Christmas in England!

Hi Kids! So we’ve made it past Christmas and it on to New Years. This is officially the first Christmas that I’ve ever spent away from home, and I must say that it wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it would be, but I missed my family dearly. Haha, that sounded funny, but I really did. Anyway, I should probably start at the beginning. I believe last time I left you on the train riding to Colchester from Norwich. Well I got to Colchester just fine but then I had to jump on a coach to London, but there was some mishap on the motorway (I think) because we got delayed by about 45 minutes. So I get into London and I had to hop on the underground and take it to far west London where Lucy was going to pick me up. The trip went fine it just took forever. The weird thing was that it was super foggy *all* day long. And this wasn’t just any fog; it seemed to get progressively worse all day and it never let up. Lucy and her dad said that they don’t normally have fog like that. I know I would have been slightly hesitant to drive in it, it was that thick.

Anyway, I made it to Lucy’s house, met her parents and her younger sister Rachel, we were able to chill for a little while, get me settled into my own room (ha, I’ve got my own room! How cool is that?), and then we sat down to eat dinner before we headed off to Lucy’s aunt & uncle’s house (on her dad’s side). We went over there on Christmas Eve Eve and hung out for a while with her aunt and uncle and two cousins. I thought it was funny that that was the extent of her dad’s side of the family, minus her grandparents, but they were certainly lively enough for a much bigger family! That was fun hanging out with them for the night. Her family was extremely welcoming, so I didn’t feel too out of place.

We made it back to the house a bit on the late side, and then we headed off to bed, and after waking up a bit late on Christmas Eve, Lucy and I went to eat lunch w/ Lucy’s boyfriend Tim, and do some last minute shopping for Tim. We went to this pub in a small town next to Lucy’s little town and I got to eat traditional pub food: Cottage Pie. It was quite tasty too. After the pub, we came back home, relaxed a bit more (this is becoming a bit of a habit…), and we ate dinner and got all packed to head off to Lucy’s aunt and uncle’s house (on her mom’s side this time) where we were to spend the next two days. After getting the car all loaded up with presents and bags, and even firewood, we were off by about 9:30 pm, and made it to their house by about half 10.

Again, this side of the family was extremely welcoming also, and again they’ve got two cousins on this side as well, and then their grandma was there also. All of them were quite sweet; her grandma even gave me a hug when I got there, her two cousins (both boys, both a bit younger) were fun and nice, and her aunt and uncle the same. Oh, and their dog, Bertie, a gorgeous golden retriever. So that night, seeing as we had already eaten, we spent in front of the TV watching “The Snowman” which Lucy had gotten for Christmas. I’d never seen it, but it’s a short animated film about a snowman who comes to life and then melts, and its quite sad, and apparently Lucy used to watch it as a little girl and bawl her eyes out every time and then watch it again. So the entire family was quite excited to watch it again with her and see her cry. And she did. It was cute.

Well eventually we made it to bed, and woke up on Christmas morning, took a shower, ate some breakfast, went to church (because you go to church on Christmas Day, not Christmas Eve, here), and then came back home and ate lunch/dinner. By this time the only presents that had been opened were stockings, of which I got one as well! Now see, I say that we at dinner/lunch, but what I really mean is that we nearly died under the weight of this feast (yes, feast) which we were served! It was a 3 course meal, consisting of wine and a smoked salmon starter (Rachel & I got fruit), followed by a massive plate of ham, turkey, sausage & chestnut stuffing (I think), sprouts with bacon bits, carrots, green beans, roast potatoes, and parmesan crusted parsnips, all of which was absolutely amazing! After that, we had Christmas pudding and mince pies. Mmm, those were also amazing.

The food was amazing, and there was quite a lot of it. It was interesting having dinner like that where it was served to you, and having wine was also quite a bit different, and I’m quite excited that Emma had made me learn how to use my utensils correctly (fork in left hand, upside down, w/ knife in right hand) so that I didn’t feel quite so conspicuously American as I otherwise would have. Well, after dinner we proceeded to the living room where the opening of presents began, at about 4:30 in the afternoon. Much to my surprise I got some presents too! All in all it was quite fun, and we finished the day off by eating again (a meal just as good, and every bit as large as lunch!), and watching Ratatouille (which half of us fell asleep in). And thus ended my Christmas away from home. Fortunately, I got to talk to my parents and brothers and sisters-in-law on the webcam, so it wasn’t a Christmas devoid of my family (thank God!).

Anyway, the next day was Boxing Day and we went to the seaside at Shoreham on the south coast of England, where we took a walk and enjoyed the sunshine. After making it back, we ate again (becoming a bit of a trend, eh?), and watched Ocean’s 13 (and I think I might have been the only one laughing…. Hehe, freaking Americans!) But overall, it was really quite fun, and we drove home late that night. Funny thing was, when we got back to the house there had been a power outage, so the house was completely dark, but the power came back on quite quickly.

We spent the next day hanging out and watching TV, including watching the old version of the Italian Job (w/ Michael Caine). That night we went to one of the biggest Marks & Spencer’s in the country (think Macy’s, except bigger and nicer) and tried to hit the sales, but there weren’t as many as we thought there were going to be. Today I think we’re going to hit Windsor and see the castle (where the Queen lives), and then we might hit the pub tonight. It’s really been quite fun, and I couldn’t have asked for a better Christmas if I had to be away from home. I’m incredibly grateful to all of Lucy’s family, and they’ve been beyond welcoming!

School starts in about two weeks, and I’m not really sure what I’ll do for the rest of the time off, but I’m just glad that school isn’t starting school. One of my teachers actually just emailed me my syllabus for one of my classes next semester, Theatre and Social Change, oh goodie. She’s an American teacher too, she was a co teacher in my acting class last semester… what I don’t understand is how I came out to England, and am now getting taught by an American!?

Anyway, this is me signing off. We’re watching Who’s Line is it Anyway (the British version… and I’m laughing my head off). Have a happy and safe New Years, everyone! Miss you all!