Being Away from Home for Christmas

IT’S SAD
IT’S FUN
IT’S HARD
BUT IT’S AWESOME!

It’s really hard for me being away from my family during the holidays (well really the winter holidays, I can deal with Easter/Thanksgiving more easily). Christmas to me is really the most wonderful time of the year. Christmas in Chicago is magical:
-snow
-city lights
-cold
-family
THIS IS CHRISTMAS FOR ME

Soooo, celebrating here in Colombia is super different to say the least…

-no snow
-pueblo lights (almost every house has moving light strings hanging)
-hot
-only my cousin and my (relatively new) friends

It’s been…
AMAZING actually!

It feels like it’s been Christmas season for a while now (they have had lights up all December and had a big celebration on Dec. 7th *Dia de Velitas* post).
Although it still doesn’t fully feel like Christmas for me because of the lack of snow and family, it feels like THEIR version of Christmas and I love learning about their culture and traditions.
So today is Christmas Eve and the stores are all open and bustling- this reminds me of the U.S. People have been out and about with their families all day and now it’s party time. People are at home with their families having dinner, music blasting and dancing

Tips for Surviving the Holidays away from Home-

1. Talk to your loved ones you miss! Today I skyped my mom for an hour, facetime’d my best friend for 30 minutes and even called my grandma on her landline (that totally freaked her out haha).
2. Immerse yourself in the culture/traditions of where you are.
3. Eat a lot of delicious food to hide the pain 🙁
4. Stay happy! Next holiday season you can plan ahead and go home if you want.