Christmas: low lows and high highs

I was really looking forward to Christmas. I decided quite early on that I wanted to spend Christmas here in Costa Rica. I had several reasons. The biggest, I suppose, is that Christmas Eve is the 2nd most important Christian holiday here (Good Friday being #1, with Easter and Christmas Day following a good distance behind… that’s right… Good Friday is bigger than Easter here).  I also thought it was a good habit to set down roots here. It won’t do for me to expect to be accepted by locals if I’m unwilling to live side-by-side with them… holidays included.

This wasn’t an easy decision. It would have been easy and cheap enough to fly back for 2 weeks or so. There was the added allure of a dear friend’s wedding. There was also the memory of my year in Egypt and of Christmas being the roughest time of the year for me, emotionally.

So, I entered the Christmas season with hopes and fears all mixed up in a big bundle.

One thing I did to prepare was to buy a turkey. It was on sale after Thanksgiving. I had been eyeing it for a few weeks… talking to the managers, trying to get a better deal, etc.  They didn’t budge. My central argument was that I was pretty sure that I might be the only one in the neighborhood who knew how to cook a turkey (they aren’t that common here).  The managers smiled and shook their heads.

I ended up with a deal… a steal really.  I paid $40 for a 20 pound bird.  This was with a 25% post-Thanksgiving discount!  I call it a steal, because I’ve seen small Christmas hams for $80 or more…

Yup… food prices here are outrageous.  Especially animal products.  In the states, if I wished to bake a cheesecake, I would spend roughly $5 on the cream cheese… $4 if I found a sale.  Here, its easily $18… just for the cream cheese for one cheesecake.

But I digress…

I bought the bird.  I thawed it.  I made a brine.  (Here is the recipe.  I usually add a bit of parsley so that it can fit the spices from the Simon and Garfunkel song… it already calls for sage, rosemary and thyme).  I put the turkey in the brine and went to sleep.

Christmas Eve, I awoke in misery.  I had been hammered by the worst flu I’ve had in about 5 years.  I was barely able to keep down liquids.  I was feverish.  I ached all over.  And, worst of all, I knew that I would miss out on Christmas in Costa Rica.  I could barely stumble to the kitchen much less the quarter mile to the local church for the Christmas Eve service.  I spent the whole day in bed, under a pile of blankets to control the chills, trying unsuccessfully not to feel sorry for myself.

My housemates took excellent care of me.  They checked on me.  They made me freshly squeezed lemon juice.  They were incredibly attentive.

But no amount of care and attention can take away the disappointment and disconnection that occurs when you’re sick during the holidays. I felt like I was missing out on a lot of stuff… because I WAS missing out on a lot of stuff…

I fell asleep that night, sad and discouraged.

Christmas morning, I awoke.  The chills were gone.  I had a bit of a headache.  But, the sickness had passed… as had Christmas Eve, the main event here.

I tried to call my parents to see how they were and wish them a Merry Christmas.  My mom had said something about Skyping sometime between 9 and 11.  No answer.  I cycled through their phones: Mom, Dad, Sister, Mom, Dad, Sister.  Nothing.  As 11 approached, I became somewhat panicky.  I’m 28 and I’m a big strong man.  But, I needed my mommy.

At last, on what must have been the 7th attempt, I got through.  They had just finished breakfast.  Relief swept over me.

My sister took me around the house to show me the decorations.  Then, we sat down in the living room for devotions.

There’s this weird thing that I often do during Advent devotions.  Growing up, I liked to slide under the glass coffee table so that I could look up through the glass at the candles.  Something about the point of view really helped me get in the Advent mood.

Without needing any prompting, my sister placed me under the table and proceeded to light the candles.  I don’t know if my family could see, but tears of joy and gratitude were streaming down my face.

We attempted to sing Silent Night together, but its hard to do things that require precise timing over Skype. We encountered similar challenges with reciting Luke 2:1-20 together. We opted instead for trading lines: me, my sister, mom, dad, me, etc.

Despite the challenges, it ended up being a wonderful Christmas. I certainly won’t forget it soon. Thinking of it still bring happy tears to my eyes.

PS. The turkey turned out great!   🙂