Happy Christmakuh

So my first report is on my Christmas-Chanukah weekend in Nha Trang.

I'l start this blog entry by stating my initial goals for that weekend: lay on the beach, soak up some sunshine, and not do ANYTHING.

Sadly, due to an unfortunate turn in the weather, it was cold, grey, a bit rainy, and only slightly warmer than Ha Tinh. Definitely not beach weather.

Thus, Plan B was to party really hard with a bunch of back-packers that Kelly and I met, and proceed to have the strangest, wildest Christmas-Chanukah celebration that I ever expect to have in my life.

Christmas Eve began when we bought Santa hats on the street.

And then we played some really serious games of pool.

And then our friend, Tanner, who lives in Nha Trang, took us to this wonderful hidden gem [by that I mean that it wasn't in the guidebooks for tourists] of a restaurant where we had spring rolls, Nha Trang-style. As always, with anything fried and wrapped up with vegetables, it was DELICIOUS.

The rest of the ex-pat community in Nha Trang was equally excited [read: drunk] for the holiday season. This man hired a cyclo driver, dressed in the Santa suit, and handed out flowers, saying "Merry Christmas!" to everyone he passed by.

We also went to a bar where there were jugglers playing with fire. Naturally, this kind of activity fascinates drunk Christmas revelers.

Kelly, Violet, and I also went to an upscale Vietnamese beach party that was Christmas-themed.

Of course we danced.

And took pictures in the water before getting yelled at by the security guards.

Christmas morning began with a trip to Nha Trang's famous mineral mud baths and a day at the mineral pool resort complex. Then, naturally, a lunch of waffles with strawberry ice cream. I should note that almost EVERY meal that we ate in Nha Trang was western-style. Lasagna, ravioli, pizza, burgers, and Indian food were the staples of the weekend. And dessert after almost every meal (including breakfast). Hey, it's vacation!

Christmas night, which coincided with the 6th night of Chanukah, was hilarious. Kelly and I decided to celebrate the holidays with our new backpacker friends, Phu and Nate. They managed to find a miniature Christmas tree, and Kelly and I created a make-shift menorah. Yes, you are seeing this correctly. It is made from birthday candles stuck in a bowl of rice. I bet that was not what the Maccabbees had in mind...

I got to trim my first Christmas tree!

In retrospect, the use of fire next to all of those alcoholic drinks can't have been safe............

I wrote out the Chanukah candle blessings for Kelly, and she sang along with me as I lit the Menorah.

Multi-denominationalism at its finest.

And then Brittanye joined us in the holiday spirit!

Overall, it was probably the weirdest Christmas/Chanukah I will ever celebrate. No, it did not beat Christmas vacation in Boca Raton with all the Sarshik descendants, but it was equally (if not more) wacky, and I was able to feel a sense of community and love, despite being in a foreign country. Isn't that all that the holiday season is really about?