The Disorientating effect of a Northern Hemisphere Winter

It's only 16 days till Christmas, but I am feeling awkward on a few different levels. First it's supposed to be hot and I'm supposed to be at the beach. All around me is supposed to be a bright crimson backdrop of Pohutakawa trees flowering. School is supposed to be breaking up for 6 weeks, and my feet are supposed to pop out of their shoes in a green puff and slip wetly into my jandels as soon as I get in from work.

The reality is, it's cold, we're eating delicious hot roasts and yum soups. I'm ducking from bus to train to bus to bus to avoid raindrops, the trees are skeletal and no one has jandels on. When I get home, I massage my toes to get the blood running through them once more and then eagerly pop them into a nice warm pair of slippers.

And then there is the sun. In winter time down under when I look to the east (not religiously or anything...just trying to make a point) the winter sun is supposed to be a bit lower in the sky on my left hand side (learning moment: Towards the equator), but in this crazy winter up here when I am looking to the East (for the sake of argument) the sun is in fact low to the horizon on my RIGHT HAND SIDE. A trivial matter you might think, but pause and ponder the implications for my delicate at the best of times sense of direction here. Midday when I subconsciously feel as if I'm facing east with the sun on my left hand side, I'm actually well and truly facing west. Craziness!!!!