Christmas

Christmas here is pretty low key as far as decorations, lights, music, and presents go.  They make up for all that with weeks of music till 4 a.m. and all day drinking.   Here in the Dominican Republic families, neighbors, and friends gather on Christmas Eve for a big dinner.  They do it big and bake chicken and pork, which they normally don't do because using your oven is expensive.  Spaghetti, a spread of cold salads including green salad, potato salad, and macaroni salad crowd the table along with tostones, apples, bread, and brightly colored sodas.

On Christmas day everyone puts on new clothes.  My project partners son asked me if I had purchased my December clothes yet.  I told him it wasn't in my budget.  The day is full of visiting, eating leftovers, and the whole family taking a trip to the discoteca.

I made myself pancakes for breakfast and settled in to watch a movie.  My neighbor came by shortly after I had enjoyed Love and Other Drugs to tell me she had some bad news.  She went on to explain how my land lord's daughter had said that my bed and my plastic chairs are going to be 'repossessed', and that I needed to find a new place to live.  Merry Christmas, your family is coming to visit in a week, you are leaving to the capital in two days and there is no other available housing in town.  Ahh!

Thankfully this girl was just talking smack.  I spent a whole day fretting over the whole ordeal, and there were definitely some tears involved.  The situation brought be to my New Year's Resolution though, I need to grow some thicker skin.