Christmas Is Here!

Tuesday December 25^th, 2012

I wish you a Merry Christmas! I wish you a Merry Christmas! I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! It’s December 25^th everyone! A very Merry Christmas to you! Feliz Navidad! Mele Kalikimaka! 聖誕快樂! Pick your language!

The morning began with me as Santa Clause. No I wasn’t wearing red or gained a hundred pounds in one night but I did have presents to deliver. In secret, I wrapped gifts for my host family and crafted a 3-dimensional paper Christmas tree decorated in cheer. When everyone was still sleeping, I crept out to the dining table, arranged my display and snuck back to my room. Success! Sure they would know I did it but I like to think I brought the Santa tradition to them of him coming in the night. :P

When awake, they commented on the tree being pretty over a breakfast of a meat bun. That just goes to show, I am so not in America for a Christmas breakfast like that. XD Don’t get me wrong, it’s a tasty meal and I’ll miss it while in Texas.

With no time to stay and open presents in the morning, as is tradition, I had to be off at 6:50AM. You must be wondering where I was going on such a fine but early morning? I’ll give you a hint…I wore a uniform and carried a Tatung bag. Yes, on Christmas Day, I had school…not amused in the slightest. I’m not going to lie, that slaughters the Christmas spirit to the maximum of being happy without the holiday feeling. Still, I invaded the Taiwanese high school with a hint of Christmas by wearing a fuzzy Santa hat all day. Also by giving my classmates little candy canes while saying “Sheng dan kuai le” (Merry Christmas). Redy, Teacher White and my homeroom teacher all got a pretty Texan ornament for their expertly wrapped present. ;)

By my hand, Christmas took over the chalk board as well. XD

To my surprise, classmates were giving gifts to each other as well but in a different manner than I’m used to. It felt more along the lines of Valentine’s Day candy than Christmas. Sure some people gave candy canes just like in America but it wasn’t the same. Let’s face it, there is no Christmas here. Santa has a totally different meaning and people don’t know the true reason behind this holiday. I asked a classmate if she knew and she replied, “I think someone was born…” Haha, yes but not quite there. XD

Several classmates were kind enough to give me something. All of it was candy but two girls wrote a card with theirs. Both cards made me smile and were the best part of the whole gift. They were so sweet and thoughtful. ^_^

Remember how I mentioned the English song competition with singing and dancing? Did I ever tell you the song? If not, it’s “Move Like Jagger.” We’ve practiced it so much over these past 1-2 weeks but today’s practice totaled up to three hours. That means three hours of the same song about sex over and over…on Christmas. Yet another way that took away holiday spirit.

Lunch was a lettuce-chicken sandwich from Hi-Life. Tasty, healthy and not too weird to eat on December 25^th. Having a hamburger or noodles would have felt weird, especially if pig’s blood was added in the noodles, I’ll pass thanks. :P

Here’s where it gets just plain strange. On Christmas (Christmas people!) I had to sit through a two hour lecture about GLBT. It stands for gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender. …What the heck? In Texan I get ‘Charlie Brown’s Christmas,’ Jesus’s B-day cake, snuggly bun-buns and holiday stockings. In Taiwan I get sex songs and gay lectures. Hmm, which version do I like better? It’s such a tough decision. XD (note the obvious sarcasm) :P (Also note that I have nothing against GLBT lectures. It’s just weird for me on this particular day)

One nice thing about today was the transportation home. Instead of usually waiting a tedious 10-20+ minutes for the bus, one was already there when I got out of the MRT station and let me catch it. That was a great little blessing. All throughout the bus and subway for the past week or so, I’ve listened to nothing but lovely Christmas songs. Now that the day is finally here it feels strange and unreal, almost nonexistent. Today’s events combined with the crazy business in recent days, voided Christmas for me. That’s alright. I like to think of it as waiting 23 months for the next, which will make it even sweeter. Absence makes the heart grow fonder after all. ;)

Dinner was eaten alone with the usual Taiwanese cuisine but with a new twist in one part, the rice. When I opened the rice cooker, I found chunks of orange on top. They were sweet potatoes! Never had I eaten rice like this before! Frankly, the sweet potatoes made me really happy. It reminded me of the traditional mashed sweet potatoes dish topped with marshmallows the Clark family eats every year. That was my favorite part of the Taiwanese ‘Christmas dinner.’ ^_^

Two lovely gifts were surprise presents, one secretly mailed by my Texas Rotary counselor and the other given by my Taiwan district counselor Uncle Kaiser. From Texas, or should I say from Mrs. Anais Watsky, was a wallet and a Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Bar. It was so sweet of her to think of me and send it. ^_^ Uncle Kaiser’s package was puffy and large. I thought it was a jacket or something. Turns out, he gave me a big gray scarf made of wool and alpaca. Whoo, fancy! Before wearing it the weather must first get cold and I think I need to shake the scarf out. It likes to shed. ;)

The rest of the night was spent having a beloved Christmas Skype with my parents and sister. We had a war, not battle, trying to connect all of us together in the same Skype (parents in Texas, sister in Georgia). My sister was running around Savannah trying to get good Wi-Fi. Poor gal.

In the meantime I opened the presents sent by my parents and they got to open the ones I secretly sent from Taiwan. I’m a mail ninja. ;P As for listing everything I gave them, I digress but I will tell of theirs. They gave me Christmas scented lotion (vanilla bean! :D), cute penguin aloe vera socks, a charm bracelet and a little stocking. The stocking was a hoot because it was to mimic opening presents on Christmas day just like in Texas. Inside the stocking was a mini nutcracker, a tradition ever since ballet days when my sister and I always preformed in “The Nutcracker.” Just that taste of Christmas back home made Christmas in Taiwan a hundred times better. Thank you Mom and Dad! :D

The Skype continued until the wee hours in the morning for me, 1:45AM to be exact. Pfft, I already knew coffee and continually passing out would be included all during Wednesday. XD But you know, it was so worth it. Nothing beats family at Christmas! ^_^

Merry Christmas everyone! *starts singing* Have a holly, jolly Christmas! (etc.)