Today I woke an hour early to see gray skies out my window. As the morning progressed, it began to flurry and now the snow is coming down in thick, white clumps. Snow always takes me back to vacations during the holidays. Somehow snow smells like Western Europe at Christmas, and conjures up memories of white Kriskendal Marts, flakes melting on my gluvein and laughing with my family as we get lost once again in wee snowy alley ways trying to find our way back to the cozy hotel. It was rather puzzling for this Southern Belle to want to sit at home and watch the Muppet Christmas Carol today and then realize I have to go to work to start planning the Halloween party. Apparently it's still early for snow in Mongolia but it's really pretty and not all that cold so I really don't mind. Hovd allegedly has the average rainfall of Phoenix, AZ so this is quite a special thing.
So within the last few days I have had news of the good, the bad and the ugly...The good news first: the Goucher magazine is having it's 125th anniversary issue and is featuring alums from different eras whom they find to be interesting or successful. So, who knew!, they asked me. Apparently I'm an interesting/successful alum already and I've only been out of school for about 5 months! I don't know if I quite believe it though! I'm now trying to come up with "quotable" things to say about my life. Also, in good news, my work place has tropical heating. It's wonderful! I'm warm and toasty in my long underwear, sipping the Taster's Choice Grandma sent me and comfortably watching the snow fall outside. Not too bad.
The bad: I haven't had power for over 2 days and nights at my apartment. No one seems to know why and I've successfully burnt all my candles out. I suppose living in a soviet bloc apartment does have it's draw backs. But my director is going over there to see what he can do about it today so hopefully it'll come back soon. My apartment and the two next to it seemed to be the only three in the city sans power which was the most frustrating part. But compared to other Peace Corps volunteers living in tents and digging holes for personal outhouses, a loss of power really isn't the worst thing.
The ugly: I found out today that one of the girls who went Greece with me was killed in a car crash yesterday. It involved a high profile soccer player who sustained minor injuries but Ashley, 22, did not survive. I can't help but think of her mother- she had no other kids and was divorced- and of the loss of Ashley's life. I wasn't ever really that close to her, we didn't hang out after Greece, but she was so kind and fun and it's always strange when someone you used to know quite well dies.
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