Well, as promised, this time I will tell you a bit about what the Christmas season has been like for us so far. The first thing to tell you about is that the seasons have definitely changed here! Most of November was dry and sunny and warm -- beautiful weather in the 80s every day, very much like April or May back in Iowa. Last week, the weather changed. The rainy season is upon us -- it rains every day and every night. Not all the time, but enough that it is hard to find a time to hang laundry or bake bread (at this elevation, it is hard enough to get bread to rise properly. Add a cool, rainy day and it's nearly impossible!) The good news is that it is still warm in the afternoons, so you don't really mind having to go out in the rain too much.
I think we have mentioned before that they don't have the big Christmas shopping season that we have in the States. That is not to say that there isn't one, however. A couple of weeks ago, a few decorations began popping up in the shops of Coroico and we began to see the festive red boxes of fruitcake (the local version is more like a golden spongecake with candied fruit baked in) stacked in many shops and at the kiosks of many street vendors. As a matter of fact, the San Gabriel fruitcake boxes are probably the most visible sign of Christmas in Bolivia! LOL
Seriously, though, a few places are decorated a little bit. It was a little different in La Paz when we were there earlier this week -- there are towering artificial trees in every plaza and along the main boulevards in town. Many businesses are decorated, and Christmas music of various origins plays in some shops and restaurants. It is not as saturated as in the States, but it was nice to remember that Christmas is near.
Christmas trees are not unknown here, but they are not something most people have in their house. Most people in our area do not even decorate. We felt the need to have something, so we bought a string of Christmas lights and put them up on nails in the shape of a Christmas tree on a wall in our apartment. Cookie, our cat, promptly bit the plug off the cord, so the lights don't work, but it is still a nice wall hanging.
Most of the students and many staff members here at the UAC are gone now, home to family or on vacation (yes, this is the summer vacation from school). Some will stay, and there are events next week that I will tell you about next time we post. The staff party was last Thursday -- we had a nice Advent mass in the little chapel here on the upper campus (Padre Freddy's message was about really caring about the answer when we greet someone by asking how they are, and about how we should use this as a tool to share the love of Christ with others, and this isn't something we should just do at this time of year. Sound familiar to anyone? Suzanne's Christmas People Throughout the Year sermon came to mind...)
The mass was followed by a delicious Bolivian meal (a bowl of fragrant mildly spiced broth, cut up pieces of chicken and beef with the bone still in, carrots, two different kinds of potatoes and onions) that was shared with the students still present and the Bishop. Then the staff retired to a meeting room and exchanged gifts in the Secret Santa style. When it was your turn, you stood in the center of the circle and described the person you were giving the gift to, so that people could maybe guess, then revealed the name as you went to them to give them their gift. It was fun! We gave a pliers set to the Sister who manages maintenance, some small files to the carpenter, and a set of decorative candles to our friend Hugh (with a reminder that he was a light in the lives of so many). We received a fancy scarf, a Corocio coffee mug, and a Coroico knit cap. Plus, the UAC gave away a San Gabriel fruitcake and a nice bottle of table wine to each staffer/volunteer. It was a fun party, and we really enjoyed it.
St. Andrew's, our home church, was very generous in their Christmas gifts this week. They raised enough money to buy the entire list of tools that Jeff posted, plus a nice monetary gift for us that we will use to travel to the Bolivian Amazon in a couple of weeks. We are so grateful for their financial support, and for the love and prayers that they and many others have shared with us during our time here. Thank you so much, all of you, for your caring support. We know you are all here with us in Spirit, and we thank you for sharing that with us.
Christmas blessings and peace to all, and stay tuned for more news from Bolivia!
Susan
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