Christmas Preparations Down Under

Ten days before Christmas and the action is on. This is a list of random things that I did, happened, or happened to make me think of Christmas and prepare, at least mentally, for it. I start it with the difficulty of finding a parking spot at the largest mall in the Southern Hemisphere, Chadstone Shopping Centre. And I will end it with the two little caterpillars curling like a Yin and Yang on a half-eaten leaf, which seemed to wear cozy coats like I used to wear in the harsh winter of Macin, Philadelphia or New York. So here if the rest... On Monday, I stared long enough at the bloomed paper-bark trees on my street until the fuzzy little flowers clouding up at the top seemed nothing else but a layer of fluffy, pristine snow. I wiped the sweat on my forehead as I walked into the sweltering summer heat, just as I used to do as a kid back in Romania after walking into one foot of fresh, powdery snow for about half an hour. I took a deep breath as I walked into the bakery yesterday, surrendering the Christmas flavors of savory and sweet bread, as if they just wrapped around me in the kitchen of my childhood. Finally, I played some Romanian carols sang by the Madrigal Choir and I cooked some bean soup, after which I knew I was ready for Christmas.

Hot Christmas

This is my fourth Christmas in Oz and I’m still not used to wearing sandals and a summer dress, going to the beach, and being content with no more than a salad “feast” on that Christmas Eve. Last week-end we put together the Christmas tree, huddled the fake snow together at its base, and hung the “icicles” on the top branches. All this under the air conditioning unit, since there were over 92F (33 Celsius) outside! The city is decorated with holiday lights, red and green, but they’re invisible most of the time, because the sun sets late, close to 8PM, when all shoppers have gone home with the gifts they bought and the only shops open are those selling alcohol… It’s dark after 9PM and the lonely Santas and Christmas lights brighten the path of those rushing to go home. I imagine a very sweaty Santa dressed in thick layers of fur-trimmed clothes landing by our tree to deliver melting chocolates and a pair of skates. Roller blades maybe...