Christmas Eve & Christmas Day

Christmas Eve Dinner

Christmas Eve Dinner with a Christmas Bear and Nicaragua Beer

Most of them are all from Europe so we had German potato salad, German vegetable salad, French cold soup, French some kinda of spice (curry-like) chicken and I made green bean casserole. My favorite though was dessert Fondue with pineapple, banana, cantaloupe, sweet bread and an Australian cake Pauline made for us.

Fondue dessert for Christmas Eve Dinner

After dinner Ryan and Peter (our roommate) got inspired by the Nicaraguans’ way to celebrate Christmas to go buy loads of fireworks. They bought everything from black cat stripes, large and medium bottle rockets, M 2000s, Roman Candles, tons of small loud bang ones, and a few shoot’em up in the air colorful ones.

Ryan & Peter trying to figure out how to light the Nicaraguan fireworks

Ryan lighting Fireworks on Christmas Eve

Ryan lighting Fireworks on Christmas Eve

Everyone in town were shooting off fireworks all night BUT at 12 midnight it was like nothing we expected!!! Every fifth house gave it all they got. It sounded and looked like our street was under attack, BANG, BOOM, another civil war, BANG, BOOM, POP, the Fourth of July on steroids, and a huge cloud like a volcanic eruption swept down the street. Everyone was cheering, hooting, hollering, laughing and dancing. All I thought was if this is how they celebrate Christmas then what will New Years be like. WOW. Scattered fireworks went off for another hour or so until they finally died out and we went to bed.

Debbs sparklers on Christmas Eve

On Christmas day we went up to San Ignacio to play baseball and soccer with the kids again. Again it was so much fun. Peter came with us this time and he too agreed this was a perfect way to spend Christmas. Time flew so fast before we realized it we were up there for three hours. And at the end the kids were again asking us when we would return. We told them in two days, Sunday. So today as promised we went back and today a lot more people showed up. There were more guys our age and even some older guys. We played baseball with almost two full teams though still Nica rules not quit like real American baseball. We played with a tennis ball instead of a baseball since no one has baseball gloves, only two bases instead of three and only six innings instead of nine. Whatever. Their country, their rules. Plus I don’t know enough Spanish to explain it to them otherwise. Instead we took enjoyment in practicing the Spanish we could speak, hanging out with the locals and again experiencing a little more traditional culture.

Some of the kids we played Soccer with on Christmas

written by  ryan & debbrial on December 27, 2009 from Granada, Nicaragua
from the travel blog: Us Discovering the Latin Americas
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