Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas family and friends!

This year I am far away from you, but would just like to give you a quick picture of what Christmas is like around these parts... quite different than the part of the world I'm used to. The last couple of days some of us traveled to the North side of the island, where life and culture is much different. We had a wonderful and adventurous time navigating roads with a map that had every town with a different name than the road signs said, and as you will see, saw the incredible beauty of the Northern Meditteranean. At a roadside market I bought some fruit for our Christmas dinner, and the lady working there said "oh, is it Christmas?" The part of the world I woke up in today had none of the signs my Canada has to announce Christmas - no media, no lights, no crazy shopping centers; no carolers, no Christmas eve church services, no nativities. So I am thankful for my heritage today - my country that at one time recognized God in its constitution, and to this day pays a nation to celebrate His entrance into this world "and His name shall be called Emmanuel, God with us." I am glad that I have never not known that it is Christmas... so to all of you as you celebrate (whether on "the" day or not - or on January 7th for you Orthodox people (not just Ukranians, I've discovered:))) - Merry Christmas! And here's some shots of the last couple of days.

And The Winner Is...

Congratulations Trevor and Rachel! But nice runner up, Kelly... thanks for playing. Trevor and Rachel, coffee's on me next time we're in the same country!
Answers are:
1 - the rhubarb cost $25CND... I know, outrageous!
2 - It's a preying mantis (I love these bugs:)) - I've heard both that it's called "preying" because its a great hunter, "praying" for its position.
3 - It is a Kiwi fruit, and it grow on a tree.
4 - This is a pomegranate tree.
5 - Greek Orthodox

Come on down!

Hello sports and game show fans, it's time for some Cypriot trivia time! So strap in and leave your guesses on the comments page. There will be a prize for the winner - whoever comes closest.

Pictures

1 - How much did this rhubarb cost? Hint - the checkout clerk asked me what it was:)

2 - What am I? Why am I called this?

3 - This fruit was growing in the orchard I visited this weekend - what kind of structure does it grow on (tree, vine, shrub, etc.)?

4 - What kind of fruit grows on this tree?

5 - This building was at the monastary we visited. In Cyprus, what faith does it represent?

That's it for now... enjoy the game - and feel free not to answer all the questions if you only want to answer one or two. Have fun!