Tampere

Tampere

Sunday 14 June 2015

Five weeks and nine days to go - Ringworm and Finnish

Here in Chile everybody has football fever. What time is it? It's football o'clock, Who's your favourite player? Pele, etc etc. Yes. It's the Copa America.



The main difference this makes, apart from the increasingly annoying Chile chant (above), is that the streets are full of Chinese-made football tat and you can just about make out the occasional vuvuzela above the noise of the traffic. Apart from the amazing tension tangible throughout the city when the national team are playing, my favourite thing is the random cheers erupting as various immigrant groups celebrate their team's goals. I live in the centre surrounded tower blocks filled with Colombians, Peruvians, Bolivians and, as I discovered today when their cheers almost shook the cat off the balcony, Venezuelans. So, go red wine!*



Apart from football, it's cold. Today the temperature dipped down to zero for the first time this year (in Santiago). I took Dog for a long walk in the park around 8am and I don't think either of us particularly enjoyed it. My hands hurt and her ball chasing was particularly lacklustre. I had a quick check on temperatures in Finland and discovered that most years there are between 60-80 days when the average (AVERAGE!) temperature is below zero. Dog and I are going to have to get our act together quicksmart. 



Finally, Cat has tiƱa, ringworm in English. Strangely this is neither a worm nor a ring but a fungus. It also means that I have to shampoo his ears three times a week. How has it come to this? I found him on the bloody street!



Right, time for the final espisode of Game of Thrones. Speak soon. 

*The Venezuelan national team is nicknamed the Vinotinto, red wine, because they play in burgundy shirts. 

3 comments:

  1. So wait, I can't see my comment! How am I going to be famous for buying in when no one reads it if there's no proof?!?

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  2. Oh, I gotta sign in first.

    OK so, in summary: Zero is a very nice day in Maine during winter. I have a feeling you'll be getting up to speed soon enough, though it's a bugger that you're doing the double winter thing (which we might be doing as well, unfortunately). Still, the cold can be nice. Makes for good exercise. Come on Lene, strap on your snow shoes, we're going for walk.

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    Replies
    1. I did a double winter when I first came out to Chile, then I've had a winter top-up each time I've gone back to the UK for a visit.

      Someone owes me about three summers by now.

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