I saw the bells and the lights and the Christmas trees on the backs of motorbikes, and I heard the classics and plans of good cheer and I Just. Couldn't. Feel it.
"Aww, is this your first year away?"
asked a seasoned expat friend. Sigh, it is.
The last couple of weeks have been a little tough, tougher than I had anticipated. I debated including these woes into the blog and decided it was a good idea after all. I made the decision to move out here and accept the ups and the downs.
So I got involved in as many Christmas-y festivities as possible - mission force the feeling!!
The work party was fun and interesting... there were strange erotic Vietnamese games including a blindfolded employee searching for clips attached to another employee, and my favorite - a dangling cucumber tied around contestants' waists with the swinging goal of knocking targets over.
The kids' Christmas party was chaotic and loud but their joy was warming and pure. I headed up the "artwork" area which was really just coloring and a break from the madness.
An international Christmas play was put on in the biggest theater in Da Nang. There was a huge turn-out from the Deaf community and two people who work at Bread of Life interpreted. Two days before the play, I was asked if I would interpret some of the Christmas songs. Ack! No time to prepare! I nervously agreed to interpret ONE song and rocked Silent Night like it's never been rocked before. Three girls also interpreted other Christmas songs. Were they on tempo? No. Could they hear the choir singing the same song behind them? No. Were they beautiful and awesome? Heck yeah. They didn't finish the songs at the same time as the singers and it didn't matter and I didn't notice because my attention was more captured by the harmonic signing than the singing.
All of these things were fun and almost scratched the feeling but I finally felt Christmas, unexpectedly, in a moment with a girl named Vy who assists the teachers in the staff room. I was working on Christmas Eve, which I was a little Scrougie about, and popped in a Christmas mixed CD to lighten my mood. It started to work, and then Vy walked in, full of smiles and cheer.
"I just love the feeling of this day."
I looked at her. She was nodding her head to the sounds of Grandma got run over by a Reindeer and I felt it. Somehow, Vy transferred some of her Christmas spirit to me and I couldn't have been more grateful. I walked around with a smile for the rest of the day. I told her this today.
Christmas day was spent with friends. First, a decadent lunch splurge at a five-star resort with some co-workers. Everything was delicious. Then, a bit of shopping before a cozy dinner at my Vietnamese TA's house with my two TA friends and another teacher. It was the perfect warm dinner to cap off a day spent with my family away from family.
Christmas in Vietnam has been somewhat confusing as I have broken the American Christmas into three camps: religion, family, and consumerism. Riding through town, the city appears to celebrate the holiday just as much as any western country, but on further investigation: gifts are typically not exchanged, almost all businesses are still open for regular hours, and Christianity definitely isn't a dominant religion. I think it's ok that I still don't really know.
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