For me, my inspiration used to be the warm presence of family members. I am a December baby, so is my brother, so December is naturally a busy month in our family. December means feast. While typing this I can almost smell the homemade Nasi Lemak Udang from the kitchen with my mom asking us to lay the table.
It all changed since I got the golden ticket to Russia. What do you expect? We don't get holidays in December anymore, in fact, to make things worse, December til January became our exam period. All of a sudden, December seemed meaningless, at first. But I was proven wrong.
There is an old Chinese saying: 在家靠父母，出外靠朋友 （At home one relies on one's parents and outside on one's friends). I was blessed to be surrounded by awesome human beings. In Russia, my friends became my "family" and December surprisingly turns extra festive. Coming from a family who doesn't celebrate Christmas, a huge Turkey on the dining table was a new thing, for carol-singing to become a norm was astonishing. My first-year-abroad birthday present from everyone was a Christmas tree that came together with ornaments and beautiful lights. There were even birthday wishes written on the ornaments. Since that day, the Christmas tree has never been out of sight on Christmas, and underneath it is the place where we put our clumsy okeu-catalogue-wrapped presents.
In December, everyone comes together for two potlucks, one on Christmas and another one on New Year Eve. It's fun as it's not only a time to gather, sing, chat, it is also a great chance to push our limits in culinary arts-- a time to show off our cooking skills. Believe me, if you only graduate with a doctorate degree, then you are definitely not Russian trained. Here we have to cook ourselves and sooner or later, you'll find yourself pursuing perfectness in your cooking skills. 6 years and counting, a Facebook invitation to potlucks in the beginning of December becomes my holiday's inspiration, which at the same time inspires my next best dish.
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| pretty safe to say that we are quite good in this cooking game by now. |
As for my family, I'll send them some gifts. It might be as simple as a postcard! Let the presents be small but my best wishes received (礼轻情意重). If you are looking for gift ideas, check out these suggestions: Gifts for Him || Gifts for Her
Now off to you! What inspires you during this holidays season?
1. Let me know by commenting on the blog or on the Facebook Post!
2. Don't forget to like Eat Love Travel Breathe with Miss Happy Feet and Printcious on Facebook.
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1 comment:
My inspiration is to gather all my family members and celebrate all the precious moment together. Seriously saying, we seldom have time to spend together within a year. The fun part that I like the most is during CNY,where kitchen is the best place for us to make fun and comment on each other's cooking skill.
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