The Rowley Report: Christmas 2010

Christmas in Vietnam has its own flavor. Many here have never heard the history behind the first Christmas and so see it as a big holiday with gift-giving and Santa as being the main theme. Although Christmas songs are played here they are mostly songs such as "Jingle Bells" not the carols such as our family favorite "O Holy Night". We miss family and friends back home a lot during this time of year but also feel blessed to be away from some of the consumer distractions that we face in Canada.

Last year was a lot harder to be away from home then this year. I think this, in large part, is due to the fact that we had friends come down from Hanoi to visit us, as well as having our wonderful teammates here to celebrate with. It also helps being our second year here so all be it different, it is not as different to celebrate in Vietnam as it was last year. It is the only other country besides Canada that we have had Christmas in for more then one year so that makes it the second most "normal" country for us to celebrate in I guess.

Weasel Coffee. A delicacy. You see, the weasels eat the coffee bean and then after they have digested it, it is used to make coffee. The faces were made in honour of the weasels. I have to say that the coffee didn't taste any different to me. However, it was very fun to make a face like this before drinking coffee. You should try it, you might like it!