A different kind of Christmas..

This year Christmas was nothing like I have ever had before..but it was new and amazing all the same..I family hopped..to Gillingham, then to Cambridge..then to Reading..new faces and places everywhere..and more chilly outlook on Christmas than Ive had before..as in the weather got below freezing..no sun and salads on Christmas day for me..It was roast meals, cups of tea and copious amounts of uno this year..
It started in Cambridge, after dragging my tons of luggage through the London stations up stairs and everywhere, I met up with my friend Bee and we adventured the last leg of the journey to Cambridge together...I'm pretty much a pro at the public transport system in England now...I just hop on the trains and they take me where I want to go..haha Although there is definitly still the initial fear once hopping on a train that I have in fact hopped on the wrong train and will be whizzing somewhere that I dont know how to get back from..It is yet to happen to me though..lol

HIGHLIGHTS OF CAMBRIDGE:

• The cute carol service we went to on the first night we were in Cambridge: Dans mum was in a choir so we went to see them perform..The event of the night however was someone in the front row of the choir fainting halfway through the performance..She was fine but it was definitely eventful haha Also this is when I realised as long as I am in England I will be introduced as 'This is Jess. Shes from New Zealand..' haha in case people mistook my glamourous accent for some kind of secluded English town accent..lol
• The German Festival: It just so happened that a German festival had come to town while we were staying there...It would be rude of us not to check it out..lol They sold amazing hats with ear flaps that look straight out of a Russian film..and reindeer skins? I was trying so hard not to tell the kid next to the stall that rudolph wouldnt be pulling the sleigh this year haha I have realised also that the funiest thing to do is watch people ice skating..the expressions and the classic arms flailing as they whizz around the rink trying to maintain balance haha
• Cueing up for over 6 hours to see a choir performance on Christmas Eve: So Dan and I decided that we should go and see a choir performance at the Kings chapel as it is apparently broadcast all over the world and is amazing..The thing was people had been cueing for 4 days to get tickets and a guy even travels over from America every year for it...me and dan just rocked up on the morning of the performance and ended up cueing for 6 hours..But we were succesful! and it was so nice..So eery being in this warm cathedral with amazing choir music and candlelight..Once in a lifetime opportunity..Such an amazing way to spend Christmas eve..
• The amazing welcoming of the Droy family: It was so lovely being so far away from home on a usually family occasion and just being so warmly welcomed into a family..They got me presents and Dans Nanna knitted me a wooly hat...and it was just so amazing..! We spent Christmas morning at church..then had a roast lunch with Dan, his mum and dad, and his nana and Grandad (who are just so lovely) and then we spent the day watching classic christmas films and playing uno...so relaxed and nice..

I was so lucky to have such a good Christmas..and even though I couldnt help but miss home it was just such an amazing time..
Im about to pop off to the seaside with my host family..I am so lucky!
I'll tell the rest of my adventures later..
xx