Christmas Cheer

Ok, so my holiday wasn't the best this year, to be honest.. Many of the people I know are expats from other countries, and all returned home for the holidays.  Of the friends who were left in Berlin, most already had plans. Either having their own dinner party, or being hosted by another.. And I was hesitant to invite myself along.

I had an amazing brunch with an amazing person.. But that only takes up so much of the day, and I was back home around 6pm.

So, on the 24th, I listened to Christmas music. I tried (and failed) to call my grandma. Several times.  This technology thing only works if you pick up the phone, Grandma! So after leaving her a holiday voicemail, I made a healthy dinner and hunkered down in my bed with my laptop-fueled Christmas movie marathon and a bottle of wine.

Was it kind of sad? Yes. But as an expat in a totally new country and city, sometimes these things happen. As an expat you have to be self-sufficient and not mind doing things alone, at least some of the time. So while a bit sad, I was still happy knowing that I am here in Berlin, that I have friends and family who love me from afar, and that I am fortunate enough to have a nice warm bed to snuggle into.

Honestly, I was more disappointed that it has been unseasonably warm and we didn't have a white Christmas. Heck we didn't even have a rainy Christmas. It was just kind of overcast.

The 25th was better. My roommate woke up and we had a bottle of wine with lunch to celebrate Christmas ("My breakfast!" he said, toasting me). Then we took a nap and woke up to prepare dinner for my ex coworker Andy, who was in the same boat as me -- an expat with nothing special to do on Christmas Day.

We had a great antipasti course (pickled garlic, roasted red peppers, bruschetta, olives, and cream cheese-stuffed hot peppers) and fun conversation

Cooking hard for the guys

Thumbs up for my dinner.. Chicken and cannelloni beans in a white wine sauce with seared green beans. Plus some bread from the Turkish bakery downstairs, because they were the only ones open on Christmas Day 

Later on we started getting kind of crazy due to the excessive flow of wine...

According to the timestamp, this picture was taken around 2am..? Andy was eating Nutella and got some on his teeth so I had to join in too.  And now I'm putting it on the internet for you to see as well