Merry Christmas...

Christmas has come and gone, I was away from home for it for the very first time ever in my life, and I survived it. It has indeed been strange, it never really felt like Christmas to me, but other than some homesickness in the week before, which is to be expected, it passed happily. I didn't miss a lot of what Christmas involves in Canada, but I surely did miss my family - especially my little grandaughter! But I am so very thankful for Skype, which allowed me to be in touch, and even to open stockings together with some of the family on Christmas morning! But I was busy, out and about, visiting and eating, and experiencing Christmas in another culture.

There were kids' events - one at camp, where there was a program put together by many of the young ones from Bastion for the children of the community around camp, a full house at camp, lots of local kids and parents

a christmas craft - sand dollar ornaments - sand dollars are prolific on that beach

and then the party for all our kids of "Esperanza de Bastion" on the last day of school. Papa Noel made an appearance at both of those events, and a lot of kids had a lot of fun, and Christmas was made a little more special for them than it might have otherwise been.

The big day for Ecuadorians is Christmas eve, that's when families get together, have their gifts, and a special dinner. I was invited to spend that time with the Lucas family in Block 10, along with other "orphaned" Canadians. It's a huge party all over Bastion, firecrackers going off everywhere, music coming out of speakers the size of a car, street parties. "Silent Night" it is not!! Everybody goes outside to countdown to midnight, then it's hugs and "feliz navidad" all 'round, then you go in and have your dinner. Bedtime was somewhere around 2am!

On Christmas day, we 3 Guayaquil Canadians, Janna, Luke and I headed off to Playas to stay with the Horst family, and I am now able to say that I was on the beach on Christmas Day (it's been a goal)!! And much of Boxing day too. And I have to say, if you can't be with your family at Christmas time, then digging your toes into the sand at the Pacific ocean is the next best thing!!! We had a great Christmas dinner and a group of Canadians living in Ecuador had a happy time together.