So I know in America there are probably candy canes in every shop, Christmas tunes bombarding every radio station, twinkly lights adorning most windows, inflatable Christmas characters in every mobile home park.
Here the signs that Christmas season is fast approaching look a little different....
Take picture one: what you have here is an assortment of nasty given to me, oh so generously, by the students. Some nuts, some yak cheese (think hard rotten yak cheese brick), some "sugar" aka dried up yak milk. It doesn't exactly replace the caramel popcorn and cheese straws that are standard in America, but the end of the semester is nigh and gift giving season(be wary traveler) is close at hand.
Picture two: No, that is not a radioactive rabbit head sitting on top of my book shelf, that is a humidifier. The weather here has (all of a sudden) turned quite bitterly cold (ignore the deceptive sunshine) and dryer than anything I've ever known, water evaporates basically instantaneously. The only way to beat it is to set up the delightfully designed humidifier and crank up the heaters...
Picture three: I just love this little tree. I love the ornaments, I love the lights, I love the way that it makes this whole place seem so much more like home... I can almost smell the woodstove, I can almost taste the broccoli and cheese casserole...
This is a great season of so much expectation... after all this is the time when we remember that a child is born to us! A son is given to us! And he will be our ruler. He will be called, "Wonderful Counselor," "Mighty One," "Eternal Father," Prince of Peace." Isn't He the gift that we all need? Way better than some rotten cheese hunks?
