christmas in china

Celebrating Christmas in China was not that different actually. It was still a holiday (though the Chinese don't celebrate it) and I got to spend it with the ones I care about. Franck and Chris were the only ones that didn't go somwhere else. Sarah went to Singapore to see a friend, Albert had to go back to England and Davide went to Thailand. So, the three of us hung out with our friends and went to a French restaurant for Christmas Eve dinner. It was really nice and relaxing. We had great food and better wine. And of course, we all made Christmas toasts and such. I had almost forgotten that I was in China. The fact that I was in a foreign country that does not celebrate Christmas at all didn't strike me at all. All of us just hung out for the rest of the night, drinking some more wine. Christmas in China wasn't bad.

What struck me was a weird was the fact that everywhere in Shanghai has Christmas decorations. My school, other schools, shops, office buildings and et cetera. Like I said before, this is a country that doesn't celebrate Christmas. The obvious reason is that there is a strong Western influence in Shanghai. But I was kinda hoping that I wouldn't see as many Christmas decorations; to really feel like that I was in a foreign country. There are even Chinese people who don't know how to say "Hello" in English, but will say "Merry Christmas" to you. There are cookies in the shape of Christmas trees in bakeries. This was not foreign at all. It felt just like home.

Has Shanghai become home for me? Am I that comfortable here? Hmmm.............