Soul Highway

Christmas, the American way

I decided to finally break out of the writing lull, and so I’m back. The past three weeks had been quite interesting. At the end of 2005, husband and I had concurred that this year would be our year. The objective was to close the 10,000 miles or so distance between us and that, along with acquiring a new last name, had been the year’s highlights. I guess I should be grateful to the USCIS for making those possible.

Christmas in the US is a little tame compared to how we celebrate it in the Philippines. On Christmas Eve I talked to a couple of Filipinas online and both had the same thing to say: “It’s different.” You see, we’re used to the celebratory racket and explosions, crowded streets, homes overflowing with visitors (invited or otherwise), dawn masses (the Philippines being predominantly Catholic) and a feast at 12 midnight which we call Noche Buena.

I did manage to attend mass on the 23rd of December in Maryland, dragging along my Adventist husband. We met up with another couple (Filipino-Ethiopian) and their four-month old daughter. The sermon, delivered by a Filipino priest, was disappointing and it was only inevitable that the ride home would be accompanied with a discussion on religion.

December 24 was all about relaxing and being lazy, quite the opposite of the fuss that occurs in most homes in the Philippines on this day. And so for most of the day, we played games (we got hooked on Caesar IV), watched TV, talked with family and friends on the phone, ate, baked cookies, and waited for Santa to swing by Door 722. If you have kids at home, it is guaranteed that you will be forcibly roused from sleep early morning on December 25. Our eight-year-old resident picked 7 a.m. to do just that, announcing that Santa had left him a letter. There is nothing like the excitement you see on a child’s face as he rips away the gift wrap. Eyes wide, followed by a scream.

Serious business: Dad on Caesar IV, son on Neopets.

In the afternoon we took a drive-by tour around DC. There is still so much to see. Georgetown was an interesting place and I was quite surprised to see the number of people I saw on the streets. It reminded me of pedestrian traffic in Cebu City. One day I’d like to explore that area a little more. Another place which reminds me of home is Old Town Alexandria. If not for the cold weather, I’d love to go walking around this historic town and check out its numerous shops and boutiques. The sight of small sidewalk cafes and restaurants is reminiscent of some dining hangouts in Cebu.

We culminated Christmas Day with a 10-pound roast turkey. That is “small” in their standards. To me, its sheer size is just astounding. Being that there are only three of us in the house, I wonder how many days it would take us to consume the whole thing. Well, I hope everyone had a merry Christmas!

Posted by fleur at December 28, 2006 05:46 AM