New Adventures at Christmas Time

Every year at Christmas time I generally spend a lot of time indoors playing card games or going to the movies and doing things like that. Of course turkey and other holiday goodies have their place but what would it be like to have Christmas in a completely different way. What if you went swimming around instead of staying inside? What if you got a sunburn because you stayed outside way too long? Christmas would definitely be very different.

So here I am in the Middle East and I am loving it. Everything is different. I thought that maybe there would be something I'm used to out here, but everything is new. I don't really know too much about Islamic custom, but I'm pretty fascinated with how these people live. It is so different from the way that I'm used to living. Anyhow, This Christmas I'm swimming, hiking, and spending a lot of time outdoors. It is so refreshing to spend all this time just outside and busy.

It almost seems like I got transported to some magical wonderland that just invites me to do everything. It's kind of funny but I have spent more time this year outside of the U.S. than inside it. I don't really know how that works out but one thing is clear. I'm not giving blood anytime soon. I've already racked up six years outside of the country and counting. Apparently I'm a threat for mad cow disease, but despite that I'm doing just fine.

So I've come to the conclusion that I love the U.S. a lot. This place is fun and has that magical ring to it, but I do feel like the U.S. is my home. There is a lot to be said about having a home. There are some people that associate a place with home. They live in one place for a really long time and get so used to it that they can't really consider other places as being home. For me I've moved around enough times that I stopped associating myself with the places, but I do associate with the people. I have to be able to feel at home in so many places just because the people there made it an amazing place. I could meet wonderful people and make strong friends that last. Here I just know my family. I feel at home with them, but outside of that little circle things get complicated. I don't know anyone else really. But I do have a home and I am grateful for that.

Christmas is a wonderful time with its own magic. This is my favorite time of year and I am just excited to see what lies in store.