Merry Christmas to everyone, happy holidays to everyone else! Denmark has been snow covered for almost two weeks now, and the sun is currently brightly shining over the sparkling, melting terrain! Perfect weather for yesterday - my first white Christmas - and perfect weather for today - no more snow! It turns out that I'm not a snow person; it's just nice for the first two or three days. I even brought a bike to Denmark thinking that I could get tough and handle Danish winters, but I have humbled myself!
I got a facebook comment from someone last night asking if Santa came to the AIK yesterday or not, and I was suddenly reminded that people get gifts on Christmas! How can someone from such a capitalist society forget that?! I guess everyone has been talking about being with family or loved ones so much for Christmas - since most of the people I know here have to cross country borders or even oceans to be with their loved ones - that other parts of the holiday have paled in comparison to being with people. At some point about three or four Christmases ago, I dried up like an old prune and totally lost the "holiday spirit" and haven't been excited about Christmas dinners, setting up and decorating a tree, getting gifts, Christmas music (a double egghh to that), or anything like that. Especially this year, I had no one to spent it with, aside from the happy couple the room below me who probably wanted something special, and it didn't bother me at all. I had a great day! I went out in the snow, organized and uploaded over 300 pictures, downloaded about four days' worth of music, made delicious food, enjoyed the quiet of my own company... sometimes it freaks me out how much I love being reclusive.
It seems, though, that I make the perfect solo traveler - enjoys being alone but also adapts well to and thrives in new social situations. Unfortunately, I don't travel well with others - easily suffocates when in close company with others.
Well, the point is, how did this happen that I am so bereft of any spirit whatsoever? I feel like social anomaly, considering how other people get around the holidays. More importantly, it doesn't bother me that I have no holiday spirit. I'm not bitter, nor do I refuse to celebrate with others... it just doesn't mean much to me. Things will be different next year when I'm celebrating with my niece(s) and nephew. Children have the magical holiday touch on me.
Everyone is gone now, other than Alessandra downstairs and Emrah at the end of the hall. The AIK is discomfortingly quiet and lacking in drunk Danes and Daft Punk being played at lunchtime. Aalborg loses a bit of its charm when everyone who made me fall in love with this life is gone. I've found it exceedingly difficult to stay in the present because I'm in between two modes of life. My Aalborg life has sort of left me and is more or less over, and my Atlanta life is just beckoning me prematurely. I've been doing my best to enjoy this alone time while I have it, and in general I've done a lot of things that I needed to do and haven't minded the unoccupied time. At the same time, I stray into thoughts of what I want to do when I get home or how much I am missing this or that from the last semester. Here and now. That's all. Here and Now.
I have a lot of things I'd like to talk about, but I think I'll wait until the timing is right. My life is about to get very different, and I am so excited to grow with these changes!
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