Sin Título: Navi Navidad

OK, so maybe I've neglected posting. It's mid-February, and here I am writing about Christmas. I have a mental block when it comes to writing. It doesn't matter if it's an important essay or just a simple blog post for my family to read--I will put it off until the last minute. So, here we are almost three months later.

How was my first Christmas away from home? It was--well, a mixed bag. At first, I was fairly confident that I could manage the holidays away from my family. After all, I had Alvaro's family to celebrate with. While they could never replace my own flesh and blood, being closed to loved ones can make all the difference. And in truth, it really did ease the pain of celebrating Christmas on a separate continent.

I spent most of December trying to create my own holiday spirit. I made eggnog from scratch, bought a miniature tree, and cheap Christmas stockings. I sang all my favorite songs and watched Elf. I ate my weight in chocolate.

Christmas at my school was no small feat either. Each class rehearsed and performed their own carols--one in English and the other in Spanish. I even opted to come in on my day off and watch them perform. It was a lot of fun! The kids all wore Santa hats and red jumpers and it was a great way to kick off the Christmas vacation. As a bonus, the teachers were offered a free lunch after school ended. Oh, it was delicious. In true Spanish fashion I ate until my stomach couldn't hold any more, and then ate some more. It was also interesting to see the staff celebrating all together. Teachers were throwing bread across the room and dancing on tables. Alcohol may or may not have been involved (it totally was).

Some of my second graders wrote my name on the board. Second graders are the cutest!

I also went to see the Nutcracker ballet. On Christmas Eve I was lucky enough to come down with a cold. In addition, one of the packages my parents sent for Christmas had failed to show up. I called correos (the Spanish postal service), only to be told that such a package never showed up and must have been lost. So, I did the only thing a reasonable, sickly adult would do and had a mental breakdown.

But life goes on, and that night I begrudgingly went to a holiday dinner with Alvaro's family. I admit that I felt better afterward, although being sick kept me from really enjoying my time out. When I'm sick I just want to stay in bed and watch TV until I stop feeling like death.

Thankfully I was much better on Christmas. My family has a tradition of waking up before dawn and lighting a fire in our fireplace while opening presents. Well, I don't have a fireplace and Alvaro isn't a fan of waking up early, so I made due with what I had. I lowered the blinds to darken the room and found a "fireplace" video on Youtube. Surprisingly, although it wasn't the same as home, I found that those little details made a difference.

The best thing about Spain is that the holidays don't end with Christmas. New Years Eve is usually an eventful holiday, and Reyes is the main gift-giving celebration. So, while I didn't do any travelling over the break, I did go to a lot of family dinners. And my "lost" package did turn up, albeit after Christmas. All in all, it was a successful holiday away from home.