I know I said we were done with guest posts for the time being, but fantastic bloggers keep coming out of the woodwork wanting to make a contribution. Today we’ve got Hannah, another of the Sydney Travel Tribe, discussing her plans for a Christmas abroad in Australia this year. Watch this space for an entry from Byron from Byron and His Backpackers about his experiences celebrating Christmas in Morocco in the not too distant future.
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When I decided to move to Sydney earlier this year I knew I would be making sacrifices and missing certain events back home. I got teary eyed looking through my cousins wedding photos on Facebook. It was tough seeing my family together, knowing that day wouldn’t be a memory I could share with them.
Despite those moments of homesickness, I really haven’t been facing this Christmas season with much fear. In fact I wasn’t worried about spending my first Christmas away from home until everyone started asking me about it. I began to wonder — maybe spending the holidays abroad will be tougher than I think?
A close friend from home is here visiting me over Christmas through the New Year. It’s nice to have her here when I do start to feel homesick. It also means a lot to me that she is spending her first Christmas away from home with me, especially because this trip to Australia is her first time out of the country. We are going to Melbourne for a long weekend and spending a week in Queensland traveling from Whitsundays to Cairns.
I guess it also helps that it hardly feels like the holiday season to me. I don’t know that I’ll ever associate warm weather with Christmastime, but I can’t really complain about sunshine. Hot chocolate, walking through blizzards and days stuck inside with warm sweaters and socks aren’t a part of Christmas in Australia. Santa is going to need to bring a change of clothes so he doesn’t overheat his big red suit when he arrives.
We’ve made plans to have a cookout on Shelly Beach with a big group of friends on Christmas day. While I’ll be missing the traditions at home I can’t help but feel blessed to have new traditions and memories while living abroad. It’s exciting and life here constantly delivers changes and new surprises. I think I’ll enjoy spending the holidays in Australia this year. A Christmas BBQ on the beach is a new adventure.
