Christmas on the other side of the world

As I wrote in one of my previous posts, I am currently living in Prague, Czech Republic. I had an itching sense of adventure, and so here I am. I never expected to feel so lonely though. Especially around the holidays.

This year is the third time that I have been away from my parents on Christmas, and not because I have a bad relationship with my parents. Quite the contrary, actually. Sure, my parents and I have had our disagreements, as all parents and children do, but overall, I love and support my parents, and they love and support me. I have nothing but positive memories about Christmastime in my childhood. It’s just that I’ve become a constant wanderer, and as much as it thrills me to go to new places, it makes it harder to be with the ones that I care about.

An $800+ plane ticket to the USA is one thing that certainly makes it harder. But it’s not that I’m broke. I could scrape together the money if I wanted, but I feel like going back just to be home for the holidays is kind of a waste considering the reason I came out here anyway. Those $800 can (and will) be spent on seeing the world, on living in a new place, on expanding my horizons and my comfort zone. And while I do understand the reasons for not going home, it’s hard to keep from feeling sad.

Instead of going home this year, my boyfriend and I went to sunny Andalucia, Spain. It was a beautiful trip. I’m very glad we went. But Skyping with my family on Christmas Eve didn’t quite cut it. And the sunny weather and palm trees were a nice retreat from frigid Prague, but they most certainly didn’t give off the Christmas vibe I was longing for.

Christmas, more than anything, is about being with the ones you love. And even though I am with the man that I love the most and I do take comfort in that, I am sad to be away from all the other ones I care about. It really doesn’t feel the same.

So how about you? What are your experiences having holidays away from and/or with your family?