18 Dec Christmas

For the past three months, I’ve been feeling like we moved from one holiday to the next: the house decorations in my street changed from ghosts, spiders and baby dolls on nooses (no, I’m not kidding) for Halloween, to fields of pumpkins for Thanksgiving. Now my street is dazzling with thousands of Christmas lights. It feels strange that it is already almost Christmas time. Yes the days may be short and dark, the mild Californian temperatures block my mind and body from feeling ‘Christmassy’. Another reason why I do not feel in a Christmas vibe, is because I won’t be home with my family for Christmas.

Perhaps this is the first time I have been feeling a little homesick. How cliché, that during Christmas time I come to the realization that truly, life is about spending time with the people you value most. Perhaps it is the overwhelming Christmas propaganda that tells everyone to spend time with your family. Nevertheless, it works, at least for me.

Luckily we nowadays have Facetime and Whatsapp, so I’ll be able to see my family and friends back at home. And I have also been lucky to meet so many amazing people here, some of whom are also in San Francisco during the holidays. Great plans for dinners and secret Santa are being made, so I can’t wait until Christmas eve is there and I can experience my first Christmas in the States.