h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Just after I left school in the UK, I went to spend a year at school in the USA on an exchange programme. With my birthday being on Christmas Day, I was over there for my 18th birthday, as well as my first (and to date, only) Christmas away from my family.

It was surprisingly OK. I won't pretend I didn't miss my family and my mum's cooking, but a lengthy phone conversation on the day and a feast the like of which I have never seen before or since, helped to make up for it. I missed getting taken out for a (legal) beer, but I got over it. I did feel pretty lonely for parts of the day itself, but just seeing the difference in the way Americans celebrate, and the number of parties and gatherings I was invited to in the weeks leading up to Christmas made things a lot easier to deal with. In fact, it was around Christmas time that I made a lot of my American friends.

Probably the most important thing for me, as weird as this may sound, was knowing that my parents missed me as much as, if not more than I missed them. As with so many things, knowing that your loved ones love you is the greatest comfort you can have.