Navidad

Esme, Ale, Gaby, Karina and I went to Plaza Gallerias to eat breakfast at Applebee's. Afterward we ended up going to the movies to see the Golden Compass. I'd never heard of it before but saw from the poster that it was subtitled in Spanish and it had Nicole Kidman and magic. Sounds good. Well, this one was dubbed and so it definitely didn't have Nicole Kidman's voice haha. It was an interesting experience because most of the movies I have seen here, I have already seen in English or I have heard something about the story. So, I went into this movie and had to rely on my Spanish and the actions of the characters to understand it. I saw the same movie with my brother and sister when I got here and it was in English of course and I'd say that I understood about 90% of it when I saw it in Spanish. Good news for me heh heh.

Mexican Christmas is celebrated on the 24th. Esme's family all got together and made a huge dinner and at midnight we opened our presents. It was great being around her family - they are all so loving and friendly. The food was delicious too. They even gave me some gifts. And the gifts were fantastic. Esme and Ale gave me a lot of shirts and 3 pairs of boxers - 2 of which have tails (reference pictures below). Paty (Esme's mom) gave Esme and I matching sweaters and I love mine. Although it looks light green in the picture, it is actually dark brown.

The next day we were all bums in Esme's house. We watched movies, we played computer games, and we did nothing. It was great. The following day, very early in the morning they drove me to the airport and then I slept the entire way to my parents house.

It is so great to see my family again. I really wish Stephen were here or that we were in Boston with him and the rest of the family. I've been hanging out with Daniel and Sophia a lot - they are so tall now... crazy. I've also been catching up on some reading (read Angels and Demons a couple of days ago) and movies. Anyway, the days are passing by really fast. Plus my family is moving to another state and so we will soon be busy focusing on getting things ready to go.

It feels so weird that they are moving. We have moved a lot when I was growing up, and so it shouldn't really feel different. Plus, I've barely lived in this house because I was in college and working. Anyway, it will be good I'm sure, but I know whenever I get the chance to visit for the first time I will feel out of place again. It's just a natural thing I guess.

The weather here isn't as cold as I expected it to be but it is still chilly. I definitely like the weather in Guadalajara better but I love the nature and lack of pollution here. Wish I could somehow combine the two.