All I Want for Christmas

Currently, I’m sitting in the Entebbe Airport terminal wondering how in the world my bag continues to just explode all over the floor whenever I open it.  Let’s back up.  Maybe some of you don’t know that I’ll be spending the holidays in Europe!  Yes, Peace Corps Volunteers get vacation, and we’re actually pretty particular about when we’ll take it.  We only get 48 days of vacation during our whole service, and we all want to travel, see friends and family and just take a break.  For this particular trip, I decided “shell out” 23 days.  Wowzers right?!  Thankfully, we get Christmas, Boxing Day and New Year’s as holidays, and we don’t have to claim the first and last days because we’ll be travelling.  So technically, I only asked for 19 days.  Phew.

Long before starting my service, I decided to not come home (home home) for a vacation.  I thought it would be way too hard to fall back into American life for a few weeks, and have to come back.  I don’t mean to say that I’m unhappy in any way, but leaving the first time was miserable enough.  In fact, due to this very strict rule, my older brother is actually delaying his wedding until I come home in 2013 (love you and Bridge both!).  When we started thinking about a trip over the holidays, we decided that Europe was a happy medium.  I could take a breather from my life here, get some good food and still not feel like I’m back home.

Despite my logical reasons for not going back home, I still can’t believe I’m missing Christmas.  For the last week, it’s been so hot that I feel like I’ve been melting, so I have to keep reminding myself that it’s even December, let alone three days until Christmas.  I was a little disoriented when my mom told me about how she still decided to put candy canes on the Christmas tree this year, and (surprise surprise) the dogs still tried to eat them.  Only this time, she put tinsel on the tree, so she knows can catch the dogs “silver-nosed” because the tinsel sticks.  It’s a silly story, but it made my heart ache.  Suddenly, it hit me that, oh yeah, I won’t be there.  Even though Christmas has never been quite as magical once I found out that Santa wasn’t real, I still get goose bumps when I wake up on Christmas morning.  It’s all about tradition, and I’ll be missing ours this year.

Although my present this year won’t be wrapped under a tree, I can’t think of anything I could want more.  Tomorrow I’ll be meeting Nathan, my boyfriend, in the London Heathrow airport.  We haven’t seen each other in over ten months, and no, video skype doesn’t count, but we’ve only done that a handful of times anyway.  Don’t let anyone tell you different: long distance sucks.  International long distance?  They need a new word for how much it sucks.  I keep hearing all these people bellyache that they live in LA but their boyfriend lives in Dallas.  Big whoop.  You skype all the time, you see each other every eight weeks.  I have no sympathy for you.  Ok, a little, but not very much.  Now, let me make myself clear, or I’m going to seriously upset someone.  Nathan and I are great- we don’t suck.  Just the situation.  Of course we’ve had some low points, some very stupid fights and some drama, it’s to be expected.  It is a very frustrating situation.  Despite the odds (we started with 10 long distance relationships in my training class.  We’re down to three remaining, so the odds are not good), we’ve done surprisingly well especially considering that Nathan was not a phone person in February, and I live in a developing country.  I don’t think I can put into words just how excited I am to finally just be with him.  On the phone, you always have to keep talking.  Why would you pay 16 cents per minute to just sit in silence?

I know what some of you are picturing.  It’s going to be some movie worthy reunion in the airport- you must not know me very well.  But maybe romantic comedy worthy?  Nathan lands first, but he’s the one who has the luggage.  It’s not like I own any London-ready clothes to bring with me!  So, yes, my wonderful boyfriend has been forced to carry warm clothes, boots, face wash, candy and all kinds of goodies for me.  I actually am starting to wonder if he had any space at all for his own things.  I land in a completely different terminal, but it was decided that I should come to Nathan’s because he’s got all the bags.  Logical right?  Well, I told Nathan.  “Hey, if you see me walking towards you, you have to stay with the bags!”  Yeah, it would suck if they got stolen.  But can you imagine if someone called a bomb threat?  I really don’t want to spend my first night in jail!  Nathan was none too pleased.  He’s way more romantic than I am, so this completely went against all his beliefs.  My mom also thought I was being way too dramatic, but suggested I could be the one running to him.  Considering that I’ll have at least 40 lbs in my backpack and 15 lbs in my purse, the best I could probably manage is a waddle.

I keep talking about Europe Europe Europe, but what am I actually doing?  I’m spending 10 days in London with Nathan, and then we’re flying to Florence to meet my mom and younger brother for 13 days.  Remember Grant from pre-Peace Corps?  His Uga-stache has really matured, so I’ll be sure to post an update on that front.

Although it’s going to be amazing to be in Europe, and after I post this, I bet I’ll get at least one email telling me to go to this museum or go to this restaurant, I’m not going to Europe for the sights.  Sure, it’ll be great to see and do somethings, but I just want to spend time with the people I love and miss.  It’ll be hard to leave them again, but I’ll do it knowing that I’ve only got a little over a year left.  We already know what Peace Corps like, well I do at least.  I can do another year.

Merry Christmas and happy New Year’s!