Christmas and New Year Bolivian Style!

It feels strange that I have now been in Bolivia almost a month now, and I can now roughly get myself around Cochabamba with little difficulty. My Christmas was defiantly different and felt nothing like the normal Christmas at home, this was helped by the wonderful weather here although it is the rainy season. They hate the rain here and don’t go out when it rains, should definitely take a trip to the UK and see how it is always rainy season!. As I am living with a family I wanted to experience the Bolivian traditions, like learning how to make empanadas and cooking the pork that we would eat at midnight all day. We could not eat until midnight so it was almost like a waiting game, which I filled by singing Christmas carols to their amusement, especially the grandma who also sang some Bolivian songs. The meal was delicious; we eat Pork, plantains, potatoes, vegetables, followed by red wine. The grandma insisted that I had to drink the wine to kill the pig otherwise it would run around in my stomach and I would not be able to dance or sleep at night, which I found kind of amusing! I then did go to a Christmas party with the other volunteers, kind of strange going out on Christmas Eve! Christmas day was relaxing, speaking to my family, and then we had an afternoon tea of various Christmas traditions, like eggnog and mulled wine.  I made the mistake of not travelling between Christmas and new year so I was just at home, with my family, taking day tips was fun but I would have like to go somewhere. I then spent New Year’s with some Bolivian friends in this eco house in the mountains which again was different, but with all the normal amounts of drinking and dancing. After New Year I travelled to a wonderful place about 150 Km outside of Cochabamba called Villa Tunari, which was in the jungle, with all the jungle features such as humidity and beautiful landscapes. We swam in rivers, saw waterfalls and went to national parks to see animals, which was a really nice break from the city. I hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas and new year, with all best hopes and wishes for the year ahead!