This year we
decided to stay in South America for the Christmas and New Year’s
holidays. With a house-hunting trip
scheduled for later in January, we figured it would be a good opportunity for
us to travel and see a bit more of the beauties south of the equator while we
still had the chance. Our families were
a little disappointed that we wouldn’t be with them during that very special
time of year, but they understood and were looking forward to our visit just a
few weeks away, especially since it meant that we would be preparing for our
return to life in the U.S. The boys were
also a bit sad to be missing time with their cousins and extended family, but
we explained that it is okay to do something different once in a while, and
that the trip we were going to take was going to exceed their expectations.
Our first stop in
our travels was Cordoba, Argentina to spend Christmas with my relatives. I’ve only spent Christmas in Argentina once –
when I was 8 years old. I have so many
fond memories of that one holiday I spent with my grandparents, aunts, uncles,
and cousins – it is definitely the childhood Christmas that stands out the most
in my mind. Thirty years later (gulp!) I
was excited to actually be with my own relatives again, even though so much had
changed over the years, not to mention the family has shrunk considerably. We left Sao Paulo on December 20th
– as is normal for air travel, it took much longer than expected (I won’t bore
readers with the details of the delays), and 18 hours after leaving our apartment,
we arrived at my Tia Pola’s house near midnight! The heat was bearing down on us – they had
recently had temperatures above 100 degrees Fahrenheit – and no A/C, of course! Due to the late hour, we ate a light dinner
of “Sanduiches de Miga” (yummy thin sandwiches) and veggies and went straight
to bed!
The next few days
were spent lazily lounging by the pool and hanging out with aunts, cousins, and
a few friends. Ian and Alex made friends
with some neighborhood boys and swam and played games (soccer, football, tag,
Marco Polo) with them for hours at a time.
When I asked what language they were speaking to communicate, Alex
answered, “Portuñolish” – his own word for a combination of Portuguese,
Spanish, and English! I love how they
have learned to adapt – and kids speak the universal language of “play”. We were enjoying our time, but really noticed
the differences in what we are accustomed to this time of year – the heat, no carols
being played on the radio, the lack of familiar traditional foods (such as
Nanna’s party mix!). It hardly felt like
Christmas time – the only reminders were the few decorations that my Tia Pola
had put out in our honor, including a huge poster of Santa Claus with an
English “Merry Christmas” greeting!
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| In swimming trunks on Christmas Eve! |
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Christmas Eve
arrived and temperatures soared into the upper 90s – the kids spent the whole
day in the pool with the neighbor’s boys.
Karina and her niece, Azul, surprised us with a visit that afternoon –
while the kids played (not necessarily together!), we sat and drank mate and
laughed and talked for a couple of hours.
We thought of Matt’s family, who were gathering at his Aunt Kaye’s house
for their annual Christmas Eve celebration, and of my mom, who had gone to spend
the holidays with my brother and his family – I thought of my dad, who was
spending Christmas alone (as he says is just the way he likes it, but I don’t
believe him), and of my sister, who was celebrating with her husband’s family
in Virginia. We were all scattered, but
felt like we were together in spirit – I know the boys were definitely feeling
the absence of their cousins, imagining all of them running around and
preparing for a requisite early visit from Santa Claus.
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| Toasting my Tia Pola |
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Dinners are
always served late in Argentina, and as is the custom there, Christmas dinner
doesn’t even get started until 10:00PM or later. The boys were completely exhausted by the
time everyone arrived (Cecilia and her family, and Liliana and her daughters
joined us), but they were determined to stay up and watch the fireworks we had
promised they would see at midnight.
Alex didn’t make it past 10:30 – he barely ate a bite and fell asleep
(in a very awkward position) watching TV.
Ian, however, forced himself to stay awake, and looked completely bored
and miserable – he was definitely missing “home”.
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| Alex crashed! |
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Matt was charming and acted like he was
perfectly content, but I’m sure there was a part of him wishing he was in
Charleston, WV celebrating with the rest of his family. Midnight finally arrived, and we propped a
ladder against the side of my aunt’s house and climbed up onto the roof to get
a better view of the fireworks that were starting to go off around the
neighborhood. Ian, who could hardly keep
his eyes open, climbed up and recorded some of it to show Alex in the
morning. Our “festivities” wrapped up at
about 3:00AM, just as a very welcome wind storm blew in and cooled things off
significantly.
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| Watching fireworks on the roof |
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We spent Christmas day
with my cousin Karina at the home of her parents – their whole family was
there, including Christian’s girlfriend and her kids, as well as Jose Alberto
with his new wife and baby.
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| With Karina and Maia |
As usual, my
Tio Tito and Tia Elsa prepared enough to feed an army and we ate too much –
after sitting, eating, and talking for several hours, we headed over to my Tia
Chiquita’s for one last visit before departing for Patagonia the next morning. This Christmas was definitely different than
any other we had spent as a family, but it meant a lot to me to be with my own
relatives – and it taught the kids that there can be a Christmas without all of
the other things to which they have become accustomed. However, next year we may appreciate those
carols, the party mix, and even the cold a little bit more!
