Springtime

The weather here is finally getting warm. A few brave souls have started pulling out the t-shirts and shorts, but the status quo is still long sleeves and pants. It just means I can leave the heavy coat at home and wear a couple less shirts. (Finally!) Where I come from, we don't have a "real" spring, so I still get excited every year when I get to see one. There's nothing quite like a tree without its leaves yet, covered in flowers. Of course, spring is the season of love, so we kicked it off with a Valentine's celebration with our friends at English club. Love being in the air is also apparently why I keep forgetting things lately according to the culture here. My friends say I'm "love-sick." So I can blame my forgetfulness on my boyfriend for once! People here also go on picnics when the weather's nice here, so we went to a restaurant by the lake for lunch one day.

Flower stands are common here, but they're even more colorful now that spring is here. They have every kind of bulb plus all the usual flowers in stock. Every corner has a street salesman with a cart selling bunches of narcissus or hyacinth. All the fields and abandoned lots are full of those little yellow daisies. Plus, there's all the usual (and not so usual) landscape plants. So the horticulturist in me is thrilled to be alive.

Spring is also a time of new beginnings. I've finally started to be able to put my horticulture degree to some use here. One of the plant biotechnology labs on campus has allowed me to come a few days a week to learn more about micropropagation. So far I'm just trying to get a feel for things and learn all the unique terminology, but soon I may start working there or at another company that they work with. It's great to be surrounded by plant geeks.