Merry Christmas!

Christmas was over in a flash here, and now it's all about New Year's Eve. I'm going to have to fight to keep my Christmas cards up for 12 days!

Tried to get on GMTV, but I had to leave early which is just as well as it started chucking it down just as they started filming! Everyone cheered when we heard the first rumble of thunder! There were a load of backpackers, a couple of families, and about one million Santa hats all pushing to the front waving their signs for everyone back home. The thing was presented by Jonno Coleman, who apparently was on Celebrity Fat Club once. Yeah.

That evening I went to a carol service in the Anglican cathedral that was so low-key and informal, but full of the stuff we sing at home which was lovely. They even had the trumpet fanfares that give me goosebumps :) And a hilarious carol that tells the story from Joseph's point of view, in a Yorkshire accent ("Mary woke me up and said, the babe were on its way") - it was lush! Despite all the services I've been to this year, I still can't get over they way they say "Mary" over here - "Meeyeree"!!! Sounds so odd to hear all the readings in Australian accents.

Anyway. Christmas Eve started off nice and calmly - I had brunch with two of my roommates. We walked down Glebe Point Road and it was so quiet it was stange. Pam and I went to the shopping centre afterwards and the supermarket was normal Saturday-afternoon-busy; SO not-at-all like Morrisons at home! But I'd been round the Sydney fish markets the night before, at around 9pm, and they were HEAVING with everyone buying stuff for their BBQs.

That evening around 30 of us had Christmas dinner in the hostel. I have no idea how it all came together, but it did. Everyone was in charge of something different - my room was in charge of caulliflower - and we had stuffing, carrots, broccolli, mash, roasties, Yorkshires, roast beef, gravy, and about 4 pre-cooked roast chickens as well. And crackers! It was a right good feast. Someone forgot the pudding though, so we went back to our room for mince pies and tea before making the trek to Midnight Mass! My roommate had her first mince pie on Christmas Eve Eve and has not stopped eating them since - everytime she goes to the shops she comes back with another packet, bless her.

Five of us went to midnight mass, and it started at 11.15 so we got there for 10.30. There was such a massive queue already! The doors were shut but people were pushing and shoving their way to the front. When they opened the doors it was such a stampede to get the best seats so the best photos could be taken, which REALLY annoyed me. The service was good but looooooooong - they sang all the hymns before the service started except for O Come all ye Faithful (:D) at the end. I am really glad I went.

When I was woke up on Christmas morning after a looovvvely long lie-in (Foreign Christmas Day Action #1) the sky was grey and it looked cold and not at all what I came all the way over to the other side of the world for. But my roommate Pam and I dragged ourselves outside to catch a bus (Foreign Christmas Day action #2) to Coogee beach. The bus was quiet and the streets and towns we drove through were even quieter, but we played "spot-the-open-cafe/restaurant/shop/McDonald's" and found more than the usual share of cafe/restaurant/shop/McDonald'ses open. When we got off at Coogee though, the warmth hit us just like going into a warm house in winter, and it immediately felt like a GOOD DAY. The sun came out and the temperature was PERFECT - not too hot that we felt we were frying and not cold AT ALL:)

The atmosphere was just so chilled out and not at all crowded or rowdy. Everywhere I looked there were Santa hats :) I made a beautiful sandsnowman and went for a swim in the sea (Foreign Christmas Day Action #3) and the water was BEAUTIFUL. We spent almost the whole day at the beach and had Turkish food for dinner (Foreign Christmas Day Action #4) and a McDonald's 30cent icecream for pudding (Foreign Christmas Day Action #5). When we got home that evening I got to watch an old Doctor Who Christmas special I'd rented from the library (I had to negotiate with a mum who wanted it for her little boy) and ate more mince pies. So the day ended like normal!

Boxing day was spent at the races, and I won $6 on a horse that started off last but then won the race. Everyone was dressed up and it was a lovely day. Saturday was spent sales-shopping, and Sunday was, as usual, marked by a trip to Paddy's Market to get my fruit and veg for the week. That market is absolutely MENTAL CRAZY and hot and full of people yelling about their mangoes. One guy is always particularly animated and made a whole song up about how his mangoes were a dollar each to the tune of Jingle Bells ("dollar dollar dollar dollar, try before you buy!"). He had two verses! It's always an effort to get round the stalls, dodging the suitcases people bring to fill with knock-offs, tacky souvenirs, and, of course, mangoes. I'm always knackered by the end of it, and it's only 20 minutes down the road!