First Christmas away from home, first of two in Chile

I honestly thought that Christmas would be hard for me this year....particularly Christmas Eve. Every year since the day I was born, I have spent Christmas Eve with my family, exchanging gifts, eating amazing food, and just joining each other's company. In fact, this day is probably my favorite day out of the entire year, although some who know me would say it is my birthday. :-)
Despite the fact that it did not even seem like Christmas, due to the hot summer sun that beats down on us every day, the Holy Cross Chile Associates created the Christmas spirit and made my first Christmas away from home (and the first of two that I will spend in Chile) an event that was absolutely amazing and one that I will never forget.

On Christmas Eve, we started the festivities by looking great in our Christmas best and attending the 10pm Christmas Eve Mass celebrated in the Pocuro chapel. The mass was complete with a live renactment of the Christmas Story, a first for me, especially in spanish. After the mass, we enjoyed a delicious Christmas dinner (preparation a definite community effort) and ate under the grape arbor located in front of my house. The cool Chilean summer night, the grapes hanging above us, the beautiful table that Emily decorated, amazing food, and great company made for an incredible memory that will always stay with me. After the meal, we went inside and sang Christmas carols as Ryan played the guitar. It may sound corny, and in fact, it was; but, we sang and giggled like little kids. This continued as we exchanged our Secret Santa gifts soon thereafter. All in all, it was a perfect ending to a night that I thought would be spent depressed and wishing I was in the U.S. with my family. Sorry family...maybe next year. :-)

Many would end there, but being Holy Cross Asscociates and typical overacheivers, we woke up the next morning at 7:00am and headed to a camping resort in Los Manatiales in Panquehue. There we did the basic camping routine - swam (although the water was freezing cold), sat around a camp fire, cook, rested, made smores, and slept in tents. Despite my love and much experience in camping, I do have to say that the ground we slept on was hard, complete with many rocks embetted in the ground that we simply could not move or avoid when setting up our tent. Everyone woke up with back pains; in my experience, only those who are "older" experience back pains when sleeping on the ground. Could this mean that we are getting old? I am going to use the rocks for an excuse, at least for now.

After two days, which included a mini-retreat to welcome in us "newbies" and discuss HCA, we packed up and went home, satisfied with the way in which we celebrated our Christmas and ready for the new year. The bar has been set high and the second Christmas in Chile definitely has a high standard to meet.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas as well! On Sunday I leave for a two week trip to an island of Chile in which I, and the other HCAers, will chaperone and participate in a missions trip with St. George's, a school in Santiago. My next blog will not be until after then, so this is my last opportunity to say that I hope everyone has a wonderful and blessed start to the New Year!

To see a set of 38 photos from my Christmas adventure, click here. Thanks Ryan for the pics, you are best!