Christmas here was tranquil, family oriented, and enjoyable. Although I missed my family immensely during the days of celebration, I also grew closer to my Spanish family members here. My first out of eighteen years away from home, and though it was different, it was great. I felt like a part of the family, completely. "Noche Buena", or Christmas Eve, we went to eat dinner and exchange gifts with my host mom´s family. She has 7 sisters, and all but one have children, so it was quite a big party. The numerous people alone made me feel at home. The kids everywhere and laughter were soothing. As was the need to nearly yell to hear the person next to me, I just loved the quantity of people surrounding me. And, of course, the food was delicious. We had lots of small dishes like shrimp, salad, ham, cheese, chips, etc. and the main dish was amazing roast beef my grandma made. The night was incredible.
We drove to the neighbor city of my host dad´s parents after dinner, about midnight, and spent the night there, in his parents´house. My host dad is an only child so this was quite different than the night before. We exchanged gifts yet again and the next morning had a light breakfast then started preparing the lunch, which was great. We all relaxed and just enjoyed the company of family for the rest of the day, then drove home after some rain subsided and I´d taken a siesta.
Well, that´s a little glimpse of my Navidad, more to come and more to recollect with New Year´s and the Three Kings holidays coming.
