So Christmas has come and gone. There are some things that are exactly the same about it here – great food, spending time with family, lots of laughter. There are lots of things that are different – no hustle/bustle, no Christmas cookies, no frustrating 9-hour drive, no shopping endlessly for gifts. People don’t lose their minds over the holiday. It’s a special day to celebrate the birth of Jesus and the closeness of family – that’s it.

The Huaca’s had a few people from work come over as well as Henry’s sister. Everyone came over around 10pm on Christmas eve. Our family did a Secret Santa so we exchanged gifts. Marcia made sure there was a little something under the tree for all of the guests. Esteban had me and got me an amazing scarf, some yummy chocolate, and made a homemade card with the family’s photo inside. The card is unbelievable. I can’t believe he made it! I had Marcia and got her a post-its, a frame and I printed a few pictures that she could put inside. I want to keep printing out cute pictures for her so she can keep changing the photo.

We ate dinner at about 12:30am. There was turkey, salad, rice (of course – not a meal goes by that doesn’t include rice), potatoes, and Jello! It was delicious and filling! After dinner, most of the guests left. I stayed up with André and Esteban to watch Pretty Woman and then we went to bed around 4am. On Christmas day, everyone slept until noon and then just chilled out. It was a great day. I was so happy and relaxed.

All in all  – a great Christmas! Here comes New Years! I have to buy some yellow underwear! (Google ¨yellow underwear and New Years in Ecuador¨ – you´ll see why!)

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