It’s not that I’m against experiencing new things, far from it, but for whatever reason I’ve found the run-up to Christmas in Australia both frustrating and upsetting. Call me crazy, but looking at cards, Christmas trees and decorations with fake snow on them when its 28 degrees and you’re wearing shorts and flip flops is just plain wrong. WRONG I TELL YOU.
Christmas just doesn’t really happen here in the same way it does back home. It’s like it’s not Christmas at all. The only clues are the massive Christmas tree in the CBD, the inflatable Santa on the side of the Sydney Convention Centre who looks like he’s trying to break in, and the inflatable Christmas crab (crab with a Santa hat – I kid you not) on top of the aquarium at Darling Harbour.
Since arriving on these sunny shores I’ve never really felt like I’ve missed home. Before leaving I’d been told that I would get two or three months into living here and suddenly the reality of being on the other side of the world would hit me… but I’m still waiting for that to happen.
Having said that, during this usually festive period, I’ve found myself missing really random things from home. Not ‘things’ as such, but more events. For example, yes I’ve been sad to miss out on people’s birthdays and parties, but what’s really had my gut wrenching is not being able to enjoy Firework Night, not being able to watch Children in Need or the rubbish (sorry, but it is) Royal Variety Performance, not being able to join in with Remembrance Sunday (I HATED not having a poppy to wear), and most of all… missing out on that wintery magical excitement you get during the run up to Christmas.
I’ll admit that I’ve never really been a big fan of Christmas so it may seem a little hypocritical me saying all this, but the thing I’ve found myself missing about all this is the thought that for ten straight days you’re going to be tucked up at home with your family, awesome food, no work to do and plenty of catching up with friends. This year I have none of them. Not that I’m complaining, I just mean that the one thing I usually look forward to is not an option, so I don’t know what to expect or how to feel. And most annoyingly, seeing friends from home all experiencing it all via Facebook while I am not can makes it REALLY hard to block out.
Apparently I’m not alone. Other Brits I’ve spoken to have said similar things. It’s not home as a whole that you miss, it’s missing out on the little traditions and annual events that you’re so familiar with that make you feel sad to be away.
Thank god I’m in Australia… after half an hour’s worth of feeling glum I generally take myself off to the end of my road where I can find this:
Homesickness doesn't last long here. There are so many awesome views here that you simply have to step outside in order to remember how lucky you are to be here.
Case in point: due to general frustration with the non-Christmassy vibes in Sydney, Christmas Eve arrived and I felt the only way to make things better was to revert to one of my favourite past times: nachos and cocktails at the Hard Rock Cafe. I grabbed two of my best friends here and off we went, nabbing a table on the balcony which turned out to be THE best location for the carol singing (again, so wrong – singing about snow when it’s still 25 degrees at 10pm?!) and fireworks over Darling Harbour.
A very non-Christmassy Christmas experience, but brilliant in its own way!
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