Surreal Christmas

Outside the screen door, palm leaves in my yard rustle in the breeze. Monks from the nearby Buddhist monastery chant all through the night, and not a creature is stirring, not even a gecko. I’m in my shorts and flip-flops. So much for dashing through the snow and roasting chestnuts on an open fire.

In effort to bring in Christmas while I’m in this country Somewhere in Asia, I’m doing all I can to make this Asian, tropical locale feel festive. Eggnog’s out, since there is no cream to be found. (Cows aren’t part of the pastoral rice paddies here in this country.) And since I can’t find butter anywhere, would margarine work for my hot buttered rum cocktail?

Yesterday, at a local Japanese store, I found a fake Chinese-made Christmas tree and, being the Yank that I am, I carried it home (in two parts, mind you!). I plan to decorate it with stringed popcorn (if I can FIND corn to pop!) It looks sort of real, doesn't it? I think they put too much green in the plastic batch, but I'll do in a holiday pinch. The whole thing was under 20 bucks. I'm playin' Christmas songs on the ipod, and baking gingersnaps (with real ginger, not the powdered kind!), and searching high and low for green creme de menthe for the first annual Fa-la-la Christmas Cocktail Hour hosted by yours truly.

It’s surreal, spending Christmas abroad in a tropical country. (Check out a previous post I made, Advent in Asia.) Two years ago I brought in New Years on the banks of the Irrawaddy River; this year, I’ll bring in New Year’s in the foothills of the Himalayas, trekking with Pirate in the northern part of this country near the Chinese border. I’m ready for some cold weather. Temps will get below freezing at night, so I’ll be using my down mummy bag for sleeping in village bamboo huts.

Happy holidays, everyone! If I'm lucky, I might see some snow on my trek north. Whatever the case, for those of you who are blessed with a white Christmas, make a snowball in my honor to throw high in the frosty air!

Comments

[Jeremy]

And happy holidays to you, somewhere in Asia.

[Miss Sicily]

merry christmast shamash!
enjoy the nice weather and the sun, we in the northen hemisphere all envy you!

[Hyacinth]

Merry Christmas to you Shamash from the girls in northern New Mexico who miss you and wish you were lunching with us and slogging thru the ice and snow. In case you can't find the creme de menthe, here's another possible recipe for your party: Nymphomaniac: 1 shot spiced rum, 1/4 shot peach schnapps and 1/4 shot Mailbu. How about that?

[the bluest eyes]

Dear Shamash! Belated Season Greetings! Try an original recipe from the polish boarder,"mad dog": raspberry sirup, one shot of vodka, tabasco, in this order. Try not more then 3. and enjoy a "deluxe" hangover! All the best for the year to come, hope to see u down there in Asia soon ;-))

[tish g]

Howdy Shamash! hope you had a wonderfully green Christmas and a very Merry New Year!

(we had a Wet Christmas in New England. All that non-existent global warming kept temps well above freezing. The ski resorts are none too happy, I can assure you...)