Musings on Oranges

I'm writing this from school today, which is unusual for me because I rarely have to much time for blogging while I'm here. But, on the penultimate day before the holidays begin, the school is in preparation for the annual Christmas concert this morning and there are far fewer kids in the audience than in the band and orchestra!


Source: wikipedia.org

So, as I was sitting here at my paper covered desk along with the peel of a mandarin orange (from Argentina) lying on my desk beside me, and with a mug of Stash Moroccan Mint Green Tea, I realized how much these two flavours symbolize the holidays for me.
Here's the thing about oranges and me: we haven't always gotten along. For reasons totally not understood by anyone, I cannot chew the skin on most orange segments. Most. The exception of that is the small mandarin family that have a much thinner skin. So, when the boxes of clementines from Morocco begin arriving in the grocery stores, I always get excited. Not only do I get to enjoy their vibrant, sweet goodness, but they usually start appearing mid-November, which means vacations are just around the corner.

Source: http://www.gardeningforyou.com/

In Japan, I used to get mikan (mandarins) all the time, and satsumas too. Both are Japanese versions, fragrant and sweet. The satsuma flavour, I found, was a little more delicate and floral than that of the mikan. Regardless, there's little more cheery than a present wrapped in a vibrant orange jacket!

For the record, my love of clementines and mandarins pales in comparison to that of my brother, who has been known to go through 6-7 in a day. As a kid, he adopted the name: Cosmic Clementine Caliph to really show his dedication to the fruit. There was even a song to go with the name!

Confession: We still sing it sometimes.