My last day in France ended up being Christmas Eve. 2019. Normally, this would be the start of winter break, which in college lasts from the end of December to the end of January. Most of the people in my study-abroad program went home to spend the holidays with their families. But Christmas isn't exactly a holiday I celebrate, so I decided I would just spend my winter break in England. I have an aunt there whom I haven't seen in over 14 years, as well as many more cousins whom I'd never met before, as they had moved away and settled in different countries before I was even born.
A little bit of background here. Of my mom's six siblings and at least twenty cousins...you could pay me, and I still wouldn't be able to tell you if that number was accurate because in my culture everyone is a "cousin" or an "aunt" and you have no idea if that means you are related or your families are just close....two siblings and two cousins live near each other in England, in a city called Reading (red-ing) and in London. My aunt in Reading moved there right after my mom got married and I haven’t seen anyone in that family in over 14 years. My family in London moved there before my mom even got married, so I never got to meet any of them before. It was strange and amazing at the same time to put faces to some of my mom's stores or see people in person whom I had only ever seen over Facetime.
