Christmas in Australia 24+25 Dec 2018

First of all, I can say that it is a very strange feeling to sit under the Christmas tree at 30 degrees Celsius. So there is no Christmas atmosphere, but it is still worth the experience.

24 Dec 2018: On Christmas Eve, I went out to dinner with Leonie in the evening. Our host families were also out with their families, but not in the traditional German way of going to church, but simply sitting or eating with their families. Leonie and I wanted to celebrate Christmas Eve together, so we decided to go out to eat. After we finished eating, we went to Leonie's place and picked up a poster for her parents, whom we picked up from the airport on 27 Dec.

25 Dec 2018: In Australia, gifts are only exchanged on the morning of 25 Dec, like in England or America. The day started very early for me and I talked to my family in the morning, where it was still Christmas Eve. After that, I got ready and went to my host family, who were almost finished with the gift exchange. The children received a water gun, bubble blowers, and chocolate from me, but my gift wasn't as exciting because the parents gave each of them an iPad and the other child got an Apple Watch (keep in mind the children are 6, 8, and 9 years old). They also received heaps of toys. I received wine and chocolate from the host parents, and I received a T-shirt and shorts from them. After the gift exchange, everyone got ready because we went to Bree's brother's house at 11:30 AM, where we met the rest of the family. There was lunch after the gift exchange, and then the children played in the pool. At 5 PM, we drove to Jono's mother's house, where more gifts were opened and dinner was served. Dinner consisted of chicken, ham, roasted potatoes, peas, pumpkin, and of course, gravy.

We had a nice conversation after dinner and then we happily drove home, where I just fell into bed and slept.

On that day, I was praised very often for my good English, which surprised me.