Merry Christmas!
Sorry for not writing at all lately. Life has been crazy! I’ve been working a lot of hours and making and losing lots of friends. It’s funny how that works with the foreigner community in Taiwan. People are always coming and going and you make and break connections at a quick pace.
I was just asked if I had happy today. “Do you have happy?” by the laundry lady downstairs. Then she realized that she meant to ask me if I had a party today for Christmas. I replied in Chinese with “Meiyou” or “I don’t have”.
It’s odd because I went to Chili’s with a friend tonight as our “Christmas dinner”. We walked around the mall and looked at all the Christmas decorations but were still unable to feel the true spirit of Christmas amidst all the decorations. For example, this week in class I tried to read the Dr. Suess story “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” but only one really clever boy was able to understand what I meant.
I’ll miss everyone this Christmas just as I missed you this Thanksgiving. I’m actually glad for the holidays to be over next week so I can get back to enjoying myself abroad. It’s tough when you’re constantly reminded of what you left behind.
But not to make it seem like I’ve been totally sad. I’ve actually been overall having a good time. I’ve been meeting great people, growing as a teacher, and I’m about to start studying Chinese full-time. It’s been an amazing 2007 for me. I’ve graduated from college (Heidi Edit: Actually in 2006), moved to another country, and am working on a huge language and cultural exchange. Though it’s still the Year of the Pig (my year) in Chinese custom so we’ll see what happens from now until Chinese New Year.
My dearest Heidi; Of course we missed you so much today. Christmas day is not the same without you. We all thought about you. Your Dad, Robin, and Robert were here and also Uncle Leo, Andres and Diego. We had a quiet day with the same routine. I made brisquet, mashed potatoes, vegetables, salad, fruit salad and Robin brought a ham. We enjoyed some of Aunt Zita’s wine cookies and had pumpkin pie for dessert. The gift opening was not a big madhouse this year, I guess because not all the kids were here and there were very few gifts to open. I think I liked it. Next year i am going to make even more simple. It is getting too hard to do all that. The house looked pretty, not as much decoration, but enough to make it look very Christmasy. Uncle danny took a lot of pictures so I will see if he can e mail them to you. I can still hear little Danny singing, he is such a happy little guy. I am glad to hear that you are doing well and learning more and more each day. I am very proud of you and hope that you will continue to enhance your knowledge and will benefit by it. I love you my Little Heidikins. Have a great day and know that Grandma loves you. God bless you, Grandma