Uninvited

Remember when I described how great Sonia and her family are to me?  Well, that all quickly changed after I won the pig..

As soon as I won, Sonia and her son told me I would keep the pig at their house and butcher it there.  All I had to do was give them the intestine and the feet.  I would then give meat to the butcher, the police, the man who comes to check to pig is in good health, and finally the man who sells the meat.  After all that I couldn't imagine there would be much left, so I opted for option number two, sell the pig whole, and alive to someone who would butcher it.  Sounded way easier, and that is what I did.  I sold it to the highest bidder for a couple thousand pesos.  

Ever since this all went down I have been getting the cold shoulder from Sonia.  I would visit their house less and less because I started to feel uncomfortable.  Then I heard they were saying I was selfish, and not easy.

They used to say I was like their daughter and sister, and now they look the other way when they see me coming.  I guess things change quickly around here.  I am not sure what I will do.  The culture here is very indirect.  If I were in the States I would probably march over there and set this all straight and tell them how ridiculous it is they are upset because I sold the pig that I won, but I think the Dominican way is to ignore the Elephant in the room until we just pretend it didn't happen.

My plan was to eat Christmas dinner at their house.  They had invited me long ago.  Not a word about my attendance at dinner has been spoken recently.  I am going to say I was officially uninvited when I won the pig and didn't them them take advantage of that.

They are only one family of hundreds here in the community.  People have been reaching out and inviting me to share their Christmas Eve dinner.  So, last night I ate 3 of the exact same Christmas Eve dinners, because everyone cooks the same thing, the same way.  My neighbor pulled me aside to tell me that all she wanted was for me to feel welcome and loved and know that they are my family here, I was so touched by her words.  I am glad I got to share Christmas Eve with my neighbors.

The fun continues today with non stop music, leftovers and an afternoon trip to the local discoteca.