A Christmas far from home
16-12-2019
Karima, Andreas and Juan Marcos are three students who live in Spain while they study at the university. The three of them live far from their homes, so sometimes they cannot return with their families during the holidays and have to adapt their plans during these dates. They have different ways of seeing this experience, however, everyone is very happy with this adventure they are in.
I´m always living in the winter season, since everytime I travel seasons change. I miss the long hot seasons, and although it was hard at the beginning, I have become used to this. One of the hardest things was spending Christmas without my family and having to look for a place to stay, because I live in a "colegio mayor" that closes during holidays. It turns out that every year, there has always been a friend who invites me to spend the holidays with his family, so I have been able to experience a thousand ways of living Christmas. One year we went with a friend's family to ski to Vaqueira, that was one of my favorite Christmas. Another year, a friend from college invited me to spend with her Italian family in a very beautiful place called Brescia... It is amazing how everyone opens their doors to welcome me and how they don't care that a "stranger" will spend with them these family days. In the end all these families also become part of mine.
This year, I will go to Granada to stay with some friends of my parents. As I say, every year is different. I feel the little knot in my stomach again for thinking that I will not be at home celebrating with my family, but it doesn´t mean that I´m having a bad time. It´s the other ways around. I am happy to be able to live these experiences of living abroad.
With a group of friends who also stay in Barcelona during the holidays, we have decided to make a dinner for December 24. We are all going to bring a typical dish from our countries... My Venezuelan friends are going to prepare a Latin American dish called "tamales", others some sandwiches with turkey, my Spanish friends will bring seafood, and my friend Camille, the "Buche de Noel" .
It's amazing how much I'm learning about the world this year, I think this is an experience I will never forget".
This Christmas I will not return home because it is more practical for me to stay in Europe traveling than to return to Mexico for only a couple of weeks. My mother is having a hard time ... she almost comes to pick me up by plane when I told her that I wanted to stay. Don't get me wrong, I want to be with my family, I want to celebrate "posadas" with my friends from school, I want to eat the dishes my grandmother prepares, etc. But it is also a very good opportunity to travel with my new friends and visit places I've never been to.
We are going to Belgium, we want to spend Christmas in Bruges and then go to Berlin for New Year. I am aware that I will not always be able to do this kind of trips, which is why I now want to take advantage of this stage of my life".
Andreas: "There is always a family that welcomes me"
"Hello, my name is Andreas and I am studying architecture in Madrid. I have been here for four years and I have two more left to finish. I am from Argentina, from Córdoba, and my whole family lives there ... about 10,115 km away. Every summer (there winter) I return home, but at Christmas I stay in Spain, because two weeks is short to make such a long trip, and it always catches me in exam season.I´m always living in the winter season, since everytime I travel seasons change. I miss the long hot seasons, and although it was hard at the beginning, I have become used to this. One of the hardest things was spending Christmas without my family and having to look for a place to stay, because I live in a "colegio mayor" that closes during holidays. It turns out that every year, there has always been a friend who invites me to spend the holidays with his family, so I have been able to experience a thousand ways of living Christmas. One year we went with a friend's family to ski to Vaqueira, that was one of my favorite Christmas. Another year, a friend from college invited me to spend with her Italian family in a very beautiful place called Brescia... It is amazing how everyone opens their doors to welcome me and how they don't care that a "stranger" will spend with them these family days. In the end all these families also become part of mine.
This year, I will go to Granada to stay with some friends of my parents. As I say, every year is different. I feel the little knot in my stomach again for thinking that I will not be at home celebrating with my family, but it doesn´t mean that I´m having a bad time. It´s the other ways around. I am happy to be able to live these experiences of living abroad.
Karima: "Christmas at an international table"
replica watches "I am Karima, from Morocco, I am studying my master's degree in Barcelona with two friends of mine. Although my home is not too far away, this Christmas I have decided not to return to make the most of my experience here in Spain. It is not part of my custom to celebrate Christmas, but I like to see how my international friends celebrate this part of their culture.With a group of friends who also stay in Barcelona during the holidays, we have decided to make a dinner for December 24. We are all going to bring a typical dish from our countries... My Venezuelan friends are going to prepare a Latin American dish called "tamales", others some sandwiches with turkey, my Spanish friends will bring seafood, and my friend Camille, the "Buche de Noel" .
It's amazing how much I'm learning about the world this year, I think this is an experience I will never forget".
Juan Marcos: "A part of my life that I want to take advantage of"
"This is my first year away from home, I am Mexican and I am studying ADE in Madrid. It has been only a couple of months since I started university, but I feel that I have already lived many things that I had never done before. I had already lived the experience of being away from home for camps and things like that, but never so independently.This Christmas I will not return home because it is more practical for me to stay in Europe traveling than to return to Mexico for only a couple of weeks. My mother is having a hard time ... she almost comes to pick me up by plane when I told her that I wanted to stay. Don't get me wrong, I want to be with my family, I want to celebrate "posadas" with my friends from school, I want to eat the dishes my grandmother prepares, etc. But it is also a very good opportunity to travel with my new friends and visit places I've never been to.
We are going to Belgium, we want to spend Christmas in Bruges and then go to Berlin for New Year. I am aware that I will not always be able to do this kind of trips, which is why I now want to take advantage of this stage of my life".
