Christmas!

For Christmas my family took me to Patos de Minas again to celebrate Christmas with the whooole family. We left for Patos early Saturday morning (dec 21). That night, one of my host cousins was having her 15th birthday party. This doesn't sound like a huge thing, I know, but it is. Here in Brazil, turning 15 is the big birthday. You get to choose between having a huge party with all your friends and family, or you can travel (most who travel go to Disney World). Also, most girls do a huge photo shoot day so many houses with teenagers are filled with giant pictures of their kids on the wall. My host cousin, Yara, chose to have a party. The invitations were fancier than wedding invitations. Everyone got dressed up as if they were going to a wedding. The party was amazing, there were security men there who helped people out of their cars and escort them to the party. Yara was standing at the entrance in this magnificent dress greeting everyone who walked in. The party was located at their family's farm but I honestly could not tell it was a farm because of how decorated and fancy it was. There was a huge buffet table, a table with just candy, an open bar (the bartenders were also doing a fire show), a pool, tons of tables, waiters going around with food and drinks, a huuge display of little Brigadeiros (chocolates), and a dance floor with awesome lights and a cool DJ. This party was incredibly well-done. People easily spend about $3000 almost on these parties. There was also a station to do face-painting with neon paint. This party also has it's own instagram tag page. It was insane.
We got to sleep at around 5:30am.
The next day we had to get up early because there was another fancy party to attend to at noon. It was an engagement party of one of my other host cousins, Thais. The party was held in the back yard of Thais's house. Once again, the whole family dressed up nice, went to the party and met Thais's fiancé and his family. There were waiters bringing food and drinks around again and not to mention a hired group of people to do a Churrasco (BBQ). The food was amazing! There was also a table full of chocolates again. Every party here in Brazil has brigadeiros (mini chocolates made with condensed milk and chocolate powder).
On the Monday night, the whole family got together and went out for Pamonhas. Patos de Minas is famous in Brazil for their pamonhas. I really don't know how to explain what they are... They are made from corn and you can really much stuff anything in them. They are soo good!
Tuesday, Christmas Eve! December 24 in Brazil is the equivalent of the 25th in Canada; it's the big day! After lunch, Clarice and I went to Aunty Lourdes house to decorate with the other host cousins. We made stars, hung pretty pinecones with ribbons, etc. The house looked amazing! Once again, everyone got all dressed up and arrived at the party. There was so much food, drinks, sweets, cake, more food, and more food again. This family is so big, there was about 30 people there I think and that's not even all of them. At midnight, the whole family circled in the backyard, held hands, some said prayers, some said thanks. It was a really beautiful moment that I was so honoured to be a part of. After was present time. Since this family is so big, it's hard for everyone to buy a present for each individual person. Instead, they do 'Meu Amigo Segredo' (Secret Santa). When you go to give your present to your 'Amigo Segredo', you first have to stand up and say some things about the person and everyone has to guess who it is. The present I received is this beautiful (totally hand painted) jewellery box. It has the Brazilian flag on it and a colourful bird from the Amazon. It was also filled with candy when I opened it. After, my host family came up to me with presents as well. Clarice got me a beautiful necklace with tons of colours (it's so unique, no one will ever have the same), Pai got me a really pretty bracelet that they said is a famous type in Brazil, and Mae got me a super colourful and beautiful shirt that coincidently goes perfectly with my necklace and bracelet.
They all hugged me and told me how much they liked having me here and how it was so nice that I spent Christmas with them. They are the sweetest people ever, I actually almost started crying right then. It was such a beautiful night.
Something I forgot to mention: the whole 'Santa' thing is a little different here. In Brazil (or at least in my family), Santa comes to each house at midnight while the kids are still awake and hands out their presents directly to the kids. In my family one of the cousins dressed up full-out as Santa and came to the door. Santa passed out candy, took pictures with the kids and gave out presents. It was really cute.

Christmas Day, the whole family gathered at the grandparents' house for lunch. The day before, I had made two giant ice cream cakes for dessert. After we ate lunch, the dessert didn't stand a chance, it was gone so fast. Two giant cakes. Gone.
We gathered in a circle again, held hands, and said more prayers. I sang 'The Christmas Song' (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire for those of you who don't know). After the food was gone, we packed up and headed home for Belo Horizonte. I hated saying bye to everyone because I knew I wouldn't be going back as often since I would be changing families.
People say that the holidays are the hardest part about exchange because you're not with your family. If I am being honest, yes I miss my family and there was a part of me that missed being with my family for Christmas. However I am so blessed to have had the chance to spend Christmas with such a sincere and caring group of people. I truly love that family so much, they welcomed me into their family the very first time I met them and I feel closer every time we get together. Thank you so much, everyone. Eu tenho muito amor para cada um de voces. Voces fizeram meu intercambio muito melhor. Muito Obrigada por tudo!

Merry Christmas/ Feliz Natal! I hope all is well from where you are reading this. Lots of love