Santa Claus Day

6th of December, Saturday

On the 6th of December, the children of Hungary wake up all excitedly, because Santa Claus dropped by at night, leaving candy and gifts behind on the windowsill or in the boots they put outside the door in the evening. The candy is mostly Santa Claus shaped chocolate, and (kids under 7: don't read the next sentence!), the parents are behind this conspiracy. That's one of the many reasons why Hungary is a cool country, we have 2 Christmases. (And on Christmas Eve, Baby Jesus brings the presents [also the parents really, just to clarify]).
  Today, I woke up at 10, and when I opened my door two packages waited for me. One was from Herb and Anne, the other one was from Hungary! I couldn't believe my parents sent me stuff for Santa Claus day! Christmas, I'd understand, but today! I was so happy.
   After skillfully placing Herb's and Anne's Santa Claus Day presents in their rooms (they didn't see me, they saw someone else, like a ghost or something), I came down, and we opened my package from my parents.
There were so many stuff inside. Popping candy, chocolate, spices, instant milkrice (something I joked about with my parents on Skype, how much I miss, but I didn't think they would actually send it), zizi, french dragees, Danube rocks (all three are Hungarian candies), lottery tickets (neither of them won, but they were still fun to scratch off), sweetener, letter from my parents and soup cubes with my Mom's special soup recipe, that I miss a lot. I broke down, and cried. I was so moved and overwhelmed, I couldn't hold it in. I was truly so happy and homesick. Anything that reminds me of home I love, and anything from my parents is deeply cherished.
I decided to make my Mom's soup, and we went shopping to get the ingredients. It took me around 1,5 hours in the evening to make, but it was finally done, and I didn't burn anything. Herbie and his girlfriend Jackie came over for around 30 minutes, just in time for the soup. I served it to everybody, then I tasted it myself. I started crying again a little bit too, because it was just like my Mom's. The pasta and the cheese were different, but the general taste, was very near to right. Of course, no one can perfectly replicate the soup, other than my Mom. But it was very good indeed. So good, that everyone ate it to the last drop, even Jackie, who doesn't like soup.
  Today was a very emotional Santa Claus Day. I got something from my parents, then I made something, which reminded me of them. I miss them so much. This is the hardest part of the exchange, any exchange student can tell you. The holidays season is tough to get through without the people you love most. But even though we're half the world apart, we can still make each other feel happy. That's the best thing about family.