26 December
Autor: Becca | Publicado: 2010-12-26T10:58:00-08:00

My Christmas was so much better than i could have expected. 
The day of Christmas Eve was very low key and we did a lot of relaxing. I called my brother on skype and we just talked about funny things we found on the internet and movies we had seen and what it will be like when im at Rice next year. and it was so nice to just talk. because i dont get a chance to talk to Conor very often and because it wasnt a conversation about what i had been up to lately or how homesick i felt, it was just us joking around and talking. I also talked to my mom and dad on skype. They are&nbsp;so adorable and my mom showed me one of dad's christmas presents that she hadnt wrapped yet while he pretended that he didnt know what it was and my dad talked about how he missed shopping with me for mom's present this year. and i was doing so well and not feeling homesick until we were saying goodbye and Pai told me he wanted to play his christmas CD for them really quick before i hung up. here&nbsp;it is rare to hear a christmas carol&nbsp;and i just wasnt expecting it and i teared up because it was something from home. As long as i was telling myself that this was Natal and it was brasilian i wasnt feeling homesick but for some reason when i heard We Wish you a Merry Christmas i realized how far i was from home.

When i walked into the living room Mae and Barbara were making candies out of sweatend condensed milk and powdered milk that were red and green (they taste much better then they sound, sort of like cookie dough) and as they rolled them into little penny-sized balls i put them into very tiny muffin cups. and after a few minutes of helping&nbsp;i felt better.&nbsp;And i told them how sometimes we made christmas cookies in the united states and Pai got excited and said i could make them after we got back from the party. 

I hadnt known that we were going to a party, but it ended up being one of my favorite parts of our&nbsp;christmas celebrations. It was at Mae and Barbara's church and there were christmas lights leading from the door of the wall surrounding it to the door of the church with foil stars hanging in the windows and a garland of fake flowers above the door. and when we walked in we each got a little pouch of candies with a golden paper that had a sort of fortune, like mine said "we wish you strength, peace, and happiness this year." and there was fake snow on the floor and a table with a sort of potluck of snack foods. and after everyone sat down different families went to the front and sang a song together or read a small speach about why they are so thankful. and one of the families had a son in england who couldnt visit for christmas. after everyone said a little something, the hugging began. everyone got up out of their chairs and started hugging the nearest people and saying "Feliz Natal" and "all the best for you in the new year." and it was exactly what i needed. this is why i love brasil. because all of those people that i had never met or had only seen once or twice hugged me like i was a member of their family. and they geniunely wanted me to have a great year. and they told me to "guard my homesickness in my heart." and there were so many people that i think i hugged some of them twice. and then we all gathered around the potluck table and ate and talked and visited. and Mae and Pai, who had been videotaping and fotographing eveything set down their cameras and joined us.

I ate so much at the party that i didnt think we would have dinner. I started mixing the ingrediants for christmas cookies and Barbara turned on the Xuxa Christmas&nbsp;Concert that apparently happens every year on christmas eve and Mae turned on the oven to warm up the chicken and pork that had been cooking all day. When i put my dough into the fridge, Mae got out a fancy table cloth that she had embroidered and everyone helped set the table with fancy glasses for champagne. and Barbara whispered to me that we should go get our christmas presents, so we scurried to our room and put them under our two foot talk christmas tree and Barbara announced that Papai Noel had come. Mae and Pai were surprised because they hadnt thought that we bought them anything, but the day before when we stopped in Bauru to pick up the results of Pai's doctor appointment, Barbara and i had asked to be dropped off at the mall and spent the day shopping for the perfect gifts. Pai loved the films we bought him - Barbara bought a Mazzaroli movie, a famous brasilian comedian that Pai loves, and I bought him the Hangover because its my favorite comedy. Mae was so happy when she opened the lotion that Barbara bought her and the new wallet i bought for her after hearing her say she needed one with more space. And since Barbara shopped toghether we knew what presents we were getting, but she loved the Marilyn Monroe coffee cup i got her to add to her collection of coffee cups and I love my Maria Gadú CD. Im hoping to learn the lyrics to her songs soon and maybe even the guitar parts... we were so stuffed from the party that we only ate a little and popped in Pai's Mazzaroli movie and watched it until we got tired. and as we put everything away and got ready for bed i put in my Maria Gadú CD. 

Christmas morning Barbara and I woke up and watched the Christmas programs on TV. There was a Secret Santa gift exchange with famous people from one tv station and a competition of talented teenagers singing christmas carols in english and a sort of game show where famous teenstars were on teams&nbsp; and played games like charades and 20 questions and had a dance off and a video game competition. Afterwards we went to Avó's (grandma) house for lunch and brought our leftover chicken and Avó had made two more smaller chickens (turkey is traditional for Christmas here, but since our family is small we had chicken) and Mau, my aunt, brought a pasta salad. After we ate, the cousins (Barbara, me, Natalia, and Andre) went into the living room and played videogames on our Aunt Bia's very ancient game system, think before nintendo. and When Bia got back form her boyfriend Danilson's she got out her guitar and Natalia got her's out of the car and we had a sort of jam session where we swapped things that we had learned on the guitar. We came back home for a little bit and i rolled out my cookie dough and made frosting and put on the sprinkles while Barbara made some more of the candies she and Mae had made the day before. and afterwards we went back to Avó's for dinner and finished off the last of the rice and chicken. and everyone told me they loved my cookies and wanted the recipe. 

I have no idea what were doing for new years. i know its traditional for everyone to wear white and its more of a family celebration than a thing you do with friends, but i havent heard anything about our plans just yet. Until new years im hoping to learn the lyrics to at least one song on my new CD, visit the athletic club in my city because i just found out i can get in for free, spend a day taking pictures of the holiday decorations in lencois, visit my YEO and his family to give them their christmas present and watch his daughter's favorite animated movie, check the mail for cards and presents, watch Mr. Bean's Vacation (because Barbara watched it and told me its hilarious), and maybe plan a day or two with my friends from school, who i havent seen since summer break began. and then after new years i go on my big trip to the northeast for 28 days!!!

I cant wait to hear about snowshoing! its so strange because here its like 90 degrees farenheit and im writing to you in shorts and a tank top. What are you doing for new years? When does school start again for you? (im sure you "forgot" all that homework on accident) and wait, YOU went running? details please