It is getting harder and harder to write these. But I'm still trying...so much has happened this month, here goes...
We said goodbye to our wonderful Katie in the beginning of the month. It was so sad to see her go and we are definitely missing her like no other but I know she is happy to be back home in the states, but also missing Bolivia. Judy also left us for Sucre (a city in Bolivia) that same day to take Spanish classes for several weeks, but she will be back, though she is being terribly missed. Marcos, Steph and I joked around saying that we felt like we were abandoned haha but the three of us ended up bonding more this past month.
December in Bolivia is a very interesting month. The weather gets even hotter, even more humid, we have big thunderstorms so everything gets really wet and muddy. And...the mosquitos you ask?...well, they've overpassed worst!!! Steph and I get attacked by a swarm of them every time we go in and out of our house. I have never seen anything like it. Sure did not feel like Christmas weather...Steph kept saying how much she missed the snow. I will say this, even though I absolutely hate the cold, Bolivia (Santa Cruz, Bolivia, that is...) really made me miss winter in Los Angeles, shoot, even snow, and it doesn't even snow in LA!!! But I did miss seeing all the snow on the mountains. With that said, even though I missed my typical Christmas weather, it was awesome to experience something so unique, a really hot and humid Christmas while dripping with sweat =) and with a beautiful clear blue sky with big white fluffy clouds...such a gorgeous sight to see which I will only ever get to see here, and I loved it!!!
This month, I got to experience my first Bolivian high school graduation. It was really fun. We were invited by Doña Mery because her daughter was graduating, she likes to call herself our Bolivian mom, and she loves taking care of us and feeding us cake all the time...=) We love her. The ceremony started late, like any typical Bolivian event lol, but it was a very long one. They have a really nice tradition here, instead of the graduates just walking up by themselves and receiving their diploma, they walk a red carpet while being accompanied by a loved one carrying a rose. =) It's such a sweet tradition =). I enjoyed watching each student walk up and receiving their diploma.
After the ceremony, Doña Mery invited us to her house to have brunch. Later in the evening we were invited to the actual graduation party, which reminded me sort of like prom, because the girls wear long elegant gowns to the party, the only difference is that family and friends are invited to the party as well. The party didn't begin until 11pm, and Bolivians know how to party. There was dancing all night long all the way until morning. Marcos, Steph and I left like around 3am, and the party still felt like it was just starting...lol. We don't know at what time it actually finished but I'm pretty sure they finished until sunrise.
Ok, so you know how in the states we have summer camp around summer vacation, well here, because summer vacation is during the months of December and January, we have, get this: CHRISTMAS CAMP!!! "Villa Feliz" is what we called it. Some of you probably saw on FB how stoked I was about this =). My two favorite seasons all rolled up into one...woot! It was two weeks of fun and most importantly two weeks of preparing for the birth of baby Jesus! I was in charge of theater. I prepared my group of kids for a Christmas pageant. It was so much fun and somewhat challenging getting them all together to practice but in the end they gave a wonderful performance and I was just so very proud of them =). It was a great two weeks and I got to meet more kids and become a lot closer to them as well. They all loved holding my hand, sometimes it got a little out of control because they would pull me, fighting for my hand. I swear I had like five kids on each arm...no joke. It almost felt like they'd end up fighting for my legs too...lol. Which I've had kids hug me by the leg while walking before...and climbed me as if I were a tree. lol. But I love it!
This month I also got to hang out with Padre Ivan, a wonderful Salesian priest I met in the Interamerica Salesian Youth Movement Encuentro in Cumbaya, Ecuador. It was great seeing him again, he took us out for lunch and around Santa Cruz. We got to see some of the sites he works at and I got to visit Casa Main. An Hogar (orphanage) run by the Salesian Sisters. The sisters there are very sweet. This is the hogar that Thea, who some of you know, volunteered for 6 months. The girls had left to the plaza, so I couldn't really hang out with them, but I will be going back this week to get to know them =).
Also, this month, Steph and I decided to go on a baking spree and we baked a lot of cookies for the people that we know around Okinawa. We baked sugar cookies and peanut butter blossoms, and didn't go to sleep until 3am. We delivered them on Christmas Eve, it was a good walk, though the sun was really burning that day and some of the cookies were melting along the way...lol. But we brought a little of an American tradition to the people of our little town...=) they loved the cookies....
After delivering cookies, we went back home and got ready for Christmas Eve dinner alongside the sisters and a very poor family that the sisters chose to invite into their house for Christmas dinner. We had roasted chicken, with rice, salad, and a banana. A very simple dinner, but I know it made the family happy. The family was somewhat shy, but appreciative, the kids were so adorable, especially one of the littlest ones, he was enjoying himself running around everywhere =). They all got presents and food to take back home. I really hope they enjoyed their dinner. After that, we went to Christmas Eve mass. The gospel was turned into a play by some of our kids, and the baby who played baby Jesus, was the sweetest thing. So calm and so serene, he played the part perfectly! Some of the kids danced for baby Jesus and Marcos (dressed up as Santa) gave out candy at the end of mass. After mass, we went back to the sisters house and waited for midnight, we toasted, and then went outside to look at all the fireworks the people of Okinawa light up right when it's midnight. Sor Nora bought some for us to light up, so we joined in on all the fun. It was nice.
On Christmas Day, it is tradition for the volunteers to make Christmas breakfast for the sisters at our little house. We had pancakes and eggs. We enjoyed having the sisters over and they enjoyed the pancakes. It was like our own little family. It was great! In the afternoon, we headed out to the Hogar (orphanage) in Montero, to help out the SLMs there pass out presents to all the girls in the Hogar. It was lots of fun helping them out. Marcos dressed up as Santa Claus again and passed out the presents, while Steph and I ran up and down the stairs bringing down the girls presents =) losing the calories from all the Christmas sweets...haha. I loved seeing the girls faces as they lit up when receiving their gifts. After that, Marcos, Steph and I headed back home, bought our Christmas dinner, took it home and ate it while watching "The Nativity" after that, we opened the presents we got for each other, very small, simple gifts, but fun all the same =). I got a tiny notebook from Judy, chocolates from Marcos, and a pair of pink earrings and a pair of socks with a cute frog on them from Steph. =) After opening our presents, we enjoyed another movie "The Family Stone." Such a great end to a special day with our little family, just the three of us. =)
Christmas really felt like what Christmas is suppose to feel like. Even though I missed home, my family, boyfriend, friends and Rambo =), I never had a Christmas like the one I did here. It was so simple, yet so special. You could really feel that Christmas was about baby Jesus and not about the presents and consumerism. People don't decorate all extravagantly like in the states, it's all very simple, but nativity scenes are seen everywhere. And Christmas songs are sung everyday, preparing for the birth of baby Jesus. Every night before Christmas Eve, the other SLMs and I accompanied Sor Nora and Sor Ely in church for a novena. It was so spiritually filling. I really got to remember what Christmas was all about. I wasn't asking for much this Christmas, just for the Lord to take care of my loved ones back home, and solve some family problems that are just ridiculous to me, and...I know this might sound silly...but recently I've been asking the Lord to cure my mother, take her diabetes away or at least lower it down or something, we all know there is no cure for diabetes, but nothing is impossible for God, so I thought I'd try and ask, especially on this faith journey I'm on...this is the perfect time to ask..." ask and you shall receive" so I will keep asking and hoping that God will make this miracle happen, I mean, what have I got to lose...
I didn't need much to make this Christmas perfect, just enjoying where I am, who I am with, and serving others makes it perfect!!!
On a side note, this weekend we go on our first trip, we are heading out to SAMAIPATA, it's suppose to be a real nice place, really excited to see it, and the upcoming month we will be traveling around. We are heading to Sucre, where Judy is...and La Paz, where Sor Nora is from, as well as Cochabamba and many other places =). So be looking out for my next blog which will probably be about my travels.
Again I apologize for my horrible writing, and for how long it is, but as my friend Jesse Ortega (Chuy for those that know him) would say, "Too Bad, So Sad, Get Over it!" lol.
Hope you all had a Merry Christmas, have a wonderful New Years...Love you all, and God Bless.
PS. Just had a strange craving for some Flaming Hot Cheetos, send me some over, please??? LOL CHAU CHAU (Bolivian goodbye)
Lorena
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