No curtains?!

Full moon last night

On my first day in my new apartment, I hunted high and I hunted low.  I could not find the curtains in my bedroom.  I panicked and promptly got out my eye mask and went to sleep.  But, the body's ability to adapt is amazing because within a few nights, I was able to sleep without the eye mask and wake up with the sun.  Being in the country means it is so dark at night, with the stars (and the full moon last night) providing the only light.  It makes such a change from China, where the sky was permanently lit up with neon and the only star (dubbed by the expats as 'The Wuxi Star') occasionally appeared through the smoggy haze.  My Chinese apartment had thick fabric curtains lined with black out material, stopping all light coming in.  Of course, it was still necessary to sleep with ear plugs (even on the 26th floor) thanks to the all-night noise pollution - no such need for them here.  I'm sure that waking up with the morning sunlight is better for you than an alarm (although I do set one as a back up) ... it feels so natural.  Tomorrow morning though, I will wake up to a winter wonderland for it is snowing quite heavily here at the moment, with the snow set to stay for the rest of the week.

Surely this amount of neon has got to be bad for you?