Christmas and the end of 2011!!!

The drive back to LA was long but the guys who took me down there were nice and talked a lot so it wasn't all too boring. Another guy who shared the ride as well was some sort of public lawyer and he had a lot of cool stories to tell about all the past murder trials he had worked at. We had dinner at "In-n-out", a fast food chain exclusive to CA and the number one thing almost everyone in the state is most proud of, and I must say it was probably the best fast food burger I've ever tasted. The ride share ended in Santa Monica but luckily Dani was working there through the month of December and could meet me at the drop off point and take me back to her place.
The cold weather in SF and especially the uninsulated basement of the Randolph mansion had affected my my health a little and back in Long Beach i could feel a nasty cold creeping into my body. I ignored the signs and met Dani in Santa Monica the next day where we went to an art show that was organized by one of her friends who owns a studio there. The art was amazing  (check it out at http://www.curiobyafn.com/ if you like) and afterwards we met Greg, with whom we went sailing a few weeks ago and who was celebrating his move to SF.
Still sick I went for my first surf in SoCal, after the trip north, with Lindsay, a good friend and fellow student of Dani which turned out to be a bad idea, not because of Lindsay or the surf, but because it tied  me to the bed for the next couple of days.
I rode Dani's bike to Kenny's place which was a nice ride along a canal for about 10 miles. It was good to catch up on everything with my American bro. I helped him and Brianne set up the pinball machine which they had been restoring and we just chilled at his place for the day and played pinball. Lauren came by and gave me a ride back to her place from where we walked to Dani's, who was having a few friends over and we spent the evening eating curry and drinking Jägermeister. It was going towards Christmas and I was invited to to join Lauren and her friends for the Jewish holiday of Chanukah. We lit the Menorah, ate Latkes and played Catan before we visited other friends who were celebrating with a lot more people and a lot more great food.
Then Christmas arrived. My Christmas eve day was one of the best days of my life but I'm having a really hard time to put in words what made it so great. I woke up on December 24th, had a nice breakfast and walked to a coffee shop that had WiFi, where I skyped with my family while they where unwrapping presents. It was nice to see them doing what we had been doing for years and it didn't even seem very far away. After that I skyped with Bekki who had also had a nice Christmas eve with her family. It was a beautiful day outside and really warm and I decided to go for a surf. Dani was working and had the car which meant that I had to get down to the beach another way. I didn't bother to think about how I would do it, I just grabbed my stuff, my board and walked out of the front door with a big smile on my face. At the big road I tried to hitchhike but no one wanted me so I decided to take the bus. What I only noticed after I had gotten onto the bus was that I didn't have the right change on me but the nice driver let me ride for free. I had to change buses and decided to give hitching another try. After only a short while a car pulled over to give me a ride. During the process of figuring out how to fit my board into their small car I found out that one of the two people also was a traveler from Germany.He and the American girl were on their way to San Diego and we talked and exchanged stories and they drove me all the way to the beach. I surfed for a few hours in nice, small waves and still nothing could wipe that big fat smile of my face that hadn't left since I woke up in the morning. I played a game of Volleyball with a Catholic church group who I had met on the beach before until it was dark and Dani came to pick me up. We took a little d-tour on the way back to buy Dani a surfboard (her Christmas present to herself) and ate dinner at her Mom's place while watching a real American Christmas classic: "This beautiful life". I felt better than I had felt in a long time and each time I tell someone about this day I realize that nothing very special had happened. It was just a good day!
Christmas. It was the first time for me that I didn't celebrate it at home with my family and friends and I had been awaiting it with both, interest and uncertainty. It turned out to be lovely and I am very happy that I could make that experience and that I found such great people, a home away from home, who let me into their lives and spend this day with them.
I had breakfast with Dani's family and we all unwrapped presents, I got a belt (I really needed one), a small and light flashlight and a super cool Fossil watch, exactly the model I wanted. Then Dani and I took her board out the first time and that was basically what we did for the next five days. The surf was amazing and Dani was done with work for the year which meant that we could stay in the water for hours and didn't have to worry about the time at all.
On the 29th we drove to Shaver Lake which was about 5 hours north in the sierras to meet some of Dani's friends from the program in which she had studied abroad in Costa Rica and celebrate the new year with them. We picked up Sarah in Ventura and had a fun drive up there with a lot of stories and laughter. We went snowboarding with Jenny and Patty, who owned the cabin we were staying at,  which was a lot of fun even in the fake snow and I ended the day with a injury that I can still feel sometimes, almost two months later, and met the others when we came back to the cabin.We were 11 people and had a great and memorable (not so much for all of us, haha) New Years eve. I'm very glad that Dani took me because we had such a good time and her friends are all really great (Sarah even has BFF qualities).