I will be in Amsterdam this Christmas. I have been out of the country for a couple of Thanksgivings, and I spent a Halloween in Tel Aviv, but this will be my first Christmas outside of China since I moved here. I have what might be high expectations.
Tokyo and Barcelona are not the ideal cities for Thanksgiving. They are far from the worst places, but neither country cares about the holiday. Halloween night in Tel Aviv was just like any other night. Fridays and Saturdays always get interesting in Tel Aviv, but I think Halloween that year was on a Monday.
In contrast, Christmas in Amsterdam just feels right. Not only is it a country that actually celebrates the holiday, but they have snow. I have not seen snow on Christmas in a long time. Christmas in Hong Kong is hot and humid. Some people wear coats and scarves because it is December, but it never comes close to freezing. You can't make a snowman out of warm rain. I suppose you could make a snow angel in the dirt and garbage on the street, but that might be dangerous.
The obvious downside to Christmas in Amsterdam is that I will have absolutely no one with me. I am going there to work, so it is not like I will be locked in a room and staring at the wall all day, but I don't know any of the people I will be working with yet. I would not be at all surprised if I make some genuine friends before it all ends, but probably not in a week. I think I'm pretty easy to get to know, but I rarely trust someone right away. I assume there will be some kind of Christmas party at some point in time. No one has told me anything so far, but it is almost inevitable. I have mixed feeling about office Christmas parties, but obviously I will go if I'm alone in a city I don't really know as well as I think I do.
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