This is our second Christmas away from our extended families and can always bring a few sombre moments where you begin to realize some of the things you gave up as an expat. Last year we spent the day with our wonderful friends from Italy and Greece who landed in Perth around the same time we did.
This year we got a true Aussie Christmas. My friend Steve and his amazing family (all born and raised in Western Australia) opened their home to us for a beautiful meal, great conversation and plenty for the kids to do.
I will honestly never get used to Christmas without snow. It simply does not compute in my brain. For well over 30 years I've been programmed to bundle up to go shopping for presents. There are lights on all of the houses and everything outside is covered in Snow. The closest thing in Perth is the picture below taken on a day that was well above 30 Celsius.
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| The closest thing we get to snow....foam bubbles at London Court, Perth CBD |
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| Aussie Toboggoning |
So back to the meal:
Ham
Chicken
Natural Oysters (Southern Australia)
Prawns - massive massive prawns
A selection of salads including a killer asparagus one
Enough deserts to require a prescription for Lipitor
A giant esky (cooler) of Beer and ice
The meal was awesome.
That said though I think it's just a tribute to the Australian way. Steve's family, most of whom had never met us, opened up their home to us and treated us like we were family. I have to say, that is my experience since being in Perth...Australians are just SO welcoming of anyone into their homes.
Thanks to Steve and his family for a wonderful time and making us forget for a short time just how far away our family is.
If you're an expat how do you spend the holidays when far from family?
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