Christmas Eve I woke up to an extremely hot and humid day.  Before I even got out of bed, a bird flew in through the window, but flew right back out right before I got up, which is very strange.  Number one, I had closed that window before I went to bed (people always say that bats fly inside in Argentina, so they close the windows), and also it is a random occurrence because I have actually had two other birds fly into my home when I lived in the second to last apartment that I had in Phoenix, which is rather odd when living downtown!

While chatting with Maxi on Facebook, he casually mentioned, “Another advice, if it’s start raining there or something avoid elevators.”  When I asked him why, he explained that a storm was coming and he clarified, “No I’m just telling you this so when you go to dinner and party so u don’t get stucked in elevator.”  Well, I certainly hope that I don’t get stuck in an elevator, here or anywhere, EVER for that matter!  Of course by the time I left, I completely forgot all about Maxi’s advice and I went in a couple of elevators, but luckily I did not get stuck!

Dinner with an Argentinian Couchsurfer named Matias, his family, and a Polish Canadian girl named Natalia was perfect!  His dad made an abundance of delicious food, and luckily there were even some meatless options for me, which was fantastic!  “Lengua” or tongue was one of the types of meat that they had, and his dad even tried to persuade me to try just a little bit, but I seriously could not do it!  Why bother when there were so many other things upon which to feast!  Over dinner, we talked about all kinds of interesting stuff, but one of the most intriguing subjects of conversation is that Matias and his dad also do reiki!  It was definitely refreshing to spend the evening with some open-minded people who are also into healing and such!  In addition to this, it was also super cool to talk to Natalia because she is Polish and has also lived in Toronto for most of her life.  Since I am from Detroit, Canada is a rather familiar place.  My aunt Judy, uncle John, my cousin Chloe, and her family all live in Ottawa and my cousin Reuben lives in Montreal!  Plus, it is funny that I was just so close to moving to Poland instead of Istanbul!

After eating tons of amazing food, we went outside so that Matias’ nephew could do his sparklers and such.  Even though he is only eight (the age that I taught for so many years), he no longer believes in Papa Noel, which makes his sister sad, but what can you do?  When we came inside we ate some amazing chocolate mousse and other tasty treats for dessert!  Then although Matias and Natalia were heading to a party, I decided to go home and sleep because I had lunch plans for the next day.  Thankfully, I got home just in time to miss the huge thunderstorm that ripped through Buenos Aires!

Unfortunately, when I awoke in the morning to get ready for lunch, I received a message from Sergio that their power had been off since 2:30 AM, so they would have to cancel lunch, which was a serious bummer because I was really looking forward to seeing them.  While trying to decide what else to do, I was thankfully able to Skype with my mom in Arizona, which was awesome, although I really wish she could have been here to visit!  Then fortunately, I received a message from Sergio that the power was back on and instead of lunch, we would have dinner at his place.  Before I left, I was able to Skype with my aunt Laura and my grandparents in Michigan, which was fabulous since I have not seen them, even on Skype since July when I was there!

Christmas dinner at Sergio’s was absolutely perfect!  Not only did he prepare a huge amount of delectable food on the “parilla” or grill, including some non-meat options, I was also able to meet his brother, sister-in-law, nephew, and parents, which was wonderful!  Talking to everyone was fantastic, and interestingly, his mother is from Barcelona, which is one of my dream places!  Sergio’s wife, Carla is a music teacher and his daughters are also extremely musically inclined, so after dinner they all played some music for everyone!  It was a perfect Christmas night in Buenos Aires and I am so grateful that the power came back on so that I could spend it with such delightful people!  Sergio has been one of my best friends here in Argentina and it has been a pleasure to get to know his family as well.  Even though I am leaving Buenos Aires, I am so thankful to have made such awesome friends here!