Merry Christmas!

Benjamín and I are having a very special holiday season. Last year, we both moped about, missing our families, and were repeatedly pierced by the sharp pokes of culture shock. Coming up on this holiday, I was nervous it would be a repeat. Nothing could be farther from what's happened.

It's Christmas Eve, and I'm listening to what sounds like a group of grown men and a toddler cheer on a drinker or dancer to new feats of festive. We're tucked inside Tara's beach bum apartment in Bayahibe, the scent of sizzling butter still in the air from dinner. Ben made a soft white snapper with tomatoes and boiled potatoes. We had Torón and dark chocolate for dessert. A nice Christmas Eve on the beach.

Today day went much better than yesterday. Yesterday we had no coffee. Ben was face-down on the bed in despair by 3 o'clock and I had to revive him with quick brew ice tea. He had gone into caffeine withdrawal depression and I was on suicide watch, so no way I could go out and buy brewed coffee. The reason: we had not yet located Tara's gas tank, lent to a friend around the corner. Literally, around the corner. Without coffee, we are that muddled.

This morning we jumped out of bed and bought coffee at the closest calmado and found the gas tank, and Abby May, the cutest little black pup on Hispaniola, in minutes. When the neighbor holding onto the gas tank and Tara's dog asked what took so long, and why I called and sent texts instead of just coming over, I was too sheepish to explain that without my morning coffee I am inept and could not find her house for an entire day.

Our 2008 holiday season includes so far: a merengue night in Santiago, an Águilas game in Santiago, cooking up Thanksgiving pies and stuffing for the PC family, the Thanksgiving party itself - complete with more merengue dancing, a dinner party at the country director's swank high rise condo, baking on the fogón (to an American, this would look like an indoor campfire with a dutch oven on it sorta), toasting and packing lots of coffee, and the beloved Christmas Artisan Fare. At the Artisan Fare we sell coffee and I get to buy cool handicrafts. I had been looking forward to a set of hand-carved mahogany serving spoons for soup, sugar, and salad.
Sadly, I had an inner ear infection and spent 8 days wishing the world would stop spinning so fast and lunching around so much. Never made it to purchase my coveted hand-carved spoons. This was the most ill I've been in-country, maybe even ever (I'm built like a semi and a scaredy cat, too). After such, I was not in the mental state to journey up the lomas of the Cordillera Central for Noche Buena (Christmas Eve)- I'm still a little nauseous from all the vertigo. So Ben and I came straight to Bayahibe Beach, where Tara was kind enough to lend us her place while she's in the States for Christmas. Dilana lent us her wireless Internet - so yes, I am very blessed with generous gifts this year!