I didn't buy a Christmas tree because my garden is full of trees. This was my makeshift tree.
There was a massive thunderstorm on Christmas Eve and I was trying to upload a video to blogspot (didn't work, obviously) so I was up pretty late.
At 10:30 a.m. Terri-Lee and Michael picked me up so I could join them in spending Christmas Day with their family. It was me, Terri-Lee, Michael, Debbie, Phil, Kerry, Paul, Aiden, Skyla, and Brittany. Debbie and Skyla handed out presents from under the tree and everyone sort of dug in at once. I know I keep talking about how hospitable and kind my South African friends are, but seriously- it'd be impossible to overemphasize that quality in them. And I'm not just talking about the gifts they gave me, though those were incredibly thoughtful and very much appreciated. When I talk about their hospitality I'm really talking about how they make me feel right at home, like I've known them for years instead of months.
After opening gifts everyone moved out to the patio to talk until lunch was ready. The Christmas table was set with even more gifts for everyone, and lunch was amazing. Before eating we went around the table and everyone said what they were thankful for.
I especially wish I'd taken a picture of the pumpkin. Pumpkin is delicious and I can't believe how much of it I used to waste every Halloween. The pumpkin had feta, garlic, spinach, and other wonderful things in it. There was also rice, mushrooms, potato wedges, brussel sprouts, salad, asparagus, and about 5 other things I can't even remember because there was so much to choose from. For starters the omnivores had shrimp cocktails while Brittany and I had lettuce, avo and tomato. There was also ham, I think, but I've been vegetarian long enough that I don't really notice the meat. For dessert there was chocolate and strawberry homemade ice cream and fruit salad. And there was a LOT of wine and non-alcoholic beer.
After stuffing ourselves everyone sat around talking for a while longer. Skyla played with my camera.
Swimming was an option, but I decided just to watch because I had a fresh sunburn. Watching turned out to be fun when Kerry and Aiden got into a diving competition. This is Aiden trying to one-up his mom on the "Ballerina jump."
We spent the afternoon hanging out on the patio, talking.
Terri-Lee, Michael and I left around 3 p.m. They took me home so I could drop off my presents before going to their house to meet up with friends that were coming to visit. I left my camera at home so I don't have pictures of the rest of the day. Denise, Nick and Shane all came over and we sat outside on Terri-Lee and Michael's patio, talking. Tyron and Cindy stopped by for a while as well. We were up so late that I decided to sleep over at Terri-Lee and Michael's house. The next morning everyone was lazy and Michael made eggs and toast (bacon for the omnivores) for brunch.
So, that was my first South African Christmas- full of friends and fun. I hope I'm able to be here for a few more Christmases, because this was great.
