December 26th,
2019
8:34 P.M. Montevideo,
Uruguay
Merry Christmas from the southern hemisphere!
This holiday season was definitely unusual, but it was a
good unusual; a new experience to say the least.
You don’t even have to be a close friend of mine to know
that I absolutely love cold weather. Spend five minutes with me during spring
(not even summer) and I will be complaining about how hot it is. Well, what a
shock to my system to leave the United States during summer and come to Uruguay
when summer was just beginning, resulting in a very sunny holiday season.
The last few months of the year are usually my favorite for
a few reasons:
1. Cold
weather resumes and insects go back to hell where they belong. (I’ve had quite
the “experience” with cockroaches here.)
2. School
usually begins, and I absolutely love school.
3. There’s
at least 1 holiday in each month. (October has Halloween, November has my
birthday and Thanksgiving, and December has Christmas and New Years.) It really
is the best time of the year!
This year I was in a position where almost none of these
things happened, or at least they happened in ways unfamiliar to me.
I’ve learned that cockroaches are a regular occurrence in
summer, and I’ve been told to “relax” many times, to which I respond, “Yes, but
I don’t think you understand just HOW terrified I am of any bug, let alone a
large, crunchy, indestructible, flying satanic creature sent from the depths of hell.
(Have I made my point?)
Cockroaches aside, I didn’t start school this year, and Halloween,
comparatively, isn’t much of a thing here, as it’s only become popular in the
last few years due to the influence of Halloween movies from the United States.
Even though Halloween was a bust, I had one of the best
birthdays I’ve ever had in my whole life. Everyone here made it so unbelievably
special, and I am so grateful for the community that cares so much about me. I
attempted to cook a nice vegetarian Thanksgiving dinner for my friends here,
but if you’re not watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade or the Annual Dog
Show afterwards, followed by every Thanksgiving episode of Friends, is it even Thanksgiving?
Needless to say, I walked into the grocery store the first
week of December and saw that they had put up Christmas decorations and were
starting to sell fake Christmas trees. My first thought was, “Isn’t it a little
early for Christmas?”, not realizing that it was, in fact, not early in the
slightest.
While the United States probably goes a little overboard for
Christmas, I actually found myself missing the hustle and bustle of the season,
not to mention the snow! Plus, I never got to watch my favorite Christmas movie
of all time, Home Alone 2: Lost in New
York. Very important.
It didn’t really feel like Christmas until I went to a
Christmas concert at the Central Methodist Church of Montevideo where I got to
listen to wonderful music sung by the Gay Men’s Choir of Montevideo.
(If you have Facebook, here’s a link to “Noche
de Paz” [which is Silent Night, but strangely was sung in German?], and it was
absolutely INCREDIBLE.)
Leading up to the big day, which in Uruguay is the 24th,
not the 25th, I spent my days at the beach, just a few blocks from
my house.
For Nochebuena, or Christmas Eve, Ivette (a fellow GMF) and
I were invited to the home of Pablo and Adriana, the most wonderful and caring
people, whom I like to think of as my Uruguayan parents. We spent the evening with
a lovely dinner, played board games, and at midnight we went outside to watch
the fireworks.
I really like this tradition. We just stayed outside for a
little bit watching the sky, giving out hugs, and wishing one another, “Feliz
Navidad!” After, we came inside to open presents and listen to music, and by the time we ended it was very early in the morning!
When I woke up on the 25th (after quite the late
night), I facetimed my family as they continued our tradition at home opening
presents on Christmas morning. Even though I’m thousands of miles away, it
actually didn’t feel that different. I felt like I was there with them.
Christmas music was playing in the background, my dad was attempting to save the
wrapping paper so he could use it for next year like he does every year, and my
mom was temporarily getting up every 10 minutes to check the Christmas dinner she
probably spent days preparing for. (Also, let it be known a Christmas miracle
occurred, and Tobi, our dog, recognized me through the phone. Yes, I think I
was more excited than him.)
The afternoon was spent at Ruth and Diego’s house with tea
and cake. Their house has become a bit of a refuge for me during these past few
months. Diego is from Uruguay and Ruth is from England, so both of them are
fluent in English and Spanish. Not to mention that Ruth is an incredible
cook/baker! Whenever I walk in the door, I yell, “I’m home!” and then Ruth
usually puts me to work grating the carrots, a job she’s convinced I’ll get
tired of by the time I leave.
Every year they also have a choir come to sing at their house for Christmas.
And she has a new kitten!
In the evening, I went to the house of my German friends
where we cooked dinner, listened to music, and talked for the rest of the
evening!
(And apparently we were having a lot of fun because I only got this photo of my friend Kari and I waiting for the bus in the rain!)
Even though it was a strange holiday season, and it didn’t
really feel as “Christmas-y” as it normally does, I am so incredibly blessed to
be in this beautiful country and be surrounded by people that love me like
family.
