THERE"S FROST ON THE ROOF!!!! actually, let me be more specific. That statement sounds like a veiled reference to my greying hair, but what I actually mean is "there's frost on the roof!!!" Literally. I was standing at the bus-stop early this morning (REALLY early!) and I couldn't believe how white and frosty it was. There was smoke coming out of the chimneys, clouds hanging on the mountains and it was SO beautiful! I  was freezing... but that was my own fault for not looking out the window before I left the house. Mental note to self to drag out the box of odd gloves and manky scarfs I have been accumulating over the years to see if I can find a matching set! (I didn't find one last year so I don't know who I am kidding!) Anyway, the "student express" arrived and I claimed the first seat as usual (one of the benefits of living "at the end of the Universe" AKA "the Cove"). I have a love - hate relationship with this bus (or, to be precise, busses) journey to work. It takes as long to get to work as it would take me to fly to Calgary, but I get a kick out of watching the bus cram to sardine tin proportions with homestay students from all over the planet. Believe me, by the time we get to Phibbs Exchange, they are hanging off the light fittings. This morning it was even squishier, partly because of the new design bus which seems to only have about ten seats, but mainly due to the Japanese students fending of the cold by donning those oversize, stay-puff marshmallow coats over their teeny tiny bodies. Honestly, I'm not making this up! You can tell where the students come from by the clothes they wear and their habits as a bus passenger. The Japanese girls are usually the first to take out their homework on the bus, whereas the Spanish are the first to take out their cell-phones (which they talk loudly into the whole journey). There are usually a couple of them and it's crossed my mind that they may actually be talking to each other! The Swiss students can be identified by their moody looks and gorgeous blonde hair and, this morning, the quality of their outerwear which wouldn't look out of place on someone climbing the Matterhorn - all fur-trimmed collars and double stitching. The Korean students are easiest to spot. The boys  often have that red dyed hair that they spend hours working on to make it look like they just got out of bed, black, chain studded jeans hanging down like they are waiting for a daiper change and an expression that hints that they are only going through the motions of going to school because dad threatened to cut off their inheritance if they didn't! The girls this morning hadn't dressed for the cold and shivered up the gangway in their slip sloppy shoes to find a seat to huddle in and go back to sleep! Today there was a Spanish language student who must have been in her fifties. You could tell her age not just by the way she looked but by the wheely bag she was using to carry all her books (sensible!!) It was cool to watch her chatting away with the younger kids and it just reinforced my belief that you are never too old to learn!