Articles To help Project Leaders
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The holiday season is upon us. A long weekend awaits, and it is special because this is the Christmas of 2011. As South African expatriates, (and US citizens), living in Connecticut, it is an interesting time. I have had these conversations over the past few weeks, and come to new understandings.
1. When we meet someone it, it is always the same answers. Play Jeopardy here - you come up with the questions. "We came a number of years ago", "Living in South Windsor for quite a while", "No, it is summer in the Southern hemisphere now", "The future looked grim, that's why we left".
2. In our prior lives, we saw jolly St. Nick sweating in his red suit at Christmas time in sunny South Africa. Now, in the cold, wintry, Connecticut weather , it makes sense for St. Nick to be dressed in layers. Imagine if history was written differently, and civilization developed from the Southern Hemisphere? St. Nick would be dressed in a loin cloth, braving a ski-slope in Vermont, "in keeping with the season".
3. We all interpret and celebrate the season in our own way, depending on our traditions and values. For me, the best way to enjoy Christmas is to take time off from work, relax, slow down and spend time to get in the mood. I remember in South Africa taking a few weeks of vacation around the end of December, to slow down and prepare for Christmas. However, in the USA, (perhaps aggravated by ADD-type TV influences and "Buy me, buy now" commercials), it seems to be go-go-go-go until Christmas eve, take a breather for a quick church service, Christmas meals on the double, and then back to work. Although we have back-to-back Christmas activities, there isn't much time for Christmas. I guess none of it is wrong - it just depends on your perspective. Wearing (or not wearing) Christmas themed clothing doesn't make (or not make) you more in the spirit of the season. For me, working over this time is the opposite of truly enjoying this time, but I see people celebrating the season in their way by working full speed.
4. I don't know about you, but I have never watched a TV commercial where a car is presented with a red bow / ribbon, and said "I think it is time to buy a new sedan." Marketers push everything under the auspices of "It is Christmas, you must buy." It doesn't trigger anything for me. I loathe to buy cars, because they are always overpriced. Cars are just a necessary cost of living in Connecticut, just as they were in South Africa. A TV commercial doesn't make me get up and hurry to a slimy dealership, any more than watching a TV show about tattoo parlors makes me want to get a tattoo or piercing in unspeakable body parts. Yuck!
5. Call it seasonal depression, or whatever, I am thrilled that we have passed the Winter Solstice. I hate cold, and dark. Put them together and I am the least happy camper in the state park. To give you an idea, if you haven't lived in Connecticut and are used to South Africa, the sun will set at 4:20 PM today (December 23, 2011). From 5 PM to 7 AM tomorrow, it will be darker than a coal face. Darker than the shaft of a gold mine. Darker than my Orgasmic Oatmeal Stout. The night will be cold and dark. The good news for me is that the days start to get longer now, which makes the coming snowstorms and winter blizzards more tolerable. Short days and long nights are bad for my mood and also my brewing output - which does nothing to improve my mood.
With all the complaining, why do we choose to live in Connecticut? Some days, I am not sure. We enjoy the USA and the freedom that the Constitution provides. However, I will probably move somewhere else when the time is right. Life is too short to live in the dark ages, without large quantities of good home brew.
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