It is always hard to be away from family and America this time of year, but God blessed me with a lot of people to celebrate with . And each year I find new ways to enjoy my Asian Christmases :) I like the simplicity of Christmas here and it helps me focus more on the real celebration of Emmanuel. My friend Angela came up from Thailand this year. On Christmas Eve a large group of us got together for a Christmas feast! There were over 20 of us at the table...a ham and turkey came from Thailand and everyone helped to contribute delicious side dishes and dessert :) After dinner we did some caroling, lit the advent wreath, watched the kids sing "Jingle Bells" with instruments, heard the Christmas story, and played "catch phrase" and other games. It was a lot of fun!
On Christmas morning, Angela and I had a nice breakfast and opened a couple gifts under the tree. It was such a blessing to "skype" our families and feel connected to them during this time. Christmas afternoon, we went on a walk around the rice fields with some friends. Then we finished the evening eating Indian food and watching "Elf" with some other friends.
