Free chocolate

Apparently free seasonal chocolate from stores is a thing here (see this post) but the absurd part is that this one is in English:

Dome in the sunshine

It was sunny today, and I noticed how incredibly long the shadows were pretty much all day - the sun doesn't rise very high. Here is a picture in the morning sun: 

And the afternoon sun:

Pizza!

We went out for pizza after my German class, and this one looked particularly delicious.

Refugee Center

Today I went with some of my chorus to sing at a refugee center. This particular refugee center is located at a convention center - not necessarily bleak, but not really designed for its current use. We sang in one of those very high ceilinged rooms with a huge echo. Most of the people crowded around us to hear better. David came along and took this photo:

Of course, most of the refugees don't celebrate christmas and I wouldn't want them to change their faith. But I also feel that people should be welcomed (but not forced) into the portions of christmas that can be more secular - things like music, food, and togetherness. And I certainly hope we were at least an entertaining diversion in what may be a boring and uncertain existence.

Mail bike

I've been meaning to get a picture of this for a long time: many of the mail delivery people deliver by bike - this is what it looks like! 

Lights Everywhere

It's very dark by the time I leave work - that's the hazard of a 10-6 schedule this far north. At the beginning of this week, I was surprised to see lights on one of the trees at AIP as I was headed to the bus. The campus is clearly set up so that you can stargaze - note the absence of other sources of light. 

When the sun sets before 4:00 pm, holiday lights are extra nice. 

A Winter Walk in the Park

The late afternoon light was so pretty today that I was drawn out on a walk around the park across the street from the AIP campus: 

For the first time in a while, I tried to take pretty pictures rather than just document my day. So here's the best parts of my walk: