¡Feliz Navidad!

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I hope you all had an amazing Christmas and that tonight brings you a wonderful New Year! This Christmas was a tough one for me, I missed my family. Every year there are thousands upon thousands of people who don't get to spend Christmas with their families. And let me tell you...as one of them now....It really stinks.

But I was also one of the lucky few and I had an adoptive family that took me in and made me part of their traditions. It is in moments like this when I am reminded that family goes far beyond a blood line. It's a secret I've always known but one that we can all use a reminder of.


My host family took me from decorating the house to Christmas day, to New Years, and really everyday since I have arrived. Christmas in Chile is WAY different than back home.

Big Diffy Number 1: IT'S SUMMER!

That's right it's summer over here on the southern hemisphere which means no white Christmas. Now I haven't had a lot of white Christmases back home in Arizona but I have had a few (Yes, really, Arizona is known to have a white Christmas in some areas) and at the very least it is always sweater weather at Christmas time. Here I'm like, where is the ice tea and ice cream? Either way I had fun helping set up directions, or practicing to be a kung fu master...I'm not really sure which I enjoyed more.




***Side note: I feel like in the above pic (Kung fu master one) the way I'm stepping gives away shows my past ballerina years. Once a ballerina, always a ballerina.

Anyways. Then came the big day. No not Christmas. CHRISTMAS EVE! Chileans live for the night life and Christmas eve is no exception. My host mom was preparing dinner for everyone in the kitchen and then about 9:30pm rolled around and she changed into a fancy dress. I then thought to myself..."Hmmm, that's odd. I wonder if she is trying it on for tomorrow?" I then went upstairs to grab something from my room and then I saw my host sister who had also changed and was putting on makeup in the bathroom. My next thought was something along the lines of:

"Dang it! My jeans and slippers are not going to cut it! Why would you get all dressed up to eat dinner downstairs!"

After that thought, I got over myself and changed to dress for the occasion. At 10pm dinner was ready. We all sat down at the table and my host mom brought out the fine china and all the works for this dinner, it was beautiful. We ate. We laughed. We played. Then once the clock stroke midnight we opened up a bottle of champagne and said a toast for Christmas and opened up all the presents before we went to bed to wake up on Christmas day.


I hope you all had a very merry Christmas and a very happy New Year. God Bless.


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