Christmas was especially different for me this year. As some of you may or may not know, the country of Taiwan does not celebrate Christmas. The holiday was actually forbidden years ago, under the last presidency. Many Taiwanese don't really understand the entire idea of Christmas, but really are in envy of the all the presents! This was a difficult thing to grasp! I tried to share with them a little bit of the history and also share with them some of the Christmas spirit. I gave candy canes, chocolate kisses, peppermint candys, and I even made my family's recipe of Coconut Joys for them! It was an interesting atmosphere. I tried to make the best of this new holiday experience.
Over Christmas weekend, I had to spend my Saturday at "Saturday" school. Saturday school is something that the schools do when they want a holiday. In this case, it was for the extra day we got off on New Years Eve. I spent the rest of the weekend with exchange students on our ROTEX getaway, which was nice. On Christmas Eve, I enjoyed a night at my friends house with seven of my closest RYE friends! Since we were all from different countries, we each shared in some of our own holiday traditions, added some Taiwanese things in, and then created some of our own too. For all of us, we were surely missing some of the traditons and things that surround this time of the year. So, we tried to stay busy and keep each other laughing, which made for a nice night.
Christmas Day! Well to start off, it was a super sunny and hot day, and I wore flip flops! Not the white Christmas I have had for all my life. I had school on Christmas. Yes...school. Luckily, I had language class in the morning, so I was able to spend it with my RYE friends. I was given the afternoon off from my high school and went to lunch with some friends. In the afternoon, I spent the afternoon at home, opened a few cards and boxes I received and really just took time to reflect on how I was feeling. Being away from my family on Christmas day and not being surrounded by the things that have been a part of my life, for my whole life, was new. But, I couldn't do anything about it. I embraced this time without it. I was able to SKYPE my family back in the states that evening which was a nice way to end this day! I really believe that Taiwan not having Christmas was a blessing for me. I was strong, happy, and again took the time to do my best to enjoy it!
New Year Eve! I spent the evening at one of the biggest fireworks displays in the world at Taipei 101! The crowds were big, the little outdoor food market, the music, the weather, and the people surrounding me were all wonderful. I spent the night meeting exchange students from all over Taiwan. We laughted smiled and enjoyed the atmosphere. I grabbed a great location to watch the fireworks. I totally felt like an Asian - I had two cameras and I was snapping away. Due to the crowds, I didn't arrive home until 4:00 a.m.. It was a really long and tiring night, but it was super cool to be at the fireworks display and ring in the New Year!
A unique holiday season in Taiwan to say the least! Happy 2013!
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