Merry Christmas From the Blogtistis

We went to the water park for Christmas Eve. It seemed a good enough way to mark the occasion (also, remarkably, Lena's first foray outside the apartment building). It was a beautiful, sunny day, the water was cool and clear, and Hindi Bollywood Music drummed from the speakers. We planned a picnic for lunch but fell victim to the internationally recognized scam of the park not allowing outside food or drink. No problem, we thought, we'll have a picnic in the courtyard outside the park. A memorable picnic that turned out to be just us, a million flies, 3 goats, a rooster, and a crowd of wide-eyed hungry children. The sweet Bangladeshi woman who was with us kept giving Enzo pancakes to eat and he kept dropping them onto the dusty, litter strewn bricks after a bite or two. After a couple pancakes had bit the dust one of the children came close enough to pick one up and stuff it in his pocket. Christmas Even ended in the traditional late night mad organizing fashion. We slept well and the kids woke to what we know is a rather sad looking Christmas tree (houseplant). (Let me just interject that I need some serious blogging help because I can't remember how to re-orient pictures when I post them)It was a memorable holiday. We missed our family and friends far away. We loved spending time with our family nearby (Summer!) and new friends here.And since our Christmas is ending and yours is just beginning... let us just wish you one more time... a very Merry Christmas.