By Nola Godbert
VE Volunteer from Hereford, England
At the beginning of December I was finding it hard to get into the Christmas spirit in Chile. One reason is the fact that it is so hot and sunny, nothing like the English winters I always associate with the festive season. It also felt strange being away from my family and our normal traditions, as well as the craziness surrounding Christmas you get at home, with all the adverts, TV shows and shops obsessing over how to achieve the perfect Christmas day.
Here in Chile it is a lot more relaxed but I am loving doing Christmas in a simpler way. Last week we made decorations and Christmas cookies with the boys. The cooking taller especially was pretty stressful, we had no cookie cutters so Jess and I were desperately trying to draw shapes on the dough for all the boys as they argued over who got to cut out what and whose Christmas tree was better. It was worth the effort though because they enjoyed doing it and were proud of their creations.
On Saturday we went shopping and bought small gifts for the boys, which I cannot wait to give them on Christmas Eve. In contrast to children at home, the boys do not seem overly excited about Christmas and they certainly have not written long letters to Santa about all the presents they want. On Christmas Eve some of the volunteers are cooking a meal together so Jess and I have a choice between that or going to the Christmas party at our hogar. It was an easy decision for both of us. I feel lucky that I get to spend Christmas with the boys I have grown so close to over the last four months and hopefully, by showing them how much I love and care about them, make it a special time for them.