Feliz Navidad

Christmas turned out to be lovely even though I was a bit homesick. I spent a total of 5 hours at the Catholic church on Christmas eve. The service was as beautiful as it was long and I tried to listen to the whole things but had trouble understanding and paying attention to everything. There was a lot of kneeling, and crossing, and blessing, and praying and I think I stood out because I kept missing the cues.

Christmas Mass... lasted about 5 hours

Some could not make it the whole 5 hours... (see body on the floor between the standing women)

At the front of the church they had a nativity scene set up and at midnight everyone lines up to bow before baby Jesus and give him a kiss. One thing I did catch from the mass was the emphasis on the very humble beginnings of Jesus Christ. -How he was born in a dirty little manger, in the company of animals... How it must have been very cold and dreary that night. Most nativity scenes I have seen at home seem to do justice to this modest image of Christ's birth. Here though, the nativity scene was quite the opposite.

When I approached the scene, I immediately was thrown off by the ambiance of the place... It was less of a barn and more of a disco. The small building was adorned with flashing lights and colorful tinsel. If I knew nothing of Jesus, Joseph, and Mary, and this were my first brush with a nativity scene, I would probably assume that Joseph and Mary were into lavish parties, and that they had decided to welcome their new son into the world at the nicest discothèque in Jerusalem.

 

At midnight, everyone lined up to kiss the baby Jesus as he lay in his manger 

in what could have been the lobby of a Las Vegas hotel.

 

At midnight there was a gargantuan firework show which went on for at least 40 minutes. At the end of the mass everyone was embracing and wishing each other Merry Christmas. I was very happy to be a part of it all.
On Christmas day I watched the movie, Its a Wonderful Life, which I have in both black and white, and in color thanks to Helen :) It was perfect... although it reminded me even more of home it still warmed my heart. Later on Christmas day, I listened to some holiday music (my favorite song being Jingle Bells, sang by The Barking Dogs) -Thanks mom.
All in all it was a nice holiday and I hope everyone at home felt the same.

For New Years I headed to Antigua with some friends and stayed at the beautiful Earth Lodge. This place was amazing and it was incredibly tempting to drop everything and just go and live there. It is a small lodge on the top of a mountain overlooking Antigua. It faces 3 volcanoes and offers modest yet beautiful cabins and tree houses to rent at great prices. Every room has an incredible view over the valley and makes you feel like you are sleeping on top of the world.
On New Years eve we hiked Volcán Pacaya which is the volcano that recently erupted in May.

It was a amazing to see how much of the vegetation had already grown back and how quickly nature is able to renew itself.

The hike was not long but a good challenge as the ground was made up of volcanic ash and so with every step up, you slide back a few inches.

The views were spectacular and at the cone of the volcano we were greeted by a deserted wasteland. There was almost nothing growing at the top and as we hiked around the wide open slopes I was reminded of the huge bowls found at the tops of the great ski resorts. As we made our way down, it was difficult not to run because it was so steep and the ground was sliding out from beneath us. We cut quick traverses down and it actually felt a little like skiing. Aside from the slope being made up of hot black volcanic ash, it was very much like skiing those crunchy, cookie, ice chunks of the north-east.

The Tippy Top of the Volcano.

At the top, our guide brought our group over to some heat vents. There was a good-sized cave you could walk into and it felt just like a sauna. It was an incredible dry heat and you could feel the sweat evaporate immediately off your skin. The other heating vent he brought us to was above ground and as you approached it there was this intense hot wind that swept over your body. We had heard about these heat vents and came prepared with sticks and marshmallows. There was a crack in the ground about a foot wide and it was difficult to look down into it because it felt like your eyelashes might be seared off. Down in the crevasse I could make out a burning stick and red-hot and white hot rocks. We expertly prepared our marshmallows and lowered them down only a few inches into the crack. The marshmallows instantly began to bubble and turn brown. I timed how long it took for a perfect golden brown: 3 seconds. 3! It was amazing. The only thing was that because it was so hot and cooked it so quickly, the marshmallows were not actually cooked all the way through and so we would eat the outside then re-cook the gooey inside and eat it layer by layer until it was gone. They were the most delicious mallows I have ever eaten.

One guy we were with, whipped out a cheese sandwich and grilled it on a rock at the opening of the crevasse. He was nice enough to share, and it was scrumptious.

Volcano Grilled Cheese

After descending down the steep slopes, we headed back to the beautiful Earth Lodge and prepared to ring in the New Year. The evening was warm and clear and we sat in the lodge among travelers and folks from all over the world, eating a family-style dinner, and drinking margaritas. On the other side of the valley, Volcán de Fuego (Fire Volcano) spewed orange lava into the night sky. It seemed almost like a natural preview to the fireworks at midnight... When the clock struck 12, (or 0, depending) dozens of magnificent fireworks shows erupted throughout the valley below. It was one of the most spectacular New Year's I have ever spent...

View From the Tree Cabin at Earth Lodge.

The last few days of vacation passed quickly and I busied myself with planning and meetings with teachers and schools. I finally felt I was ready. I felt like I had all the teachers on board. And then, the weekend before classes were to begin, I fell and tore the ligaments in my ankle.
Don't bother asking how I did it. It's not a good story. But I am open to some more dramatic versions of how it could have happened so please post your ideas here. I have a "walking cast" but what I do is less of a walk and more of a totter. The cast makes my right leg much longer than the other and provides only a small surface area on which to balance, so walking on steep and rocky paths is very difficult. I think I should have asked for the all-terrain walking cast... I've only got 3 weeks to be in the cast, and hopefully I will find a transportation solution in the meantime.

Mes on Christmas Eve

That's all for now,
Be well.
Grace