Feliz Navidad! (por fin!)

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Merry christmas! (finally!)

I realize this blog comes very late, and I apologize. I hope everyone's christmas was SUPER amazing, as christmas should be.

I had a really rocking christmas, and have been througharly (have no idea how to spell that. My english spelling is getting worse, if possible) enjoying my insane amount of vacation time.

Vacation started for me about Thursday the 14th , when I went to Guadalajara. Went out with some friends that weekend, did a little christmas shopping (Which I ADORE!), hung out. Then my friend, another X-student from Canada, came over on Sunday and stayed at my house, until we went back to Puerto Vallarta on Tuesday.

So unfourtunatly Rosemary(my friend) comes the only week we've had with clouds in the last two months, so we didn't get a chance to go to the beach. We DID however, go dancing both nights we were in town (Tuesday night doesn't count, as we arrived really late). ALSO, I did my little version of Santas Anonymous. We collected about 6 big blankets, and bags and bags of clothes for adults, kids and babies, all from our school. I thought it was really good. One of the teachers walked by and commented that it wasn't very much, but I just said, this is more than the school collected any other year (as they have never done it before). Thats the thing with projects like that. You can think big, and expect big things, but you still have to be happy with whatever you get, because having just 1 blanket would have been better than having nothing to give out, right? We (Olivia, Rosemary, Gonzalo, Ere, Shere, and two kids from a different class, and I) dropped off a bunch of stuff at a senior's home, and stayed and talked to them. This one guy told us his whole life story, about how he was born really rich, but didn't want to be, so he left home, and worked almost every job under the sun. Seriously, he must be super smart. And he was missing a leg, and he told all about how the devil took it (that wasn't the first story about the devil doing something to them, old mexican people get right into it....). The rest of the clothes went to the orphange (actually the same one I went to before!). Everyone seemed happy to get it. And we were more than happy to give it out. Makes you feel all warm inside, haha. But for me, I defiantly didn't do enough. BUt My new year's resolution is to do more social work. And I will. My next host mom coordinates charity work in Vallarta, so I think I'll have a chance, haha.

Anyway, Rosemary, Eduardo and I (Lupita didn't come back to Vallarta, she stayed to get her house ready for the insane amount of people arriving), went back to Guadalajara that Friday, the 22nd. Rosemary went home, and I went and stayed at Juan and Norma's house, like usual for Gdl.

AND THEN CHRISTMAS ARRIVED!!!!!!!!

La Navidad

Mexican Christmas is definatly something to be experienced.....let me see if I can do it justice.

Christmas eve, the night of the 24th, everyone went over to Lupita and Eduardo's house. Everyone includes

• Eduardo and Lupita
  
• their 6 kids and their families
  
• Eduardo's 6 brothers and sister's
  
• their kids and their families
  
• Kristina 😉
  

So as you can see, A LOT OF PEOPLE. The way most families do Christmas here is one year, they will go with the husbands family for Christmas, then the wife's family for New Years. Then the next year it's flipped. Definatly makes sense.

Everyone arrived by about 10:30. It was actually pretty cold since it was night, and it has been colder here in Gdl for the last little while. It was around 5 degrees Celsuis I think (I can judge cold temperature, but I have no idea about heat, so don't even bother asking. aha, haven't had enough practice with temperatures about 25. haha.) so pretty cold. We had little fires going next to the tented outside table (no way were we all going to fit inside), everyone standing around them talking, or sitting with their blankets and giant jackets... and me, in my dress (I bought it just for Christmas, I wasn't NOT going to wear it.) my leggings and a sweater-jacket combo. haha They thought I was crazy. Just my hands were cold, but thats why the fire was nice 😊 At about 11, the piñatas started!! Party time!!

Piñatas
You think Mexico, you think PIÑATAS. (and also really awesome hats 😉 so here's the deal with them. They are originally a CATHOLIC tradition. Authentic piñatas have 7 points to sybolize the 7 deadly sins. And you want to break them so that they don't exist in your family. And your blindfolded to symbolize the faith, that you can't see God that will take you away from sin, but you trust him to do it. (and religion class is over haha)

But other than that, they are bascially SUPER fun. ahhah. Full of candy and prizes, and the way we did it, was that there were about 20 little bouncy balls with numbers on them, and if you get one, you get the prize that goes with that number (I won a sponge that looks like a watermellon!) HOWEVER!! there's a twist! You can have your prize, or you can have the one that was in another bag, but you couldn't know what it was, and who knows if it would be better or worse. Poor little Gabi got a pair of men's swim trunks in place of a ball. haha.

After piñatas, it's

Hora de comer
Time to eat

Diner was pot luck style, so there was a LOT of food. In November, Lupita, her daughters, and I made MOLE (mo-lay), which is this sauce of sorts, with about a thousand variations, and probably 30 ingredients for each one. The one we made includes nuts, chilies, and seeds ground together with volcanic rock, chocolate, flour, and lots and lots more stuff. It is a VERY mexican food, and generally only made for Christmas. You can either eat it with bread, or put turkey or chicken in it. We also had a few salads, handmade raviolis, turkey (with cranberry sauce, curtousy of ME. haha), spaghetti, bread, tortillas, and more that I just can't remember. Then for desert, there was a chocolate fountain with fruit and marshmallows, a pastry called "dedos del novio" (boyfriend/groom's fingers), a bread ONLY made at christmas called "pan de datin" (i think... haha. sometimes it's hard to figure out) which is basically a giant honeycomb looking crispy bread with sugar. So needless to say... I was very full.

We eat late, so that at midnight, we are already sipping our wine, and at midnight, it's time for

Brinkis!
cheers!

It was like New Years, with the count down and everything! And at midnight, after clinking glasses, its hugs all around... and you remember how many people where there????? So it's just, one line goes one way, and the rest of the people go the other way. When you start hiting people twice, you stop. Lots of love... I love it.

Cheers and hugs are followed by

Regalos!
pressies!

These are just given out however you want. I bought presents for Norma, Gabi and Juan Pablo, as well as Eduardo and Lupita of course. I got Norma a purse, Gabi a pencil case full of markers (she loves using mine when I'm here), and a soccer ball for Juan Pablo. For Eduardo and Lupita, I gave them a jug of True Canadian Maple Syrup (that I traded Rosemary a canadian book in spanish for). I also gave christmas ornaments and cards to the families of Eduardo and Lupita's kids, so I didn't forget anyone that I knew. Haha. From Juan and Norma, I got a new watch, brown leather, I love it! It was so nice of them 😊 It's because my other one, is sooo broken. The glass has a crack, the two sides of the leather strap are coming apart, and the watch back is falling off. So yah, it was time for a new one, and this one is perfect. I also got a hammock from Lupita and Eduardo, which was one of those "I'm going to buy this for you now, but I'm going to keep it until Christmas, Act surprised"-kind of presents. Lupita and I were in Tonala, and I saw this awesome hammock but I had no cash, and I figured I would just buy it later. But I had told Lupita before that I wanted to buy a hammock before I went home, so she bought it for me! So sweet...😊 I also got some rocking fuzzy socks from my "aunt, uncle and cousin", which are actually super useful, as the houses here are super cold right now, as they have no heat, and if your not directly in the sun, it's definatly not warm here.

With presents, food and cheers done, it's just hang out time. We just talk, eventually tidy up, and sit around. It's such a nice environment, so much family, it's FABULOUS. I loved it, and I felt so welcome!! (all the exchange students that come over to meet my family say I have the best one, and I definatly agree)

We headed home at about 3:00-3:30'ish I suppose. It was definatly time to go to sleep.

The 25th, Christmas morning, is Santa time! Gabi (my little 'sister') got a rockin' battery powered car she can drive around, and Juan Pablo (my little 'brother') got a treasure hunt for money. Obviously Gabi, who's only 7, got up really early for Santa, so after she opened her presents, we went back to bed.

Then we got ready to go over for

El recaliente
the reheat

It's left over day, with all the same people, and MORE. My friend Jozephine from Belgium came over with us too. We went and had a big game of soccer in the field close by. My team won, naturally. haha. Good times, more just hanging out.

So that concludes my NAVIDAD!!! In summary (in case you skipped to the end, wouldn't blame you,it's MAD long haha) : I had SOO much fun!!! Although I missed my fam and my friend-family, and santas anonymous and snow, I'm going to have that for the rest of my life, and that was my chance for a mexican extravangaza, and I got everything out of it that I could. I had a BLAST. <3

Next blog: New Years! and probably one for pictures, as my camera is not working so hot right now, and I DO have more pictures than the ones I loaded, but they are just not showing up. And also I have video which I will load on here, when I get back to Vallarta where I have my cables. It'll rock . no worries!

So I hope your Christmas was AMAZING, and that your new year's celebrations rock!!!

LOVE LOVE LOVE

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Photos

Mi Girasol... my sunflower
I went for a walk with some friends and there are all these flower stands, and I thought, why not buy a pretty flower? So I walked around all evening with my sunflower

Pretty park view
This neat little park in Gdl.... just liked the picture

Mariachi
At the Christmas parties (the posadas) Mariachi and banda music is very popular

Santas
Me wearing my Santas shirt on packing day... yes. i DO realize i wasn\'t ACTUALLY there. (I had to change later, I got spaghetti sauce on it)

My watermellon sponge prize
Watermellon is a mex food (red white and green like the flag) , just thought you should know.

Dinner Time
And can you beleive they don't rent the tables, the chairs, the tents, nothing? This family is PREPARED for this much company. madness...

Chocolate Fountain
need I say more?

Gabi, Ana Gabi, and Ramón
My 'Aunt, cousin, and uncle'

Comments

[Eric Janvier]

I never really read it all....
But Merry Late Christmas haha

[Florence]

Rockin Christmas
Sounds like sooooooooooooo much fun. I'm happy for you. Christmas in the north was great, with loads of snow and beautiful temperatures. Happy New Year to you and your host family.