A Scorching Christmas

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Trip Start Oct 04, 2005 Previous
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  Brisbane, Australia
Monday, December 26, 2005

On Christmas Day it was 100 degrees F, we had rain showers instead of snow showers, and we huddled by the fan instead of the fireplace. Christina came to celebrate the holiday with me since my flatmates are all out of town, home with their families, and Sarah and Hilary came over for awhile as well. We were all prepared to be sad together, though still determined to make the best of things. On Christmas Eve, Hilary, Christina, and I got together for drinks and dinner. After a bottle of vodka, a few glasses of wine, and absolutely fabulous Italian cuisine from La Dolce Vita, we were pretty much loving life. I must say, getting drunk on Christmas Eve was definitely a first for me, but not exactly a bad first. The three of us sat out on my porch, where it's not as stifling hot as inside, and took turns swinging in the hammock telling stories of Christmases at home. After Hilary left, Christina and I retired into the sauna, prefering the heat to the mosquitos, and sat down to the end of Sleepless in Seattle. This was the closest we could get to a Christmas movie. And then, right as Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks started walking towards the elevators at the top of the Empire State Building and the music was swelling...blackness. The power went out. So there we were, two American girls in Australia in Christmas Eve laying on a mattress in the dark sweating and as scared as five year olds without a nightlight. Luckily I rememberd my trusty maglite that had fallen behind my nightstand, so I was able to retrieve it in order to have at least some light in the room.

a flashlight, a fan, a tree - xmas necessities

The lights were out for probably 15 minutes, but laying there listening to every sound, sure that the Xmas Axe murderer is about to get you, it sure seemed like a lot longer! I don't know if we screamed more for fright or joy when everything suddenly turned back on and where Meg and Tom once were, now stood Kramer in a santa suit. So we finished the Seinfeld episode and then went off to sleep to dream of sugarplums...or koalas...or just some relief from the heat. I have really begun to miss snow and my flannels and electric blanket...or at least the cold weather that goes along with them. The next morning we awoke to the trains starting up, shepherding everyone to relatives and friends' houses for the big day. And in the Christmas spirit, I donned my candycane antlers, drank the traditional juice, made some french toast, and dug into the presents sent from home. The rest of the day Christina and I spent calling family, uploading pictures, reading new books, and just trying not to move around too much. Hilary and Sarah soon joined us, and we all scarfed down Grammie's Christmas Cookies (a tradition that has become transnational!) and chocolate while smelling the various soaps we gave each other (What else do you get a backpacker?). All in all, it was a lovely, lazy day. That night Christina and I went to the Stockleys' for Christmas dinner, a fabulous feast comparable to Thanksgiving back home. Loading up our plates with turkey, ham, salad, potatoes, pumpkin, and stuffing, we had a great time talking about our travel plans and getting to know at least some of the extended Stockley clan, 23 to be exact. The rain poured down that night, finally answering all our Christmas wishes for at least some relief from the heat. And then, Christmas was over. And you know, for being a "sad holiday", it really wasn't that bad. I wouldn't say it was the best Christmas of my life, but I was never really homesick. I guess it just didn't feel like the Christmas I've known my whole life. There was no snow, no Bing Crosby put on repeat, no It's a Wonderful Life, and no family. My Christmas this year was a completely new construction, so I didn't really feel sad, because what I experienced this year was so completely different from my other tradition-bound Christmases that I couldn't really compare them. But I spent this new limited addition Christmas with friends and people I care about, and in the end, I guess that's all that really matters. I will always remember my first Christmas away from home, my Ozzie Christmas, complete with a power outage, a hammock, Italian food, some vodka, and tropical weather.

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AJ, Bec, Julie, Me, and Rod - The Stockleys	and the stockings were hung with care...	Christina and me enjoy a little Xmas Eve dessert	Farm animal Xmas cookies!
French Toast!!	Me and Toby enjoying grammie's cookies	Me, Hilary, Christina, and Sarah	Merry Christmas Eve!
The traditional juice, but no stairs...	Toby and Ross opening their present

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