Here and There...

I know I haven't written in a while, but it's hard to type with mittens on. It's cold here and, frankly, nothing exciting enough has happen to entice me to take off my mittens. Maybe someone could convince my apartment building caretaker to raise the maximum temperature in our apartment.

We have been here for almost four months now. It is starting to feel like home (rather a home conducted in subtitles).However, there are some things I don't think I will ever get use to over here.

If you ever come to visit, undoubtedly the first night you will be woken up several times to loud explosions. Okay, maybe jet lag will save you the first night, but the second night nonetheless expect a broken sleep. No this is not because we live in a war zone, although sometimes I think that. It is because fireworks are just illegal enough to be cool over here, but not illegal enough to actually stop anyone from setting them off. For some reasons fireworks are not saved for special occasions, but rather are appropriate and fun for any time of day or night, 365 days a year. And we are not talking about wimpy fireworks you would let your grade-schooler set-off in the backyard, these are loud monstrosities that make it above low-rise (5-6 story) apartment buildings to light up the neighborhood. Come visit - everyday is a party! Next Week we'll let you how the New Year's Eve fireworks in London compare the our own nightly neighborhood show.