Christmas Chinese Style!

The family and I flew to Houston on Christmas Eve to see my grandmother and most of my mother's siblings and their children. The airport was surprisingly scarce; we pretty much sauntered through security and throuth the gate right onto the plane. The jet was incredibly cramped. It was one of the few times my short stature came in handy. Anyone taller than 5'8" had to hunch over to walk through the aisle. The 2.5 hour flight went reasonably quickly. I busied myself by reading Paula by Isabel Allende (my all-time favorite author), writing a few thoughts in my journal, daydreaming to sappy songs on my iPod, and scrutinizing the clouds and the shadows they cast.

When we arrived in Houston, most of us had already shedded what layers we had donned to protect us from the Ohio winter. Mom, however, was less fortunate. Bitterly afraid of the cold, she'd underestimated the Houston sun and was wearing thermal underwear, a turtle neck, a sweater, two pairs of socks, and a coat. Hahaha...poor mom. She nearly passed out from the heat.

There's basically two things you can always expect when Chinese people get together: 1) Food. Constant food. Every minute of every hour that you are awake, expect to be swallowing something. 2) Hours and hours of Mah Jiang! (For those of you who don't know what this is, Mah Jiang is a Chinese 4-person game that is less of a game and more of an essential part of any Chinese household worldwide. It's usually used for gambling.)

Our arrival was anticipated with a little pomp and a lot of food. I walked in the door, said "Hi ugly!" to my cousin Henry (the one who just recovered from meningitis) and proceeded to walk to the kitchen to ask for a drink. I told my Uncle David about Jason and showed him our pictures. My uncle is extremely into alternative analysis for future-telling, so he analyzed Jason's face and quickly concluded that I'd found a man with a good heart. He asked about our astrological signs, blood types, and read my palm. Apparently there's an ancient Chinese device based on numbers and statistics that, with just a few numbers about your birth, you can accurately foretell your future career, love life...even what your spouse will look like. So...now my homework when I get home is to figure out when and exactly at what time Jason and I were born...and see how we match up. I don't believe too much in this stuff, but I think it's fun. Plus I really want to see if my future spouse looks anything like Jason.

After we all ate dinner, we took a break from food to take way too many family pictures. Then my cousin Heidi and I handed out everyone's presents. I got a red carpet-worthy gold purse, trendy sunglasses (which my sister sat on and will have to be replaced, a lot of cash, perfume, and a Starbucks certificate. I can honestly say that I actually get a bigger kick out of giving presents than receiving them. When I give presents, I put a lot of thought into what I give, and the look on a person's face when they open the gift is so priceless to me. Getting presents last night was fun, but I'm REALLY looking forward to going home and giving my family and Jason's family their gifts.

This morning I woke up and the sun was shining through the window, the sky was a strong blue, and the grass was tall and green. Not a pinch of winter to be seen. If we hadn't exchanged presents the night before, I would have completely forgotten it was Christmas! I associate Christmas with snow, grey skies, icicles, fireplaces, and lots of layers. Who woulda thunkit to walk outside in a tee shirt and cords on Christmas day?! It makes me wonder...do the radio DJ's here have to censor the Christmas songs they play? After all, lots of people here have never seen snow. What would be the point of playing songs that sing about winter wonderlands and snowflakes? I can't even begin to imagine.

I decided to take full advantage of the sun by walking around the neighborhood with Henry. It was so weird...walking around in a light shirt, sucking on red jello, fanning myself because I'm hot...on Christmas?! Just to drive the reality home, I had Henry take pictures of me striking ridiculous poses out on my grandma's lawn with the blue sky beaming in the background. I figured it just wouldn't be right if I didn't go home with proof to make Jason even more jealous.

I think the one bad thing about Christmas is the you're all hyped up, but there's really not a whole lot to do. SO...my grandma took full advantage of the situation and fed us glorified Chinese food all day with the help of all my aunts and uncles. We had "tide me over until lunch" food, lunch, "tide me over until dinner" food, dinner, dessert, and "I'm still hungry" dessert.

Speaking of...I think I'm going to have my "just before bedtime" snack. Honey teddygrahams! Mmm...

Night night! Merry Christmas!