom, too.

The takeaway from this story: look for opportunities where you've never looked before (for example, several Canadian mining companies are setting up shop in Mongolia and they need analysts, operations experts and supply chain managers).

Sir Francis Drake knew the most. In the ultimate example of a cross-functional, inter-cultural, and multi-dimensional information interview, Sir Francis Drake gathered enough information from a group of French sailors (Le Testu was the name of their leader - unfortunately, he was caught, tortured and killed following the heist), cimarrones (escaped slaves who had no love for the Spanish), and also from secret English documents that divulged important Spanish trade routes to pillage the Caribbean port of Nombre de Dios. In the end, according to Samuel Baulf, "in gold alone the raiders had seized some 100,000 pesos (the peso was worth eight shillings three pence of English money)...and including gems and what silver they managed to recover, the total value of the haul was likely in excess of £40,000." And here's the kicker: Drake and his boys stole over 15 tons of silver. Drake knew all their was to know about the port, which, Angus Konstam argues, resulted in a watershed moment for the Spanish Main: "attacks by Sir Francis Drake proved Nombre de Dios too vulnerable to pirates."

The takeaway from this story: a recent study by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) found that the top reason that candidates are not hired out of an interview because they don't know enough about the company; being entrepreneurial means standing out in a crowd because you know the most.

The personal brand of Edward Teach. Konstam calls Teach - also known as "Blackbeard" - "the most famous pirate of them all." Blackbeard worked hard to establish a fearsome and terrifying image (see his flag, pictured - a demonic figure stabbing a bleeding heart), but, according to Konstam, "no evidence exists to suggest that he ever killed anyone who was not trying trying to kill him." He even preferred marooning a crew to outright slaughter. Sure, other pirates caused more mayhem, captured richer cargoes, more ships, and more valuable prisoners, but Blackbeard has come to represent the pirate genre more than any other. And it has to do with his personal brand: in 1717 a victim described him as "a tall, spare man with a very black beard which he wore very long." He added to his menacing appearance by wearing a crimson coat and and bandoleers slung over his shoulders, but it was the "burning lengths of slow match" woven into his hair that have been immortalized in everything from sailors' tales to the Blackbeard t-shirt that I own. His reputation became bigger than he ever was.

The takeaway from this story: personal branding "expert," Kristie T, points out that 75% of buying decisions are made on emotion and, given that we are exposed to over 3,000 marketing messages per day, it is important to distinguish yourself from the rest of the world. I'll sum it up with a Kenyan proverb: "utu wa mtu ni tabia yake" (roughly, it means "you are the way that others see you.") As you build your value proposition, think about how you want to be seen.

Building relationships with Madame Cheng. It was 1807 and hundreds of Chinese pirates were looking for a leader. An opportunity presented itself. And on to the scene emerged the greatest pirate in the history of pirates. She called herself Madame Cheng. Madame Cheng was ruthless, wily and charismatic. She could also build relationships and had an eye for talent. As she cajoled and negotiated and charmed her way to prominence in China's pirate community, Madame Cheng took on a young lover; the adopted son of a fisherman named Cheng Pao. And here's the kicker: she made the kid head of the Red Sea fleet, which was the biggest and most important in the Confederation. By 1810, Madame Cheng's pirate fleet was larger than those of most countries navies. Through organization, relationship-building and recognizing top talent, Madame Cheng created a pirate fleet the likes of which no one has ever seen (or well ever again see). And for three years she ran the shipping lanes of the China Sea and Strait of Malacca for decades.

The takeaway from this story: it's an easy one; over 80% of employment opportunities are developed because of who we know, not necessarily what we know. Furthermore, when you have positive relationships with clients and co-workers, they will be excited and eager to spread the word - the good word - about you.

Needless to say, there all several aspects of entrepreneurship - piratical or not - that can be applied to the non-entrepreneurial world of employment.

Practically speaking, by the time this post has been live for a few hours, Philippe and I will have experienced a simply outstanding conversation about the entrepreneurial spirit being applied to finding, securing and developing a meaningful career. Also practically speaking, if you are interested in and/or excited to pass along such ideas to your students and/or clients, strongly consider wrapping your proposal in a pirate package. A veritable pirate pack, if you will. In my experience, kicking off a workshop or a topic in a workshop with a fantastic, out of this world, pop-culture-immersed tale of a famous - or infamous - pirate really piques the audience's interest. Take pirates as a metaphor for student-engagement, people: superheroes, film characters, musicians, politicians, and cartoon characters work well, too. And once you've seduced them with said edutaining strategy, start sprinkling in the career education content (an easy connection, as you can see) as well as some tangible and specific next steps that they can take away from the workshop. Just when an audience realizes that, in fact, they're not actually listening to an amazing story about pirates, but are actually learning about networking, gender-equality, resumes, multi-culturalism, environmental stewardship, or entrepreneurism, well, it's too late. And it's a beautiful thing.

Yes, many - or most - of the pirates are gangsters. No, this doesn't make hostage-taking okay. But this article has outlined some of the ways that these seagoing thugs are dealing with a recessive global economy. "Pirates were the first people to rebel against this world," says Hari. They didn't like the rigour, restrictions and "oppressiveness" of the seafaring alternatives of, say, the Merchant Marine or Royal Navy, so they chose a more independent, democratic and risky life at sea. Recent findings show that in excess of $300 million US in shellfish is being stolen from the Somali coast by illegal trawlers each year. They have no government to speak of. Organizations are dumping nuclear waste in their waters and on their land. Somalia just might be the worst place on Earth.

Kinda puts the global recession in perspective, eh? They don't "fit" in the current economic system, which is probably why the independent Somalian news site, WardheerNews, found that 70 per cent of Somalians "strongly supported the piracy as a form of national defence." Some even call them the "Volunteer Coastguard of Somalia"! And we can most certainly call them entrepreneurs.

So, mateys, take what ye learned today and apply it to yer teachin. Being entrepreneurial might just get us out of this economic mess.

- Sir John the Pirate

A Car Free Community

Does our community need cars? Sure it does! I mean, we're reliant on all kinds of stuff from far, far away. And we live in places that, for a lot of us, are far, far away from where we work. And we can't always twitblog to our friends; we need to go and see them - you know, to personalize the experience in a way that pressing yourself against a computer screen just doesn't quite pull off.

Moving on...

So, yes, in today's big picture, we need cars. But on a glorious Sunday (June 14, 2009 to be specific), the people who visited Commercial Drive shared a common experience of, um, experiencing of a carless (not careless) community. But that's enough from me. Let's see what World Renowned Health Promotion Specialist, Michelle Burtnyk, has to say about the Car Free Community.



Great job, Michelle. I especially like how your report concluded with random additions to the community. Welcome to Vancity, Steve Sloot!

- JCH

A Sinful Community

“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the city of sin.” The flight attendant pretty much hit the nail on the head as the US Airways Airbus descended into the dusty Las Vegas afternoon. It is at this point that I would like to acknowledge that, yes, I realize that millions of happy tourists, businesspeople, gamblers (might not be happy), and horny/terrified soon-to-be-married men and women are excited – if not ecstatic – to participate in the excess of Las Vegas; I am not one of those people. I'm in town for the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) conference that's wrapping up as I type, and you can follow my professional twitblogging here. To summarize: a decent - at times mediocre - conference that was fortunately filled with amazing, inspirational and disgustingly kind people from around the world.

But I digress...

Now. The mandate of The Weekly Gumboot is to take ideas from everywhere and use them to build community. And to do so in a positive way. We don’t throw stones. Citycaucus.com does a fine job of that. To be honest, I’m struggling to not throw stones at the outspokenly sinful and excessive community of Las Vegas. Excess and dishonesty and corruption and environmental degradation are, truly, everywhere. So, sure, it'd be easy to deliver some delightful jabs at the town of Las Vegas and point out that it might very well symbolize the downfall of the American Empire. It's also hard to even think of throwing stones, though. Because everyone here is just so darn nice. (I also like that you can walk around everywhere with a beer-in-hand).

Things have changed since a community of Mormon Farmers settled here in 1854. Perhaps peoples' unflappable kindness hasn't, though. And people who live and visit here are certainly proud of Vegas and the sinful things for which it stands, as you can see by these "fun facts" about Sin City.

But there's a truly interesting story to tell about Las Vegas. And here are, according to recent findings (ie. interviews with locals and tourists, data from my twitblogs on the interscape, and stuff I just made up) the top five sins of, um, Sin City:

Sexual Shenanigans. Here I sit in the country where Janet Jackson's Superbowl escaped-boob caused a nationwide moral soul search. On Monday, I sat in a taxi in the same country and listened to Mike, the cab driver, use every lude, inappropriate, hyper-sexual, misogynistic, and, I think, anti-Canadian idiom in his -sexual-lexiconal-toolkit to describe just how much a young guy like me could score in the town of Las Vegas. Such a hypocritical juxtaposition of values has not gone unnoticed. America's sexual shenanigans just seem to be centralized here in Sin City. I gotta say, being a little more accepting of, say, television boobs (Rick Mercer and Bob Rae swam naked on the CBC, I'm just saying) might make our North American community less likely to flock to one particular place, unleash their inhibition and be unhealthy consumers of the global sex trade so long as it stays here (the clap comes with you wherever you go, though; don't forget that).
A city on a plateau in the desert. I'm not too sure what the Mormon farmers had in mind when they settled here, but Las Vegas sits in the middle of the Sierra Nevada and Spring Mountains, about 2,180 feet above sea level. Look. Sin City exists in an arid basin surrounded by dry mountains. It's sustainability is as unlikely as that of the panda bear. And, as with the panda bear, people are struggling to grasp why the town is doomed to dry up and blow away in the dusty desert wind.
Water, water everywhere, and it really makes you think. How many of you have seen Ocean's Eleven? After pulling off the caper, Danny and the boys stand in front of the Bellagio, taking in the water-show that goes off about every 20-30 minutes. In fact, the use and over-use of water on The Strip is quite spectacular. What is more spectacular is that it happens amidst an amazing conversation between city officials, developers,, entertainers, environmentalists, and, well, everyone else about the very real danger that Las Vegas might run out of water by as early as 2010. Even if the current $500 million pipeline project goes through, it might only help the city limp along until 2012, at which point Sin City could be suffering from a daily shortage of 45 million gallons of water. If you use the metric system, well, it's actually quite worse... Okay, forget the metric system, the volanoe at the Mirage Hotel uses 11,000 gallons of water per minute!
The culture of excess. Sure, you can walk around with a beer or glass of wine/martini in hand all around the city. But, in light of our global environmental, um, clusterf@#k, it seems a tad ridiculous that Sin City allows people to just toss bottles, glasses and everything else into the garbage. Now some of the hotels and entertainment chains, like Harrah's, have bought into this up-and-coming trend of recycling. But it's yet to catch fire. Oh man. And then there is the food. A few of my fellow conference goers made a pledge to eat prime rib each and every night. Another discussed the amazing experience of a $40 seafood buffet that saw him consume "like, 30 crab claws." In Las Vegas, such dreams are reality. The United States makes up around 5.5% of the global population. The country consumes nearly 45% of the Earth's resources (and about 94% of the ocean's crab claws). Las Vegas is the epicentre for such mass-consumption. And the Gulf of Mexico is the epicentre of an oceanic dead zone, where farm fertilizer (think prime rib and industrial farming) has drained into the ocean and screwed up the eco-system to the point where nothing can live in a 1,700 square mile area. Honestly, this connection wasn't too hard to make. Oh, and one of the biggest and coolest clubs in Las Vegas is called XS...or "excess." Sirens are whaling, but the techno-thumping of Sin City's club scene kinda drowns it all out, I guess.
What does living beyond means mean? According to recent findings, Las Vegas is one of the centres of the subprime mortgage crisis in the US; the town is also suffering from 30% unemployment. Of course, most media and "stats" will tell you that the unemployment rate is closer to 12%, but for the people I talked to at the Rio last night, it definitely feels like 30%. And then there's the gambling. The lack of connection between a nation thrown into crisis because it chose to live on credit - to live beyond its means - is quite staggering. And such behaviour was so impactful, so interconnectedly material and greedy, that it has brought the rest of the world into the fold. People. Watch any movie, show, YouTube video, or instructional video about gambling: the house always wins. And then they take yours...

Unlike my friend and Weekly Gumboot contributor, Stewart Burgess, Las Vegas and it's sinful lifestyle are not sustainable. I am truly fascinated by this place and the "fun facts" about its people as well as its very nature. And if Las Vegas is symbolic of something bigger and more meaningful in terms of the way our North American culture chooses to sin, what does this tell us about where we're headed as a regional community? Or a global one?

My friends, it's been quite a ride. And I'll be happy to be home in a city with a few trees and bike paths in the next few hours. To Sin City and the Paris Hotel, it's been an experience. Adieu!

- JCH

A Story of the Working Poor

Shhhh! This is a dirty secret that nobody likes talking about. Well, it's not really a secret, because there is information about the issue everywhere. More accurately, we are - as we should be - embarrassed by the glaring fact that, in our great nation of Canada, 1 in 10 people (nearly 3.5 million of us) live in poverty.These findings come from a report recently released by the Salvation Army, and the document also outlined the unfortunate statistic that 35% of homeless men in British Columbia are employed. Infuriated by such a grim forecast for our Olympic Nation? Not sold on the data? Well, you can email the Salvation Army's Territorial Public Relations Director, Andrew Burditt, at andrew_burditt(at)can.salvationarmy.org if you have any questions, comments or concerns.

Moving on...

Wow. 3.5 million. People. Canada. Employed homeless people? No wonder people from the developing world are so staggeringly disappointed by our Canadian communities when they visit. According to the Human Development Index, Canada is tied for fourth (with Luxembourg and Sweden - take that, Switzerland!) as the overall most desirable country in which to live. The World Bank, International Monetary Fund and the United Nations think we're doing a pretty good job of, well, being a society. Here's a pretty key problem with our society, though: according to a 2007 Statistics Canada report, "the income gap between rich and poor has widened over the past ten years and income inequality is greater in Canada than it is in most other developed countries." No kidding. When a quarter of Canada's homeless receive income from paid employment and an astounding 57% receive income from other sources like welfare (37%), disability (16%) or a pension (4%), I wonder how bad things have gotten in places around the world, such as Switzerland, the UK and the United States, where the income gap is even worse. What will it take for us to create a just and inclusive society - in Vancouver, Canada and beyond? Or do we even really want one?

Here's a breakdown of how some resident experts think things are going:

The Big, Fat, Stinkin', Global Picture: I dunno, Bill Maher doesn't usually steer me wrong, and he has some pretty important things to say about our global, American-influenced addiction to greed.

It turns out greed is not good. Too many people in Britain today are "professional, single and poor." In fact, a recent story by the up-and-coming news agency BBC suggested that the number of people living in poverty - the working poor - has increased by 300,000 since 1996. Someone who retires in Britain today is more likely than their parents to live out their days in poverty. With stats like these, should we really be "internationally developing" and offering advice to the developing world?

The Canadian Picture: Look, Canada. Recent findings show that 89% of wealthy Canadians do not want hungry peasant mobs with pitchforks overwhelming their gated communities (the other 11% love a good fight, apparently). Chuckle if you like, but also be mindful of history. In my third year at Bishop's University, I wrote a paper called Whoa Buddy, where you goin' with that pitchfork? (Peasant Rebellions in Seventeenth Century France), and, while we're not quite at a pitchfork stage yet, some of the data and stories from my paper are unfortunately similar to some of the situations today - 42% of homeless men in the prairies are employed; many of them have pitchforks, I reckon. And if you think that putting an idea of poverty into context using seventeenth-century examples is ridiculous, well, I have some Somali pirates that I'd love to introduce you to...

"The homeless population is disturbingly large and even more disturbing growing in size, in scope and in its connection to mental illness," said The Honourable Michael Kirby, Chair of the Mental Health Commission of Canada. "Recent research shows 1 in 7 users of emergency shelters across Canada are children and almost a third of Canada's homeless are youths aged 16-24. Street counts of homeless people indicate their numbers have increased at an alarming rate." And keep in mind, statistics show that nearly a quarter of these people have jobs.

The BC Picture: A recent study by Simon Fraser University's Centre for Applied Research in Mental Health and Addiction (CARMA) estimated that in British Columbia, the current financial cost to taxpayers for services to homeless people with severe addictions and/or mental illness is $55,000 a year per person. In contrast, providing these people with adequate housing and supports costs $37,000 a year per person. This saves taxpayers $211 million dollars a year in direct costs. A British Columbia shelter user put it in personal perspective: "In my case, I get enough money each month to live. I get over twelve hundred dollars a month - Old Age Pension, Canada Pension and supplement, so that should be enough for me to live on, but I'm having a terrible time trying to find affordable housing." Whether it's the Salvation Army report or a statement from the Ministry of Community or the Centre for Applied Research in Mental Health and Addiction, the consensus opinion on how to tackle homelessness is with affordable housing.

The Vancouver Pre-Olympic Showcase Picture: Recent findings show that homelessness in Vancouver has grown by about 250% since 1994. According to a 2008 "homeless count" by an SFU-led group of students, faculty and volunteers, there are nearly 15,500 homeless people in the Lower Mainland. If I were a businessperson in Vancouver, I'd demand affordable housing - and lots of it. Here's why: I strongly doubt that my employees who might pay between $650-$1,100 per month in rent are going to work for $8 an hour. I also don't think that employees who live in shelters or on the street are going to be incredibly motivated or engaged in my business. After all, it's in our business community's best interest to have affordable housing.

The 2010 Olympics are going to be the greatest advertisement for the city of Vancouver in the history of, well, the city of Vancouver. We even have a sexy, charming and downright nice Mayor! First, I hope this month-long ad is not a Harper-style attack ad. Second, when the world sees how beautiful it is here, I hope we have a strong enough commitment to social justice and not sell our city to the highest bidders from around the world who arrive, take-in the Olympics, drink the water, and commit to staying here no matter what the price. Vancity, we're less than a year away from a watershed moment - a tipping point - in our community's history. Let's not screw it up by being greedy...

So what are the next steps? Well, I'm no expert like the high-paid staff at The Tyee, but it might be a good idea to explore some of the following five ideas:

1. Get students and young people involved through SERVICE LEARNING initiatives early and often. By linking academic learning outcomes to personal and professional development within the context of community service, well, our young people will grow of leaders with a more comprehensive understanding of the social problems that, clearly, continue to cripple our supposedly sparkling communities.
2. Talk about the problem.We need CITIZEN JOURNALISTS who have no loyalty to corporate sponsors to hit the streets with pens, paper, cameras, and good intentions (not to mention a sprinkle of idealism) to tell the stories of Canada's homeless in a way that will engage our entire community and motivate us to collaborate on all levels and solve the problem together. Or be vocal in a different way and wear a white Make Poverty History bracelet, just like in the picture!
   
3. Put hippies, land developers and oil barons at the same table. Like I said, we need to solve the problem TOGETHER. Growing up in Merville, British Columbia has given me a soft spot for hippies, mostly because I've got some in me. But I kinda sorta don't really like them most of the time (editor's note: mostly, they are frustrating, as the staff at The Weekly Gumboot makes it a point to be positive and see the good in all people, places and things; even cannibals in Winnipeg watching American Idol). Ironically, hippies rarely compromise - with each other or with those they deem worthy of "enemy" status. They also aren't very well organized. Oil barons are very well organized. For the most part, so are developers. We all have a common interest for prosperity and the betterment of our community. They're just subjective perceptions of a different sort. Working against each other in silos isn't going to solve anything, though. We need ideas from everywhere to build community. Now pass the bong, man...
   
4. VOLUNTEER. Barack Obama recently passed the Serve America Act. Rwanda has compulsory community service one Saturday per month. A recent pole in 24 Hours found that 65% of Lower Mainlanders do not want to volunteer. People. We can do better. And, as it turns out, we kinda have to if we want to be a global role model.
   
5. Make SOUND CONSUMER CHOICES. From global to local, purchasing products that are made by people who make a decent, livable wage is still the greatest way for us to make a collective and powerful impact on how things are done in our local, regional, national, and global communities. Have you seen how amazing the architecture, food and service at the Convention Centre? It reveals our potential...
   

A final thought. The Human Development Index has three symbols that put a ranked country's position in context: a green, upward triangle means it improved from the previous survey, a blue line means it stayed the same, and a red, downward triangle means it got worse. In the rankings, there are a lot of green triangles, indicating that, on the whole, things on are planet are getting better. No matter what the panic mongering media tells us.

Things are getting better, sure. And yet we still have 3.5 million people living in poverty in, according to the Human Development Index, one of the best country's on the planet. Things could be a lot better a lot faster if we all get a little more involved. So there it is. The next move is yours, community...

- JCH