Editor:
I recently was in your fine town for the British Columbia Museums Association conference from October 14 until 17.
Hosted by Gayle Cornish and the Osoyoos Museum at the Community Centre, it certainly was able to deliver both good sessions and support for the presenters.
I would in particular like to mention how my colleague, Heather Dunn of the Canadian Heritage Information Network, and I were able to set up 14 Internet-ready workstations in the centre.
With the wonderful assistance of Bernard Klatt as well as the staff at the centre, we successfully ran a computer workshop for BCMA conference attendees.
Thank you all who were involved in the BCMA conference for making it happen, and for making it so enjoyable.
Caroline Posynick,
Cultural Resource Management Program
University of Victoria

OSOYOOS TIMES-November 11, 2009

OSOYOOS RESIDENTS WRITE HOME FROM ARGENTINA

Editor:
We have escaped the busy avenues of Buenos Aires by catching a bus for the northern province of Misiones.
It is nice to leave behind the traffic and noise for the peace of the rural countryside.
The bus is luxurious with reclining seats and full meal service, but our ride is a tiring 16 hours.
The interior region we pass has been mostly flat and quite arid, but suitable for the ranching that made the gaucho cowboy so famous.
The rest of the landscape fades into darkness as we drive, but by morning the view has changed and we see some palm trees and forested hills.
The vegetation is now quite tropical.
November is springtime here, so flowers like Hibiscus are in bloom and we see tea plantings in tidy trimmed rows.
There are not many towns to pass through, but when we do they appear quite poor.  However, when we arrive in our destination of Campo Grande, we are surprised at how pretty the village is.
It is similar in size to Osoyoos, but with wide boulevards, large plazas and several parks with flower beds and statues.
The soil here is brick red.
Only the main street is paved, but the side roads are all hand-cobbled with stones- rough on the cars and motorcycles!
Our hotel is the only one in town; very quaint but antiquated.
One of the luxuries we have come to miss is two-ply toilet paper!
Four of us struggle with Spanish, but the Sommers are native Argentineans so they come to our rescue.
The people of Campo Grande are so gracious to the strangers in their midst, inviting us to share their native drink Mate (tea-like) and even inviting us to dinner.
The bank machines dispense currency in peso bills of $100 but they are nearly impossible to cash.
Most merchants only have change for $20 pesos.
There are no theatres in town but the local youths wait anxiously for the Internet locations to open so they can play games or connect online.
Even in a poor town like this you see people on cellphones.
We will rest a day or so before travelling to see some ruins and attend a local cultural festival.
We also look forward to our trip to the beautiful and famous Iguazu Falls.
We will take our photo there with a copy of the Osoyoos Times and send it along.
Thinking of all the friends in Osoyoos, but enjoying the heat of Argentina!
Osoyoos residents Alfredo and Amalia Sommer, Ted and Carol Osborne, Bryan and Diane Zorn,
Argentina

OSOYOOS TIMES-November 11, 2009