Normally I find it totally bizarre how late the sun rises around here (right now hovering at around 8:30 am), and it certainly doesn't make it any easier to get up early when it's still pitch black outside until well after my first class starts. But tired and grumpy as I may be, I can't help but be awestruck from time to time by the beauty of those pre-dawn moments (as I head to the cafeteria for my bread and gigantic bowl of coffee). This morning was one of those times--the stars twinkling in the gorgeous clear black sky, the soft, warm wind that swept over my face as I opened the door, the clouds drifting quickly by the bright crescent moon, still high in the sky, and the feeling of calm the whole scene elicited. Beautiful.