Merry Kreestmaas

That's kind of how it sounds when Lao people say Christmas. They say "Merry Kreestmaas Teacher Kreesta! :]
The rest of our Christmas was merry, too...lazy, but merry :] Christa woke up around 7, (so only three hours later than me), and we got to work on making an egg bake for our Christmas brunch with other ELI teachers.
We also had a breakfast with the other housemates. Julia made delicious homemade cinnamon rolls. Then we opened gifts.

We were too cold to sit on the ground with everyone else (even though we're from Iowa)

I brought Christa's gift from Mom & Dad from home.

Around 10:30, Christa and I headed to Teachers Steph & Angie's house. We had our egg bake, more cinnamon rolls, blueberry muffins, and fruit. We also had hot apple cider and hot chocolate. As Christmasy as we could get :] First, we watched Elf and then It's a Wonderful Life after. I don't think I had ever seen that entire movie from start to finish, so I really enjoyed it. :] Then we just sat around & chatted until 6ish.
When we got back home, they were just getting ready to have supper out on the patio with the Christmas lights all around, so Christa & I joined them. It was called Suki--a meat, thin noodle, lettuce, & egg mixture that's cooked in chicken broth and everyone just digs in with their chopsticks. I was chilled all day and feeling worn down either from lack of sleep or a cold, so I didn't stay outside very long, but it was fun.
Christa & I skyped our family back home on their Christmas morning which was kinda weird to be on the other side of the screen. :]
This morning, Christa & I went on a run again to attempt to work off all those Christmas goodies from the weekend. Then we had a nice morning of devotions, coffee, and more chatting before her class at 10:00.
Here's a quick little video of what it's like. Can you hear the girls in the back say "I love America!" ?? :]

After class, we had lunch with other Lao teachers and then we spent the rest of the afternoon in her office. I helped grade papers while Christa planned lessons and then I finished book #1 in the Chronicles of Narnia series. We'll see if I can finish them all on this trip. :]
Christa's friend Yui showed up last night while skyping Mom & Dad. She's been studying in Thailand for the past 8 months, so we're going for dinner with her tonight at the place with "the best spring rolls in the country" according to Christa. I'm excited! :]