Coping

There is a lot going on in my mind recently.  Mainly, I am trying to stay warm and  trying not to get too sad about the fact that I will not be home for Thanksgiving or (for the first time ever) Christmas.  I have missed Thanksgiving before (when I studied in Mexico) but never Christmas- I have always been home with my family on December 25^th to wake up early and open presents together and then eat cinnamon rolls and drink hot chocolate while listening to Christmas music.  But this year I will be on the other side of a world in an isolated farming town that does not acknowledge western holidays.  I never thought about how hard that would be until now!  My strategy will be to try to keep as busy as possible with my students and do things to keep me from dwelling on how much I miss home.

            On that note (keeping busy, but also staying warm), today I made my first circle scarf.  It’s so easy, I don’t know why I never bothered.  Maybe because I’ve never actually depended on scarves for keeping warm but here I really need them.  The inspiration for this was two-fold: first, my friend Lindsay made one and she’d looked super cute wearing it when I visited her last weekend, and I feel that the scarves for sale outside my school are a little pricey (I mean if you convert it to USD it’s not that expensive, but I’m paid a volunteer salary and we’re paid in RMB so I don’t like to convert too often.  I’d rather save my money for travel… and baking supplies!).  I had been knitting a scarf (just simple knitting- I have never been able to figure out how to do the fancy stitches!) but I stopped because it looked boring and it wouldn’t be long enough with the yarn I had to be a good-size scarf.  But then after seeing Lindsay’s and the expensive ones, I decided to finish it.  Then I just used the extra yarn to “sew” the two ends together, and voila!  I’m really happy with it because it keeps my neck warm, and it’s more my color than the green and red scarves that were left here by the previous volunteer.

Purple!  I have some beige yarn so I think I will use that to make my next circle scarf. So warm!

            I mentioned the cold.  Temperature-wise it really hasn’t been that cold (lowest is low 50s F), but add that to the fact that my apartment is made with concrete walls with no insulation, and the window panes have gaps in between even when closed as much as possible.  So I can’t leave the cold outside and come in to a warm home.  I’m told my heater works but I haven’t bothered using it because apparently if you have it on for too long (how long is too long??) it kills the power in my apartment.  But let me tell you, I have recently learned the wonderful value of an electric blanket! I never understand the need for them before, but now I plug it in about an hour before I go to bed, and it is such a relief to be able to get into a bed that’s already warm.  I definitely have to wear a sweater, jacket, and scarf just to sit in my house.  Also ear muffs have become my friend.

            You know, just trying to cope with new things!