Christmas in.....October?

So, to answer the first thing you're thinking, yes, Halloween is celebrated here. The embassy does trick-or-treat for the kids (so cute!) and my local church congregation is having their costume party today. But.....

On the 30th day of October, the following things I did see: 1 choir of angels, 4 racks of holiday wrapping paper, 3 strings of lights, 2 Christmas trees, and a partridge in a pear tree. So if you're the kind of person who is totally against ANY type of Christmas decoration or music before Thanksgiving is over, do not come to Venezuela. This is the earliest I've ever seen the Christmas stuff get broken out -- it even beats the Christmas music they played on Oct. 31 in the BYU student center to advertise the annual Christmas concert. HOWEVER, if you're the kind of person who doesn't mind Christmas-y stuff year round (I find it unavoidable, especially when I hit "shuffle" on my iPod, since half of my music is apparently Christmas songs), then you would have loved today. I loved it.

My LDS congregation (ward) went to visit a rest home this morning. I love doing that! That's what we did every day while studying in Mexico, and I miss it. I wasn't sure it was going to be such a success, though -- we all shuffled in and stood there, you know how it goes, and everyone kind of looks at their shoes, and the old people look at you, or at the sky, or at their elbow, or keep humming whatever love song from the 40's they were humming before. And you mumble a "hello, what's your name?" and then back off again when they answer "I don't know why the food here tastes so awful, you go have a word with the cook right now, it's unbearable!" So everyone keeps standing there awkwardly. Which we did today, until one old lady at the back of the room yelled "Hey, I hate it when people come visit, they just stand there and gawk at us like we're animals!"

So we sprang into action. We sang some of the kid songs they learn in church, you know, like Head Shoulders Knees and Toes, and If You're Happy and You Know It. That worked for awhile, but they weren't so much into the action songs. So we started singing Christmas carols. And they sang along! It was sweet. And they already had their Christmas tree up anyway (?). Maybe it was planned all along that we were going to go Christmas caroling, I'm not really sure. But it was nice (though a little bizarre in 80-degree weather in October).

We talked a little bit with all the folks there too. I realized that working at the same rest home every day in Mexico was great, because they would tell us the same stories every day, so by the 4th or 5th retelling, I pretty much understood what was going on. Today, I get the feeling that two of the folks I was talking to both told me really sad things, like "my children abandoned me here," or "I'm dying of cancer," but I couldn't really understand them, so I just patted their hand reassuringly. I hope we can go back, I need another go at those conversations.

It made me think of my Viejitas in Mexico, and I wander how many of them have passed away by now. I learned so much from them, I think we have so much we can learn from the elderly, and so much we can share with them ourselves. They loved having us there today, and even the deeply offended woman who yelled at the beginning came around. Brightening their day was the best thing I've done in a long time. Dear future children of mine: be prepared to be dragged to rest homes on a very consistent basis. You will hate it, and you'll look at your shoes, and mumble some song, and run home as fast as you can, but it will be good for you. And good for the people you bless too (thank you Mom for dragging us to rest homes when we were little, I'm so glad we went).