Winter

This place is beautiful in the winter. The white covers all the dust... at least until it turns to mud. We just got about 4 or 5 inches of snow yesterday and everything is still white. The sky is clear and blue, the birds are singing...its beautiful. When the sun is out, the cold temperatures aren't so bad. Its the cloudy days and mornings that are tough. I'm getting better at knowing how to stay warm. My classroom heaters get turned on half an hour before I go to school now (there was ice inside our windows this week!) My bedroom electric heater is rigged up right by my chair and is turned on pretty much whenever I don't need hot water (since I have to unplug my water heater to turn on my heater). I'm getting the hang of it. Tomorrow we don't have school and are planning to build snow forts and have a huge snowball fight on campus. Such is the life of teachers, especially when they are trapped on a compound! Some of you may have heard about a recent attack here at a hotel. This has us all staying close to home these days. One of our main forms of entertainment is going out to eat, but resturants are off limits for now. Winter is usually quiet here, and when I step out my door it feels subdued and calm in this city. But its a deceptive serenity. Underneath the pure snow, the mud exists and for now, we are feeling the effects of its evil intent. Please think of this land and lift it up during these winter days.