The holiday season from Thanksgiving to Christmas is my favorite time of the year because of traditions, festivities, my birthday, family, friends, and the spirit of the holidays. If you don’t celebrate Christmas or Thanksgiving you can still feel the change in the air; you can feel the happiness of everyone and see the joy in children’s faces. Even in Thailand, a Buddhist country, I can feel the holiday spirit. Everywhere I look there are decorations, trees, lights, sign’s for New Years/Christmas, and carols in the stores. My school is even decorated with trees, blow up Santa’s, and this morning they even sang Christmas Carol’s and did a Christmas assembly. You can see the photos of my school and areas of Bangkok below.
Celebrating the holidays in a foreign country can be difficult especially if that country doesn’t celebrate the holidays you are used to celebrating (such as Thanksgiving and Christmas) and the homesickness that comes from celebrating without your family. This is my first holiday season without my family (both Thanksgiving and Christmas) and it is a little harder than I would have thought. As I am from New England I am used to these holidays being colder and as I moved to a hot country it doesn’t feel like the holidays. Most days it is 80+ degrees outside with humidity of some sort instead of the 30-40 degrees I am used to at this time of the year. It makes missing the holiday festivities a little easier until I start craving snow.
Most people had not heard of Thanksgiving unless it was taught to them in school and some only know of it because you eat a lot of food. I was able to teach them the reason for Thanksgiving, some traditional foods, and about the seasons of giving to charities and giving thanks to family/friends. I had my students draw a Thanksgiving Feast with any foods they wanted as long as there was a turkey on it. Some of these students are extremely talented.
As there is not a holiday between the beginning of November and Christmas; Christmas music starts playing super early in November and some places even have their Christmas decorations up and for sale. It was weird hearing the music playing that early especially in stores but most did not start playing it constantly until December and then I heard it in almost every store I went to.
When December 1st came around all of the stores started putting up decorations especially if they did not have them up already. Most put up trees, lights, Santa’s, bears, had a theme to the decorations, or have Happy New Year sign’s. Music is played constantly in some main stores such as malls, food stores, and Starbucks. The atmosphere is abuzz with Christmas, the people here are excited by the decorations, but I am excited for the spirit of it all (the movies, songs, smells of cookies). I am able to watch movies, listen to the songs, but unfortunately, I can’t make cookies -> if I could I would make so many cookies.
Celebrating my birthday in Thailand was a wonderful time, filled with love and new people in my life who care about me. My department at school brought lunch for everyone, cake, sang me Happy Birthday, and gave me some presents. I was beyond shocked by how much there was and how much love the department had for someone who just started a month ago. Some students even brought me dessert as a birthday gift! I felt so lucky to be celebrating in a school that cares so much. I have always wanted to work in a place that made people feel special on their birthdays and this school did all of that and much more. They made me feel welcomed. That night some friends and I went to a local bar to celebrate my birthday as well. Now in the US, if you go to the bar to celebrate your birthday, usually some people might buy you a drink or two. When I celebrated with friends here some people brought me drinks but the biggest surprise was that people brought me cake; the whole bar sang to me and ate cake! It was wonderful and I never felt so blessed celebrating my birthday and because I was away from home it felt even better. I hade a great time celebrating with everyone one in Thailand and the only thing that would have made it better was if friends from the US could have been here.
The period between Thanksgiving and New Years is my favorite time of the year for the reasons above and because I normally get snow and cold weather. This year it is different and harder. I do not have snow but this week it is colder and makes it feel like home (60 instead of 80-I don’t even need to have the AC on). Without the snow and temperatures below freezing it does not feel like the Christmas’s I am used to but the spirit is still alive here between the decorations and songs in the stores.
With the cold weather, I start thinking of home and wishing I was there in the snow so I can go boarding or throw snowballs for my dog to catch. Instead, I am teaching in colder weather and missing home during the holidays. I am writing this and wishing for a cup of hot chocolate while watching the snowfall and smelling the Christmas Cookies baking. I have settled for writing this with a cup of coffee and watching the lake move in the direction the wind blows. Instead of Christmas Cookie smells, I smell Thai foods and desserts. Even if I don’t know what it is, the smells are still delicious.
Celebrating the holidays alone and knowing that I am not getting in a car to drive 2+ hrs in Long Island traffic does make feel blue. I have learned to cope with these feelings my sharing the traditions and joy of the holidays with my students, keeping busy, visiting friends and traveling, and enjoying myself. I have gone to Chiang Rai, Pattaya, and saw new sites in Bangkok with friends. I constantly go to the gym to work out, hang out with the friends that I have made in the village for drinks or dinner, or to the movies with co-workers (Star Wars was an amazing movie and 10/10 would recommend!!). Having things planned in advance or even last minute has helped with being homesick because I am going out and keeping busy, see people, chill, and have adventures (the next two weekends are full of travel and holiday fun with friendsàHarry Potter exhibits and Chiang Mai).
I can’t wait to celebrate the upcoming holidays in Thailand because I know it will be a holiday season I can never forget.
