Indiana

We arrived in Louisville to brisk but not unreasonably cold weather. Unlike most people, I really like the cold. Yes, I have spent nearly twenty years in Africa and so it’s a bit more of a novelty for me. But I have embraced the cold since I was a kid. Back then I would spend hours and hours outside in the cold by myself in some sort of imaginary world (usually some sort of sports world) returning to the house when hungry, to watch a game on TV or to reluctantly go to bed if it was nighttime.

Nowadays, much of my life takes place indoors. I would like to change that at some point, but that’s the way it is for now. In my work, I often take trips to the field to visit activities which involves considerable time in the dusty outdoors. When in Nairobi I try to compensate by regular runs, outdoor workouts and/or by biking to work. But it’s never cold and often quite hot. There are certainly places to go in Kenya that are cold, but Nairobi is almost never jacket weather.

As such, I try to take in the chill when I go to the US in winter. We hadn’t been for a couple years so I was readier than usual.

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When we are in Indiana, the routines are generally the same. We settle into my mother-in-law's house. Jet lag is usually not a big issue heading west and we adjusted quickly. Exposure to light, avoiding naps and, for me, a good workout, help me shift my circadian rhythm.

Most evenings were spent with the cousins. We would only have a week so the schedule was a bit more packed than usual. We had done quite a bit of shopping online which reduced the need to spend time in shopping malls (though it still had to be done). There is always a slowly progressing puzzle spread out on a card table. We make pilgrimages to the local YMCA for exercise, sometime twice in a day (once for me, once with the kids). We take walks around the neighborhood. 

Unlike most of America, my mother-in-law doesn’t have a TV in her living room. I find it refreshing. I do like to watch football, but the constant need to have a game on in the background is just not there. If I want to watch a game, it’s a targeted activity on my tablet where games have been recorded and I can avoid the ads. If the family wants to watch Jeopardy or something else, there’s a small TV in the office. In short, it’s there if you want it but life is not built around it. 

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Scottsburg is a rather sleepy town of about 7,400 people. If you head north from Louisville, it’s situated about a third of the way to Indianapolis. It’s mostly flat with no mountains off in the horizon. The flatness does contribute to unobstructed tornado movement. We’ve been there when there have been tornado warnings in the summer but haven’t experienced anything nearby. There was a big one several years ago that destroyed a bunch of buildings in the area (and trashed a storage unit where my wife had been keeping some of her belongings).

Christmas Eve bridge walk in Louisville

Santa squeezing in some last minute recreation on the Ohio River before the big day

The town is relatively poor and we’ve heard that there’s a significant drug problem in the area, specifically methamphetamines. It’s far enough away from Louisville that it doesn’t serve as a bedroom community so employment is mostly derived from small businesses in the area. I suspect that unemployment is quite high.

Overall, not much happens here. I suppose that’s what makes it a nice place for a short vacation, at least for me. Given where I live and what I do for a living, a small, boring American town is just what I need. However, for our kids it’s a bit different. There is a lack of stimulation, particularly if you are coming from a city of around 5 million people. They can settle in and enjoy the quiet for a while. But that only lasts so long. 

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One frequent complaint at the end of the holidays is that too much time is spent shopping, preparing meals, cleaning up, doing dishes, etc. I have frequently suggested that we take the path of least resistance and combine eating out/buying prepared food with home-cooked meals. It's a bit scandalous, I admit, for a family that enjoys home-cooked meals. But when you have so little time together, there are trade-offs. This year the team relented and, shockingly, it was Subway sandwiches on Christmas Eve. It was bittersweet. The kids ate and were off and running after seven minutes. There was zero preparation and almost zero cleanup. On the flip-side, one thing I learned from my Italian ex-in-laws was the respect for the meal as an event in and of itself. From the buying of the food at all the different shops, to the preparation, to the hours spent at the table, to the cleanup, it is to be taken seriously and not just something you do in between activities. For them, activities were built around meals. For Americans, it's usually the opposite. Our compromise was to cut corners on Christmas Eve and make up for it on Christmas day with a proper Christmas dinner. 

Christmas Eve we opened gifts. When they were delivered by Santa, it was always Christmas morning. But we've become decidedly flexible with our traditions. I realize that when traditions are flexible, there's a question as to whether or not they're even traditions. As our children are growing up in a foreign country, it's nothing like what I experienced as a child. Neither is better. Just different.

Christmas day was relaxed. I went for a morning run in the chilly morning. We had the big meal, went for a walk, worked on the puzzle, etc. Nothing exciting, but quite enjoyable.

Very quickly, the week was over. We would have an early morning wake-up (3am) and we would be off to Idaho.