DÍA DE AMOR Y AMISTED

Happy (very) late Valentine's Day everyone! Valentine's Day is celebrated down here too but they seem to celebrate friendships just as much as the lovely dovey relationships, which I think is so cute. Along the roads they sell beautiful flowers, all the girls were carrying around roses, people were eating chocolates and friends were getting together just to be together.

Initially, our plan for the 14th was to get together with a few of our best girl friends, eat chocolate, drink some wine and watch girly movies like The Wedding Planner and Magic Mike hey ya. This plan, however, ended up changing when Mama Paty informed us that we were going to have a church service in our house that evening with family friends and that there would be a dinner afterwards.

The morning of Valentine's Day, Papa Galo and Mama Paty greeted me with a box of chocolates at breakfast. In return, Nicole and I decided to buy them some flowers on our way home from school because 1.) they deserve it and 2.) it was 30 years of them knowing each other! aww <3

When we got home from school, the living room was rearranged and everything was in order for the service at seven. Mama Paty had been cleaning since I left that morning for class; the alter looked beautiful.

Pretty soon people started coming in to the house, all dressed up and happy to be there. They brought little gifts and Nicole and I were able to meet everyone.  From what I understand, this has been happening for a few years now on Valentine's Day. Mama Paty was so happy that we were able to be there which made me happy because of how important it was to her.

Everyone was given a bulletin before the service started so that we were able to follow along. with there being so many people there, Nicole, Pablo, Mae, Tata and I had to sit in the dining room while everyone else was in the living room, but that was probably for the best. When it was time to sing the songs, Nicole and I were butchering the tune/pronunciation of the words that we didn't necessarily know the meanings of. Pablo and Mae found it amusing but we were really trying!

After the service, it was time for dinner which consisted of  hot wine, a tortilla wrap and a really sweet cake of some sort. We were able to talk with some of the others that were invited, including two nuns. Actually, we probably talked to them the most that whole night. They were very interested in why we were here. :)

The little celebration went on for a few hours and it was a really good time. People were taking pictures, laughing, telling stories, and enjoying all the company.

 

This Valentine's Day, or Día de Amor y Amisted was different than any other Valentine's Day that I've ever experienced and it was fantastic. The love and friendship there that night was evident. Happy 30 years to you, Mama Paty and Papa Galo. We love you!