first Christmas and New Year in Europe

This is my first Christmas and New Year ever in Europe.
I remember last year, originally I thought that I would have these two events in Romania, but unfortunately I didn't get the visa before that.
It was still great, since I spent the Christmas Eve with my best friend and the New Year's Eve with the AIESEC alumni of my generation.
And this year it was even more special because I was finally in Romania!
Since the beginning of Dec. the city started to look different, and you could smell, feel, and breathe the Christmas atmosphere with Christmas trees and songs everywhere.

Then I spent my Christmas in Gherla, a small town near Cluj, with one of my best friends in Romania, Ana-Maria.
I had a very good time in her hometown with her families and friends, and I also saw some traditions which were very interesting for me, like the kids singing carol, or dressed up like a goat, and some bear men parading with drums…

But the best part was still the warmth of her parents, who also prepared a Christmas gift for me, and gave me lots of home-made food to bring back to Cluj.
It was so touching when Ana-Maria told me that her mother felt very sad because she might not have the chance to meet me again and then Ana-Maria told her mother that she would make a lot of money in the future so that they could come to Taiwan to visit me.
I like her mother very much, and amazingly although she doesn't speak English, we can somehow communicate with the combination of French, Romanian, and body languages.
I look forward to seeing them again, in Taiwan and in Romania.

As for the New Year's Eve, I spent it with my dear Cluj @ers in a cabin in the mountain.
We played, partied, celebrated, and drank alcohol, with lots of fun and laughter.
It was hard for me to admit the fact that it might be the last time for me to spend time with these people like this, and sometimes my tear just went out.
But I did have a very good time with them, and I'm already very lucky.
Look back to year 2006, I believe it's the best time of my life.
At the beginning of the year I was quite frustrated because of the visa problem, but I never thought of giving up since I had spent so much time and money on it.
And thanks to my strong determination, I finally got the visa as a result and could have my life-changing experience in Cluj.
To live alone in such a different culture, I changed a lot during this year.
Besides the best thing is that because of this traineeship, I find another possible future career for myself, and I'd like to give it a try to see if it's really suitable.
Another important new-year revolution will be to find a Mr. Right and then try my best to love and maintain a long-term relationship since I'm no longer that young :p
Anyway, happy new year and wish myself good luck!