...things that make me smile

• Christmas cards in January. What fun to read all the messages from friends and family and know that they were thinking of me a month ago! I thought that using the school's PO box would be easy, convenient, and a money-saver.  Now I know better.  (Nothing is easy or covenient here!)  It did save me a bit of money, but the frustration wasn't worth it.  Mail is low priority here--the box gets checked only once in a great while.  (I now have my own PO box in MZ where I live, and check it once a week.)

• Audio books on Kindle.  I just discovered that I can download audio books to my Kindle.  The daily commute just got a whole lot more enjoyable!  (Currently listening to "The Kitchen House."  I recommend it.)

• Emails from folks at home. This week has produced a bumper crop of communication--long emails back and forth with Katie and a couple of good friends.  Ahhh, just what I needed! :-)

• Skype.  What a wonderful (free!) invention.  I happened to come home early on Sunday (too pooped to go to the gym) and caught Arlene and Jadyn online before they headed out to breakfast.  

• Homemade soup.  I made a bean, lentil, potato, vegetable soup on Sunday evening, put it in the crock pot Monday morning, and could smell it before I even opened my apartment door that night.  (Comfort.)

• My students. They delight me.  They make me laugh out loud.  They puzzle and frustrate me.  They intrigue me and make me wish I spoke their language. (They are working hard to learn English!)