(11/27-12/23) Return of Rain...?

     Welp. The snow melted. Yesterday was 39 degrees Fahrenheit, and raining. There was still green grass in some places, and it looks almost identical to October, but now without leaves. We still enjoyed the snow for the week and half that we had it, though. I went cross country skiing with my host family whenever we could, and it was a blast. The trails are short (5 kilometer) unlit circuits on what I think may be golf courses. The whole area is relatively flat compared to Anchorage, but there are still many gentle hills (for those who live in Anchorage, it's like the Mize loop in Kincaid). I am still afraid of the nonexistent moose in the woods. The deer here are smaller than most dogs and I usually mistake them for rabbits whenever they spring out of the woods. 

    One cool thing I did with my class was making an igloo after school. It was organized by our class teacher, who teaches biology and physics. He was the only person who knew how to position the blocks of snow so they wouldn't fall, so we all packed snow into buckets and gave to him. It took about 15 of us 90 minutes to build, but it was quite impressive, as it had a large base and was tall enough to stand inside. Unfortunately, it lasted 5 days before collapsing due to warm weather. 

    In early December I visited Prague for a Rotary meeting. We spent a whole day touring the city, although it was nice, it was EXTREMELY busy. There were Christmas markets in the squares, and we had to squeeze ourselves through the crowds in order to get anywhere. Charles Bridge looked very nice, but it was also ridiculously crowded, and you couldn't even tell you were on a bridge with the view blocked by all of the people. I'm glad I finally got to see the Capital, but I would definitely recommend visiting at a less busy time of the year!

     Ballroom dancing lessons came to an end a week ago. There was a larger dance/recital that the parents were invited to, and we danced a bunch (obviously). Looking back from the beginning, I definitely am glad I stuck with it, even though it wasn't my favorite thing. With Monday evenings now open, I will have to find something else to do. 2 possibilities are going to a nearby sauna or playing squash. 

    Lastly, I will mention that today is the first day of winter break. There was a school floorball tournament yesterday, and I joined the team, even though I had never played the game before. I was definitely a benchwarmer, but I still enjoyed it. Tomorrow will be the start of Christmas activities, so I'm saving that for a separate post. It has been snowing for the past 12 hours, which looks very nice, but will probably melt by tomorrow. Thanks for reading!


Posing with the igloo.
Town Square in the snow.
Alan and I dressed up before the last day of dance.



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