Christmas Eve party at Aunt Tassoula's. Drink the weird blue alcoholic beverage that magically turns your poop green. Pretend to ignore the sauna that is a well heated apartment filled to the gills with twenty bodies. (ah, but hubby and I were sick this year, couldn't make it)
Christmas Day dinner at the in-laws. Try to be sure to not eat some weird, unknown meat type (goat, rooster) that parades in the form of a well known meat form (chicken, pork). Enjoy my MIL's cooking, but miss my mother's succulent ham and homemade rolls. Listen to my father-in-law tell all manner of jokes (in Greek) to exploding laughter. Listen to my husband translate the jokes, which turn out to be not that funny.
Boxing Day dinner at the in-laws, with a different set of family. Repeat of the day before. Sit around with the "children" of the family (now almost all adults) and try to blow out a candle from a great distance. "Ooh" and "aah" when someone succeeds. Rent a movie so everyone can fall asleep watching it.
Talk to my parents who are enjoying Christmas with both of my brothers, their wives, and my niece. Listen while they all try to talk at once on the speakerphone. Feel a bit sad that after all of these years, with all of us being apart, they are finally at a point where they can all be together for the holidays and I am thousands of miles away.
Be thankful that my new family is as wonderful as my real family, and enjoy the holidays anyway.
4 comments:
Blue Curaco is what it is. It makes a delicious tasting mix with orange Fanta. Almost too delicious, you end up drinking it like soda.
At least our in-laws are walking distance, but we do have to leave the building.
Nah, I don't worry about it. They know about the blog, but I am not sure they really understand (or care) what blogs are. I don't mind them reading it, and I have members of my family who have viewed it on occasion. I think my in-laws know me pretty well by now, and I doubt any of this would offend them.
I could be wrong, though. Still, if there was something I wouldn't them reading, well I shouldn't be posting it then, should I?
I really hope your future Christmas holidays become more 'fun' for you and I think they will once you start speaking and understanding Greek better. I know what it's like to be surrounded by 20 very talkative Greeks at dinners and BBQs and feel like your tongue has been clipped and missing the familiarity of your own family. I still miss my family especially around the holidays but at least I'm having more fun with my 'new' family every year that goes by.
Do you ever have the feeling that you're a fish out of water at these events? Or am I the only one that 'owns' that feeling?
Don't get me wrong, I do have fun at Christmas with the family, although learning Greek *will* make it better. And honestly, if my in-laws werent so great it would be SO much harder.
But yea, I feel like a fish out of water a lot. And not because the family doesn't make me feel included - just everything is so different from what I was used to.
Sorry you were sick and hope you are both feeling better. There is a bug going on around here. On Christmas day alone, we were sick, the mayor, the town priest, two of our friends AND three members of the church choir (sounds like the new twelve days of Christmas song).
As much as I love being here, it still hurts not being in Indiana with my family for the holidays. I feel your pain and hope you can enjoy the season anyway!
Cyn
Post a Comment