Merry Christmas and a happy new year!

My Christmas was very different this year, as well as for my fellow AFSers.

People here have asked me "what's the biggest difference between your Christmas here and in Sweden?"
And what can one reply to that? I mean, of course, we have the snow and cold, but that is only superficial. I could say "I kinda miss the family-thing"... Even if I was with my host family, spending Christmas in your own house, with your own family and the well-known traditions, knowing exactly what to do and not being lost, that was the major difference in my Christmas this year. But luckily enough it didn't even feel like Christmas, first and foremost because it was about 40°C outside...

A relative with her adorable kid

I traveled with my family to Ciudad del Este ("City in the East", clever name since the city is in the very east of Paraguay, right by the border to Brazil and about 380 km from Asunción) to spend Christmas there, in a beautiful house of friends of the family.

The main difference between my ordinary Christmas and my paraguayan one was probably the fireworks, the lack of presents and the congratulating. 

Grumpy pheasant

So we sat, on the 24th, waiting for the 25th. when it finally arrived (after we had been sitting halfway starving next to a tableful of food 4 hours)everyone got up and congratulated each other underneath the fierce outbursts of fireworks.(why is still a mystery to me, but it was very nice).

Then there was the Christmas dinner, very Paraguayan with the sopa Paraguaya, Chipa Guazú (which is similar to the sopa)and tons of meat.

Awesome birdies

Christmas fireworks

And that was my Christmas eve.

Christmas food!

An with Cathys awesome cat Luna

While I was paying CDE a visit, i also met up with Cathrine, Rommel and An-Marthe, all exchange students for a small dinner. Very, very pleasant, it was about 4 months I last met them.

Our trip back was sort of interesting. We set out relatively early, aiming to get to SanLo at about 19, so that I could go to the birthday party of Charline (HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHARLINE!!!). 

Traffic jam

We did not, however, take into account that we would be in 4 huge traffic jams due to car accidents, resulting in our arrival at the house at about 22... At that point, I was very tired, and very happy to be safe and unharmed at the house...

Mangooooo!!

Nice paraguayan Landscape

New years was, however, pretty similar over here. New years eve dinner, fireworks at midnight.

A thing they do is to eat 12 grapes at midnight, for luck, health, love and a couple of other things. 

A difference though: I made a gingerbread house!! Usually it's for christmas but I made it a little later, and we ate that on new years eve. Everyone absolutely loved it. Which does not surprize me, delicious as it is!!

 Happy new year!