'Twas the Night Before Christmas

...when all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse." Whoever wrote that never experienced a Christmas on this island. It is always loud here. Remember, I live in the second loudest country in the world. My Night before Christmas played out a little different than Mr. Moore and Livingstons traditional story.

Holidays here came and are going fast. Didn’t feel too much like the holidays, although we did get a couple days of “chilly weather.” By their standards-high 60s, and they think that they are experiencing the cold winter of Nueva Yol (New York, as my doña calls it). When I try to explain that it is as cold in New York as sticking yourself in our freezer, which doesn’t get too cold, I get a blank stare. She thinks I am lying. Lost cause. I have to simply assure her that “burr, yes it is cold here.” She smiles, excited to be able to experience the cold that she thinks she can relate to the Big Apple, the city of all cities for them- the city where all Americans live, because all other forty-nine states don’t exist. Except maybe Florida because Miami is where the other Americans live who don’t live in New York City. And although they know I am from California, to them, it is all part of New York. Needless to say, I can’t wait until sister comes with a world map. Geography 101.

Back to Christmas. Christmas Eve consisted of a hodge podge of all the ingredients one can possibly find in our town, which don’t get too excited, it isn’t much. It is the only day of the year that families use their oven to cook chicken and pork instead of as a shed to store dishes (reason: gas is $$). Our dinner table consisted of an array of chicken and pork, rice, Russian potato salad (I have yet to find out what is Russian about it), spaghetti, cabbage salad, bread, apples, almonds, raisins and grapes (the four traditional Christmas treats-they only appear at Christmas), what I call my cookie attempt (the oven just doesn’t work properly and killed my snickerdoodles) and an equivalent to a pumpkin pie that I made that was very successful. The family prepared a plate of food for the neighbors so that they could have a taste. We ate together around the table after giving away half of the feast and talked. My sister snickered at my pie, smelled it and refused to eat it. I wanted to reach across the table grab her head and stick it in the not-so- Russian salad. I gave her a smirk when everyone told me how delicious it was. I even prepared one for my fishermen at our meeting on Christmas Day-definite win. Some people here are just so opposed to trying anything new. Some are too set in their ways, never divvying from what they know. It is a whole other story that their minds in school are never worked to be creative and think outside of the box and do something different than the rest of the group. Don’t even get me started.

So my first Dominican Christmas… I survived the mockery of my cooking, what else can I say…The holidays here can’t compare to the States. Dinner was nice, but that was it, nothing else. O wait, forgot to mention one thing. Remember I live in an evangelical community? Well, they have a tradition that the week leading up to Christmas they go caroling. Real cute right. O, just wait. They “carol” more like sing loud somewhat angry sounding church songs from 2am until 6am going through the streets to people’s homes to “save” (convert) people. I think I prefer some good old fashioned Jingle Bells.

2011 is right around the corner. My community is basically paralyzed until after the 6th of January when they will celebrate Three Kings Day. I asked what they customarily do, but I was told nothing. Apparently, a good excuse to extend the holidays and relax. I’ll take it. It is nice to be able to take a few days to myself, put work aside and just talk to people (which is basically what I have been doing anyways), enjoy the beach, clear my mind and find a place to live (cross your fingers things work out). My dad even pulled out some machines that the artisans use and showed me how to make some coconut jewelry. Final product still in the making.

I am excited to start the New Year. Pretty symbolic in the sense that I am going to really begin my projects here. I will be proposing a lot of New Year’s resolutions to my fishermen, which include hopefully constructing and opening our cooperative this coming year. Who knows what this year has in store, but I know I am in for a wild ride.

Wishing everyone a healthy and happy New Year. Let this one be sweeter than the last.