Andasibe

Living in Madagascar

I stepped on something small and squirmy this morning.  Initially I thought it was a toy, but quickly realized it was moving of its own accord and proceeded to freak out (loud shriek, lots of dancing around and waving of hands).  Upon slightly closer inspection it appeared to be a giant centipede, but then for sure I thought it was a baby snake.  I finally realized it was just a semi-dried out earthworm desperate to be back in the dirt.  No different than your common, every day American earthworm.  It must have crawled out of a nearby houseplant.  It is now in our garden living happily ever after.

Photo depicts size of worm relative to the shock I felt when I realized that I had stepped on something living, actual size much, much smaller. (image taken from imgur.com)

Two weeks ago I went on my first girls weekend to Copenhagen with a few of my girlfriends from here in Helsinki.  We rode bicycles around the city, ate, drank, shopped, ate some more and laughed until we cried.  I have to admit at least a couple of times some of those tears of happiness were mixed with a few sad tears.  In just over two weeks my family and I are flying out of here to make our home in Virginia.  I'm going to miss these friends!

p.s.  a couple of friends have posted this on Facebook, and I think it describes the expat life and friendship perfectly.

Spotted this morning in our front flower bed: Crocuses!  Yesterday we were sad to see Henry's snow fort finally collapse, but I think this makes up for it at least a little.

Suddenly it feels like Spring!  The snow is s-l-o-w-l-y melting, but the sun is shining everyday.  It's amazing how warm 40 degrees (fahrenheit) can feel with the sun shining brightly.  It's the perfect weather to sit with my friend Helen and enjoy a beautiful sea view.

Here's my view of the day:

This morning while I was doing my most favorite thing, playing soccer, I tripped over the ball and sprained my ankle.  After looking over my x-rays the doctor insisted (more than a couple of times) that I was lucky.  Huh.  Doesn't feel that lucky.  On the plus side I am on the couch watching TV, with freshly painted toenails and I don't have to make dinner. 

Will all this snow ever melt?

It's official:  I'm finished with winter.  The sighs of happiness while watching the snow fall all winter have finally turned into sighs of disappointment.  It's already March 25th, so I think I did pretty well waiting until now to dream of a beach vacation.