MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM EL SALVADOR!!!!!!
I start off by saying that this has legit been by far been one of the best Christmas that I have had in a long time, Mostly because I got to celebrate the holiday twice by means of the Slavadoran Christmas which is celebrated on December 24th (American Christmas Eve) with the girls & boys of Mi Casa and then my team and I celebrated our American Christmas on the 25th with each other as they are my family this Christmas. I must confess that it feels really weird to not be having Christmas at home with my parents this year, and it is also feels alot stranger then I thought it would to not have a white Christmas either.
(As well as the fact that I am out of the retail business, and that alone has restored my Christmas spirit this year)
On Christmas Eve Eve, my team and I wrapped our presents that we brought for the girls as well as wrapped our gifts for each other as we drew each others names in secret santa, and I got Kaitlin, which I was extremely excited about drawing her name.
So here is what I did on Christmas Eve & Christmas Day:
Christmas Eve (Salvadoran Christmas Day)
I woke up early this morning and made breakfast along with the help of Sarah Ann, for the house which consisted of what the traditional Christmas Day breakfast is at home for me. Harvey girl pancakes (pancakes made with oranges), bacon, and scrambled eggs with cheese. I was worried about how both the girls and my teammates would like them, but as it turns out my teammates really enjoyed the pancakes, and I think most of the girls in the house liked them as well. After breakfast, we all just relaxed and watched movies, and had lunch while our Christmas dinner was cooking.
Now for our Christmas Dinner WE HAD A FULL ON TURKEY WITH STUFFING/gravy and rice!!!!! If you know me you know that I don’t like either stuffing or gravy but now I do which is pretty amazing as I think my taste buds have evolved over these last couple of months, but yeah I actually enjoyed eating stuffing. I was also overly excited about having Turkey for that was something I missed out on thanksgiving and was a bit upset about our thanksgiving meal last month, but because I haven’t had it in over a year that bird tasted so good to me.
After dinner we went back to the girls house to open their presents as the boys opened theirs earlier, and WOW was that fun to witness. Unlike the boys opening up their presents, the girls way of doing it was much more organized for 2 of the girls “played Santa” and grabbed a gift from under the tree, and called that girl’s name to come up and get her present then she went and sat in the middle of the circle, and opened her present in front of everyone. After the present was opened everyone cheered, and screamed with excitement after each present was opened, and the excitement everyone had about their present was just awesome to watch even if it was clothes, they all got excited about it. There is def a lesson to be learned here from these girls that is to be excited about whatever you get no matter what. This is something that I learned as I was watching them open their gifts for I know there were times that I had received a gift that I wasn’t thrilled about, but had to fake it to show the giver that I was excited to get their gift even if it was clothes.
After all the gifts were opened, we got to take part in another Salvadoran Christmas tradition which to set off fireworks at midnight to celebrate Jesus’s birth. It was so cool as fireworks is also something from home that I miss, both setting them off & watching them. We could see other people setting their’s off from a few miles away when we were standing on the balcony as it was a such a clear night. It was also a late night for us as we didn’t go to bed til almost 2am. I really want to adopt this tradition when I go home.
Christmas Day (American Christmas)
Morning- It felt so good to finally be able to sleep in as sleeping in on the Race is rare to be able to do. We slept in til about 930, and we woke up to the awesomest of surprises as on the dresser in the living room where we are sleeping, was not only our presents from our secret santa, but also a stocking for each of us! I about cried when I saw this for that was one tradition back home that I knew I was gonna miss, but thanks to Sarah Ann me and the rest of my teammates got a stocking! She even put an orange & candy in mine which was also a common thing for me to get back home, and I even ate some too which one of the only times I eat candy that early. After we opened our stockings, we ate breakfast with the girls, and got dressed for the day before heading out to the mall to celebrate our American Christmas as a team.
Morning/Afternoon- Once we arrived at the mall, we headed to the Christmas tree, and sat down in front of it to exchange our gifts with each, and opened them one by one starting from youngest (Lauren) to oldest (Me), again that was a tradition that I did at home, and was able to translate to the World Race. We got strange looks from the people walking by, but it was so worth it as we had so much fun opening up our gifts. As mention above I had Kaitlin as my person to get a gift for, and I had make a gift of all her favorite things, and she absolutely LOVED her gift, which made me happy as I always worry about giving gifts to people. Jillian had my name, and I got from her some of my favorite candy ‘& lenses that go over the camera on my phone or Ipod. My team and I also found out that an anonoymous supporter gave a an overnight stay at beachouse on our off days next week, which we all freaked out about because that was just so awesome that someone would do that for us! My team and I also sent a Christmas message to my best friend as she had sent me one earlier that morning, and I also a little teary eyed when she said that she was thinking about me today for I too was thinking about her today.
After we finished opening presents, we wandered around the mall for a little while before settling down at a coffee shop to facetime our family back home, and relaxed for the rest of the afternoon. While we were at the coffee shop we were spotted by Team Magic TreeHouse who were also spending the day at mall, and they hung out with us for about 2 hours before they left to get dinner.
Evening- We had Christmas night dinner as a team at Longhorn Steakhouse, and I finally got my steak that I had been craving ever since I left the states. That is by far my favorite meal as one of my favorite things is to share meals with people, and I especially love sharing meals with my teammates and to me every meal that we have shared together has been one of my favorite parts of the Race, but since it was Christmas this team meal was extra special.
After dinner we headed back to the house, where I finally skyped my family, and for the first time since leaving in October, I actually felt a bit of homesickness as my dad was showing me all of our Christmas decorations and our tree, and what really got me was his comment about how he’s not going to the Quick Lane this year since I’m not at home to go with him. This is the first time since we started going to the bowl game when it was called the Motor City Bowl back in 2000 (the Bowl game has been around since 1997) that we won’t be going, and I almost starting crying for that is my favorite Christmas tradition out of them all. I also found out that my parents along with another couple from church brought a pointsetta in my honor, which made me feel good, and makes me know that my church family is thinking about me this Christmas season.
So yeah, Christmas looked alot different for me this year, but as I mentioned before I have gained so much more this Christmas then any other previous Christmases. I got to spend it with my sisters in Christ & 17 other amazing girls, and have received gifts that cannot be brought anywhere. No matter where I am for future Christmases, I will always remember my Christmas in El Salvador in 2018.
I LOVE YOU TEAM SURRENDERED!!!!!!! THANK YOU FOR MAKING THIS CHRISTMAS EXTRA SPECIAL FOR ME!!!!!!
Til next time your fellow sister in Christ,
Bonnie
Team Surrendered
P Squad
Psalms 18:2
YOLO
