Happy Holidays!
Yesterday marked the final day of school for the first semester. I can't believe that I am halfway done with my time here in Bolivia. It seems like we just got here, and here we are at the Christmas holidays! The past few weeks have been fairly busy, but there have been many opportunities to get into the Christmas spirit. This morning I went Christmas shopping in the large market here in Cochabamba. I had to pick up a gift for our "Secret Santa" event that will be taking place next week, and a few things for my friends. I picked up a couple of super cute Bolivia soccer jerseys for some kids that we know, some DVD's (which are ridiculously cheap, although pirated) and my Secret Santa gift, for all around 30 dollars. We went with a couple of our friends who are in on the Secret Santa as well, so there was some (not so) stealthy shopping for a little bit.
I am looking forward to having some time off. We have about 3 weeks off for Christmas break, and I really need it. On Monday and Tuesday next week, a bunch of us single ladies are heading out for a couple days at the SIM cabin, which is on a lake outside of Coch. You can bet there will be a lot of laying out in the sun and listening to country music, and just some overall relaxation. On Thursday we will be celebrating Christmas with the same group, because they are all leaving to travel on Christmas Eve. It still seems weird to be celebrating Christmas when it is like 85 degrees out, but slowly and surely I am getting into the Christmas spirit.
This past week at school we had our Christmas program, which featured some caroling by the high school students, and a pageant performed by the elementary kids. There were some really cute moments, and the message of the play was well received. It was fun to see my students up on the stage singing their hearts out. Yesterday we also had a Christmas lunch as a staff. The cafeteria was all decorated, complete with a Christmas tree, and we had a delicious meal all together. It was fun to be together will all of the teachers and workers, and to celebrate this joyous season together.
Tonight we have a SIM Christmas party, and then we are going to get together and watch Elf. I am excited to be celebrating the holidays in a different country with some new friends, but I still miss everyone back home. Happy Holidays to all of you, and have a fabulous and Merry Christmas!
-Sarah
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Monday, December 6, 2010
The Final Countdown...
Hey Everyone!
Happy Holidays to you all. Thanksgiving has come and gone and now Christmas is on the horizon. This is the first year that I have been away from my family for the holidays, and to make it even stranger, it has been about 85 degrees the past few weeks. The warm weather definitely makes it weird to listen to songs like "Walking in a Winter Wonderland" or "Let it Snow", but we still listen to them anyways! It will definitely be strange to be away from my family for Christmas, but I just keep telling myself that it will make next year that much sweeter.
We got to celebrate Thanksgiving in a big way a couple of weeks ago. A family from our school always invites all the teachers over, so there were about 40 of us all together. After school we came home to Skype with my family, then headed over for Thanksgiving dinner. There was SO much food, and there was even TURKEY, which was exciting because that is rare in Bolivia. I ate way more than I should of, and was stuffed and ready for bed by the end of the evening. It was a really neat experience to share such a traditionally American holiday with people from different countries, while in a different country. Definitely a Thanksgiving to remember...
School is winding down for the semester. This week is the last full week of classes. Next week all I have to do is give semester exams and enter my grades into the system. I can't believe that the semester is essentially over. I am basically spending the majority of the week reviewing for the exams, so there really is not that much work to do over this week. Next Friday marks the end of semester, and then we have 3 weeks off for break, which of course will be a welcome break! Rachel's mom is coming to visit at the end of our break, and we are also planning on heading to La Paz and Copacabana to see Lake Titicaca for a week. It will be nice to have an extended time off, to recuperate and to do a little traveling!
Well I hope all is well with all of you. I love to hear from all of you and to keep in touch! Thanks for reading!
-Sarah
Happy Holidays to you all. Thanksgiving has come and gone and now Christmas is on the horizon. This is the first year that I have been away from my family for the holidays, and to make it even stranger, it has been about 85 degrees the past few weeks. The warm weather definitely makes it weird to listen to songs like "Walking in a Winter Wonderland" or "Let it Snow", but we still listen to them anyways! It will definitely be strange to be away from my family for Christmas, but I just keep telling myself that it will make next year that much sweeter.
We got to celebrate Thanksgiving in a big way a couple of weeks ago. A family from our school always invites all the teachers over, so there were about 40 of us all together. After school we came home to Skype with my family, then headed over for Thanksgiving dinner. There was SO much food, and there was even TURKEY, which was exciting because that is rare in Bolivia. I ate way more than I should of, and was stuffed and ready for bed by the end of the evening. It was a really neat experience to share such a traditionally American holiday with people from different countries, while in a different country. Definitely a Thanksgiving to remember...
School is winding down for the semester. This week is the last full week of classes. Next week all I have to do is give semester exams and enter my grades into the system. I can't believe that the semester is essentially over. I am basically spending the majority of the week reviewing for the exams, so there really is not that much work to do over this week. Next Friday marks the end of semester, and then we have 3 weeks off for break, which of course will be a welcome break! Rachel's mom is coming to visit at the end of our break, and we are also planning on heading to La Paz and Copacabana to see Lake Titicaca for a week. It will be nice to have an extended time off, to recuperate and to do a little traveling!
Well I hope all is well with all of you. I love to hear from all of you and to keep in touch! Thanks for reading!
-Sarah
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