CHRISTMAS

these are the moments that make the christmas season so magical:

-baking and decorating christmas cookies with friends while wearing santa hats and drinking hot chocolate with candy canes in it.
-when it snows in humboldt and even though of course it doesnt stick, you are so excited that it actually snowed that you run outside barefoot and twirl and dance around and try to catch the snowflakes on your tongue and go back inside two minutes later because you are truly a california girl and cannot stand the cold.
-when dad brings the christmas things down from the attic and you get out all of the christmas cds and play them in the old cd player that is ONLY used once a year during christmas, and sing along while you decorate the christmas tree.
-driving around at night looking at christmas lights.
-finding that perfect gift for someone, and being more excited to see their face when they open it then to open your own presents.
-coming up with clever hiding spots for your presents.
-locking yourself upstairs and saying nobody can bother you because you are "on official elf-business"
-waking up at 6:30 in the morning christmas day because you have an internal clock that knows its christmas and wont let you sleep late. and then waking up your sister and getting too worked up to sleep but having to wait two excruciating hours until your parents wake up before you can open presents.
-christmas parties with all your relatives.
-the fact that its cold outside and cozy inside!
-and probably more that i cant think of now.

none of those things happened in my chilean christmas. (except i DID find the perfect christmas present for nora. she just has to wait until june to open it)

this is what did happen:
-went swimming with the whole family christmas eve, as it was 95 degrees outside.
-had a christmas eve bbq with the family and anita.
-watched the santa tracker online. sebastian and domingo got pissed because santa went to argentina, then uruguay, then brazil, then... greenland.
-at midnight went outside to look at the sky, and everybody saw 'it' except me, and i suspect there was really nothing there. 
-ran back inside to find presents everywhere. all over the house.
-opened presents. i wasnt expecting any, and started crying, because i got just as much as all the other brothers.
-went home and i skyped my family, and they skyped emilio.
-woke up LATE christmas morning (..so much for my awesome internal clock).

then i spent the morning playing electronic monopoly (courtesy of santa claus) with all the brothers and four cousins. later the whole family came over for a christmas bbq, and we had barbequed chicken for lunch. and then i watched everyone exchange presents, and then we had a white elephant, where i was SO close to getting one of those portable coffee mugs that looks like a paper starbucks cup or whatever ( but not from starbucks) but ended up getting a mickey mouse t-shirt. oh, the irony. 
and then i skyped with my family.
and now i'm watching twenty chilean 'cousins' play soccer, 

its nice and im having fun. but it doesnt feel like christmas at all.

happy holidays...