MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

This weekend has been incredible for me, truly. I can't express how grateful and fulfilled I really am. Although we all missed our friends and families over Christmas, we made the celebration our own. Because of this, we concluded the weekend with a sense of thankfulness and peace, which I think is the true essence of the 'Christmas Sprit'.

Below you will see many pictures of our celebratory weekend. I hope they capture the feeling that overtook us all. It's true that this was our first Christmas away from home, but I believe that we successfully worked together to create our own and unique Christmas in Kaohsiung.

Alright now, from the top...

Last Wednesday my school celebrated Christmas with the kids. Although the vast majority of Taiwanese people are not Christian, they still enjoy Santa Clause, Christmas trees, and loads of glittery decorations. In fact, Christmas is essentially a 'couples' holiday' here; a time to go out for dinner with your partner and buy him/her some flowers.

We had a great time with the kids! We planned games (mine was 'pin the nose on Rudolph') and we had a Christmas card competition. Santa also came to the party and handed out gifts.

On Friday evening my work had a staff party with all of the local and foreign teachers. They had a wonderful meal including Western food (pizza ~ BIG treat here because it's so expensive) and Asian food (Kimchi with seafood). Also red wine and cheese cake for dessert. The hillarious part of the evening was the gift exchange. We spent about 30 minutes playing various guessing games (they love them here ~ must teach them to people when I get home) in order to decide who would select a gift when. I got a DVD and some popcorn!

On Saturday we cleaned the apartment and went shopping for Christmas day brunch. April and I also went to the salon to get our hair done (hence the straight hair in the pictures, don't worry, it'll wash out Jer!). It was wonderful! Two hours later and a full head message for only 7 dollars CAD!

That evening we went to April's work party at the Grand Hotel. The venue was incredible and so was the buffet. Huge plates of sashimi, smoked salmon, roast beef, salads, soups, seafood, etc, etc, etc. We also had wine on the table. April works for a large chain of school in Kaohsiung called 'KNS'. It's clear how much business these institutions pull in. Also, the party was a costume competition as well. Some of the outfits were fantastic (check out the Geisha down below).

We arrived home and our friends Matt, Lisa, Heather, and Mark were there to spend the night. We had a gift exchange (I got a sweet juicer!) and we drank far too much. I had to tap out at about midnight. Definitely worth it though.

Christmas day we got up at 11 o'clock to open all of our presents and our stockings. I couldn't believe the beautiful gifts that I received! April bought me a wallet, book (The Alchemist, which I've been wanting for quite some time), and a sweater (really nice green colour). Dan got me a purple skirt and some unique earrings. They both know my style so well! Mom sent me a mint-condition vintage nightie that she got at an annual clothing sale held in the Chateau Laurier. It really is amazing. Genn sent maple syrup, yum! What a treat! And some other uniquely Canadian gifts. Dad and Chris sent me cash for the trip to South Korea!!! Whoooeeee! That's only a month away! I am so blessed. Thanks to everyone who sent a gift, you don't know how much I appreciated them and of course, your cards. I miss you all!

Afterwards we made a huge brunch which included fruit salad, maple syrup (thanks again Genn!), french toast, eggs, bacon, champagne and orange juice, and croissants. It was a hit, very delicious! We pretty much collapsed after that. Some of us watched a movie, others spoke on the phone to Canada, and at 4:30 I went to an English church service. I'm really glad that I went. We sang carols and read the Christmas story.

At 6 o'clock we headed to a restaurant called the Lighthouse. It's a foreigner pub that also serves food from home. There were actually 16 people in our party and we had a great time. The meal included red wine, ginger carrot soup, turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, brocolli, peas, carrots, stuffing, apple pie, and vanilla ice cream. It was delicious but Dan had to finish all of our dinners (April and I) because we had reached capacity for the weekend. Another exciting thing was that the Lighthouse also served egg nog with nutmeg and rum. Oh man, that was a treat. We even got Desiree (my violin student from South Africa) into the nog, she loved it!

We headed home afterwards and said goodbye to everyone. I called Tomek super early (sorry babe!) so we could open our gifts together over the phone. It was perfect.

The weekend ended with us watching the Queen's address on BBC. Wouldn't have been Christmas if I hadn't!

So that's the weekend in detail. I really did have a fantastic time and feel like I'm even closer to my roommates now because we created something really special together.

write soon, Merry Christmas
peace and love,
Rachel