Happy Holidays from Down Under

It’s a nearly daily occurrence that I log on to Instagram and see someone in a bathing suit, or at most, a tank top. Based on my current can’t-feel-my-fingers-or-toes-status, I get instantly cold for them and wonder why on earth they don’t look freezing. In fact they look quite happy and relaxed in their limited attire. That’s when I remember, it’s not winter in the northern hemisphere.

It’s finally winter in New Zealand, and while it’s much more mild than I’m used to, you have to keep in mind that I haven’t experienced winter since the ORIGINAL polar vortex in January 2014. It’s been 18 months since I’ve been this cold (with the exception of the second night of the Routeburn). 

But really... I can't feel my hands

Since you now understand my daily confusion on the weather, you might understand why every holiday this year has felt just a little bit… different. Since I've been in the country for NINE MONTHS, I’ve been here for pretty much all of the major holidays. I haven’t talked much about them, so I thought I’d do a brief recap.

It all started with…..

Halloween

Halloween was the end of my 3^rd week in New Zealand. Also the night I met Cam. I think the first thing I said to him was “Why don’t you celebrate Halloween here?” How very cultured of you, Erin. New Zealand does celebrate Halloween, he told me, but without all the fan-fare of the American celebration. I did miss the fun of dressing up for Halloween thing, but since I still assumed I’d be home in two months, I didn’t think much more about it. Additionally, spring/fall weather is essentially the same in both hemispheres, so I wasn’t too put off.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving wasn’t a major shock either though. Since my family’s tradition is to celebrate Thanksgiving in Florida, I merely substituted Pelican Bay for Manly Beach in Sydney, when I was visiting my friend Charlie. I was in absolute heaven and remember thinking on my last morning in Sydney, “It’s December 1^st and I’m kayaking in the Sydney Harbour. Life is good.” I got to see my mom that day , have her visit New Zealand for two weeks, and then it would only be a week before I was home for good. And because of all that, I wasn’t terribly homesick for that one either.

Thanksgiving Day on the Beach in Sydney

Count on Sydney to make you forget it's Thanksgiving in America

Christmas  

I did get to spend Christmas in the States with my family, but the build up to Christmas, that whole “holiday season” feeling was completely different in New Zealand. I was longing for snow, those snowflake lights by Columbus circle, wearing a hat, gloves, and a scarf while browsing the Columbus circle tents with my sisters. But in New Zealand none of that was part of the deal. One thing I had never considered, was that when there's dayling until most people are getting ready for bed, there’s no need for Christmas lights. They're just not part of the holiday culture here. I didn’t realize what a big part of the holiday season Christmas lights could be, but without them, listening to Christmas music felt very out of place.

Can't complain about the temperature though
TTNZ Girls at the TT Christmas Party

Luckily I wasn’t the only person who missed mid-winter Christmas..

Fast forward six months, and it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas (everrrrrywhere you go..). The temperatures are dropping and people are starting to moan of a long winter ahead – must be Christmas, right? Well it’s June, so I couldn’t be more wrong. Luckily I work almost exclusively with Americans, so my workmates and I did what all good Americans, living deep in the southern hemisphere would do – throw a half Christmas party.

Christmas tree complete with presents, lights, ornaments AND snow! Well done, Kiki

James is still Scrooge - even in June

Just like our first Christmas party (in December) we had a white elephant gift exchange, and we all enjoyed some mulled cider and a fine Christmas feast. Kiki, one of the hosts, got a Christmas tree with decorated lights and made beautiful paper snowflakes. Kiki and I even got dressed up for the occasion! It was the perfect time of year to celebrate Christmas, until I turned on facebook to see photos of friends in bikinis (always confusing).

Just two girls celebrating a mid winter Christmas. Everything's normal here.

4^th of July – And that brings us to our most recent holiday. Possibly the last major holiday I’ll spend abroad. 

The Fourth of July really hit home for me. I knew going in to this season (summer/winter – it’s all very confusing) that I was going to get really sad once people started going to beach houses on the shore and having barbeques with their families and friends.

Missing this guy and his love of the grill and the Pittsburgh Pirates

The Fourth of July is probably THE weekend of the year, where I should’ve stayed off facebook, but I also wanted to see what everyone was doing. I wanted to see my parents’ quiet weekend with Sophie puppy, my oldest sister’s weekend in Charleston with her friends, and my other sisters weekend at the beach with her boyfriend. It all sounded like so much fun and I wanted, if only through social media, to be a part of it.

Luckily, a workmate gave me the kick in the butt that I needed to survive my first Fourth of July away from home. He nudged me towards the idea that I was the one, who needed to take initiative and do something, and “hey you know what? there are free barbeque stations in Hagley Park”. Well I looked it up and my workmate was right- there are free bbq stations, first come first serve (very convenient because no one else wants to barbeque in the middle of winter). Kiki said she would bring an assortment of outdoor games, and I remembered that someone had received a bocce ball set during the half-Christmas gift exchange, so I asked them to bring that. Cam agreed to barbeque and before I knew it, I had organized a Fourth of July party.

This makes me happy. Thank you, Cam!

4th of July in the Park!

And the verdict is... he loves his hotdog with HEINZ ketchup and YELLOW mustard.

The day of the Fourth ended up being really fun! About 10 people showed up to the barbeque station- Cam made a beautiful American feast, Leo brought KFC covered in buffalo wing sauce so that we could have buffalo wings, and Domingo, our resident office Hondoran, brought rice and beans (which ended up being eated on Doritos due to lack of cutlery and because America). We all ate, played games, and enjoyed being in the company of other Americans on such a big holiday. It was really special to me to have such a successful American holiday all the way over here.

So, while the feeling hasn’t always been what I’m used to for each holiday, the holidays here have been a success. Though the weather tried its best to confuse me, the people around me have made this (three-quarters-of-a)-year incredibly special to me. Big thanks to everyone near and far who have kept me sane for the last nine months :)