Christmas - Buenos Aires Style

Christmas in Buenos Aires was a lot of fun!  Obviously completely different from any family celebration at home but it's good to know that where ever you are in the world you can still mark the occasion and have a great time.

In Argentina the celebration is centred around the night of Christmas Eve, where Argentinians would have a celebratory meal with their families, enjoy fireworks and then go out all night with their friends!  So, we tried to fit in with the Argentinian way of celebrating ...

On Christmas Eve we joined in with a huge BBQ at our hostel, The Chillhouse http://www.chillhouse.com.ar/.  We sat on the roof terrace and ate the most amazing steak I've had so far and chorizo sausage, black pudding, pork ... so, so good!

The Christmas Crew!

At midnight the fireworks start, it sounded like everyone in BA was letting off fireworks.  They love them! It was brilliant to stand on the terrace and see fireworks in every direction - it really was a great way to celebrate.

Despite the partying on Christmas Eve we were still able to celebrate on 25th as well!  I was incredibly lucky to have been sent some Christmas cards and some small gifts from home.  Opening them and reading the lovely messages really made the day feel special and that I wasn't missing out by not being in the UK.
 
Add to that the incredible feast that we prepared which included Christmas decorations, Christmas crackers AND Secret Santa we really did excel in making Christmas a true celebration!

Cracking on with Xmas!

It's not Christmas without a
Christmas Cracker Hat!

What a feast! 

And what's more, we even adopted the Argentinian Christmas song http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PlZsYMf5gdE as our own.  This comes with a health warning ... one listen and you'll be humming it for days!

FELIZ NAVIDAD!

For the first time in my life I am not at home with my family for Christmas.  However, being in South America it is surreal to think that it even is Christmas – in Buenos Aires the weather is warm, there aren't any real Christmas trees, I haven't heard a Christmas carol, I haven't seen the Christmas Coke ad and nor have I seen any sign of a brussel sprout!  Even though I am away from home I am lucky to be with my best friend and other special people who I have met over the last 8 weeks,  so we will still celebrate Christmas … just slightly differently than at home!  Firstly, the main event is Christmas Eve, so we will be having a steak barbeque and a party on the roof terrace tomorrow evening.  For Christmas Day a large group of us will have a big picnic; we’ll be wearing our party hats, telling cracker jokes and  playing secret santa … all whilst recovering from Christmas Eve! 

Despite not being a part of my traditional Christmas celebrations,  I am still thinking of all my friends and family back home - the office parties, the preparations, the break from work and the festivities!  I’m a little bit jealous at times … mostly of mince pies, pigs in blankets and an excuse to watch Home Alone!  But of course I do miss the opportunity to celebrate with you all.

I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! And thanks to the wonders of the internet and the joys of JibJab I have created an ecard for you!  (Or rather they still crack me up, so this was a good excuse to create another one!!) 

Enjoy!  http://sendables.jibjab.com/view/9xlPqtE8OV9J5e8mZIUP

I hope Father Christmas is kind and that 2012 brings you happiness. 

xxx

I'm like South America's answer to the Christmas Angel!!

Fond Farewells

The other part of getting prepared for a trip like this is all the goodbyes that need to be said.  It was a sad time despite reminding myself and everyone else that I will be returning ... at some stage!  However, by the end of it I did feel like I'd gone through a traumatic breakup - where you remember all the good times and can't remember why you're leaving!  Luckily, South America was waiting for me and I regained perspective pretty quickly!

My friends and family gave me an amazing send off.  It was a perfect evening and I thank them all for being involved and thank John even more for being the superstar who pulled it all together while I was distracted by the packing box fight.

I've captured the evening here ... y'a gotta love an animated powerpoint WITH soundtrack!!

Before the Journey began ...

People approach big trips like mine in different ways.  Some are spontaneous; they book their ticket, pack a bag and go without a care in the world, ready to tackle anything.  Others have a different approach ... I have a different approach!

I am compelled to organise everything to within an inch of it's life!  I had spread sheets and notebooks, timelines and budgets ... everything for maximum organisation- I just can't help it!  There are benefits; I felt prepared for anything and there weren't any last minute surprises ... but it did take a lot of time and probably caused a lot of unnecessary anxiety.  But I enjoyed it too.  Planning for such an exciting trip was fun, the monumental decisions had already been made (quick recap - quit job, left London and friends and family ...) so the getting ready for the trip was my way of starting the journey early!

There were lots of things that had to be done before I could leave, I wasn't ever going to be able to just pack a bag.  I had to pack up my life as I know it.  Not much fun, but a great opportunity to get rid of a ton of stuff.  Every item in storage is one that I know I want to see again or use again when I get back ... anything that I had accumulated for no good reason went to the charity shop, the bin or ebay.  My life is now in boxes in a loft in Shropshire, pretty condensed but I'm sure there's room for improvement.

Anything left is what I have taken with me to South America.  Working out the actual process of packing was tricky, but eventually I got from this:

to this!

I thought this was impressive, until I saw what other travellers are carrying!  It appears that I have fulfilled another habit of a lifetime ... an incapability to pack light! I missed the vital clue ... if your 'stuff' fills an entire room then you have too much to travel with!

I like to think that revising the contents of my pack is something I can do on the move , but I'm not sure I can bear the thought of shedding those 'just in case' items just yet!

The beginning ... well, sort of!

Before I left the UK, I faithfully promised that I would keep a blog to share my pictures, adventures and thoughts from South America with my friends and family back home... that was 7 weeks ago!!

Although no words have been written, there has been a lot of thinking about what I will write in this blog.  I want to capture the essence of my trip, the adventures and the inspiration but also the reality ... spider stories, typhoid scares, border crossings... all the elements that make a trip unforgettable!  But also, nothing too personal (I'm British after all!) and nothing that will make everyone so jealous that they'll stop reading! 

So, here it goes, less talking (as if!!) and more action ... my blog begins!