It is now the 17th of December – ordinarily Day Two of the traditional nine-day Misa de Gallo that precedes Christmas Day. Before coming to the US, I usually spent part of those nine days in church, specifically the Church of the Gesu in my university, in order to eat delicious holiday food, meet with friends and mostly just to lie on the campus green and stare at the stars that often blanketed the evening sky this time of the year.
Today I find myself on year four here in the Land of The Politically Correct where the only reminder of the holiday is a ecumenical Christmas Carol service held in the Memorial Church a few days ago and I cannot even greet anybody a Merry Christmas. It’s not even snowing.
Don’t get me wrong – I love Cambridge a lot and the kind of friends I’ve made here are probably the kind that I will get to keep for an entire lifetime. Never for a moment did I regret coming or staying here. It’s just that during this time of the year – I am always reminded that while it is great that I keep the values and beliefs I hold dear wherever I go, it also matters where you are and what the outside environment is like. In short, while it is true that Christmas is in the heart, sometimes you also want to see it in the air. But – maybe I am just nostalgic for lost times.
As for more mundane stuff, I am counting the days to a real break. The last one I had was almost seven months ago. So I will go to London with no laptop and no books, ok, except maybe one or two for the six-hour flight, and a heart full of anticipation at finally seeing the Tower of London in person, among others. Maybe Thomas More might have something to say about my current predicament.
Supposedly, things will get better next year. For now, I have an article to finish. Until then, I will reserve my more poignant end-of-year reflections just before I leave.
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