Though Jeremy has spent many holiday's away from his family, this was the first time I had ever spent Christmas away from my family. We'd already been here two weeks and it was time to celebrate Thanksgiving. The base offered a nice lunch and dinner buffet for everyone and their families. The decorations were beautiful. Tons of fruit were hand carved into elaborate displays like birds, turkey, flowers, and many other things. We signed up to serve but there were too many people so were unable to. We had a little lunch then had a nice traditional Thanksgiving at one of the Chiefs' houses (the one Jer is taking over for). It was great food and nice to meet some new people.
Base was decorated for Christmas and there was a lighting of the tree ceremony which I missed because I was sick with a cold. It was beautiful to look at at night. The main walkway was lined with lights and lighted displays, snowmen, Santa, reindeer, etc. Though most locals are Muslim, there is a population of Christians here. 10 years ago when Jer was here you wouldn't see Christmas trees, decorations, or lights anywhere except specialty stores that sell it. Over the years the locals have become more and more tolerant and cater to the large western population. Most hotels and restaurants had a Christmas tree and some decorations. Waiters/waitresses would wear Santa or reindeer hats and wish us a Merry Christmas. Most people in the states don't even do that anymore, it's usually "Happy Holidays". A lot of places even had Christmas music playing. A couple of the hotels even decorated the outside with lights. It was nice. Made it feel more like home and more like Christmas. Christmas in San Diego anyways since it is still so warm here for winter.
We again signed up to serve Christmas dinner on base and this time we were able to do it. Willie, Jer, and I served for two hours then were able to enjoy some of the food ourselves. They had all the traditional foods and some live music. It was a pretty low key affair for us this year. Our shipment arrived on Christmas and we were able to skype with my parents and sister. We were later able to skype with Jer's parents and sister and brother-in-law who were spending Christmas in Oregon.
Living out of a suitcase for the last few months was getting old so when all of our stuff arrived it was like getting a lot of Christmas presents! We didn't set up a tree or any decorations but we did get some nice gifts. Jer got a PS3 from me and he got me a bike which I got to go pick out myself. We also got a Bose system for our new place. We got a lot of nice things from family as well a lot of Christmas cards and letters.
New Years Eve we decided to go out to a club called Buffalo's. We met up with Willie and his boss and one of his friends. A lot of the clubs/bars offered a flat fee of 20-30BD for unlimited drinks or drinks and food. All of the places have live bands that sing popular American music. Buffalo's was doing a Moulan Rouge theme so instead of being dressed in cowboy attire everyone was dressed in corsets and such. It was nice to have unlimited drinks but the line to get a drink was a nightmare. Not sure it was worth the money. It was a nice evening though and nice to ring in the new year with some great people.
We are planning to make it home for Christmas next year but it will depend on a lot of things. Jer's job is very demanding and it is an expensive trip but if we can make it happen we will. We are looking forward to what 2011 will bring and I look forward to sharing it with you all!
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