Christmas

December 31, 2007

When I woke up and realized it was Christmas, I went to the kitchen and made raspberry hot chocolate that my family had sent me. I also put a cinnamon roll my mom sent me in the microwave. Mug and plate in hand, I went into my guest room, which I had gussied up with Christmas decorations. I put the lights on and admired the decorations. Then I went for the presents. I tried to go slowly, savoring each present under my tree.

Even so, I finished with all my presents after 20 minutes.

I was left feeling like, Now what? And suddenly, I was standing alone in my empty apartment with a strange feeling of bewilderment, wondering how you celebrate Christmas when you have nothing to do and no one to talk to.

So, I put on some Christmas music and called my family via skype.

That kept me busy the rest of the day.

My family knows this, because they were chit chatting with me all day—every hour someone would call. It was nice, because it was such a traditionally Christmas thing to do. I even got to see some of them open their presents. And so, Christmas passed pleasantly, much as it always does.

But I do want to tell you about Christmas dinner, because adapting it to Japan was an interesting experience. They don’t have turkey and they don’t have ovens, so obviously, oven-roasting a turkey was out. So I pan-fried a chicken instead. I fried it with a pan sauce of consommé, lemon, parsley, and cranberries. Mom had sent me stuffing, fancy mashed potatoes, and cranberry sauce. Instead of candied yams, I had my pumpkin, which I’d made Christmas Eve to save time and pans. I made fruit salad and had my cake and a tiny portion of Haagan Daaz (flavor: rich milk) for dessert. I made my own spiced apple cider to drink, using my rice cooker (don’t laugh—it works just like a crock pot), with slices of mikan oranges floating on the top.