"No, life cannot be understood flat on a page. It has to be lived; a person has to get out of his head, has to fall in love, has to memorize poems, has to jump off bridges into rivers, has to stand in an empty desert and whisper sonnets under his breath... We get one story, you and I, and one story alone. God has established the elements, the setting and the climax and resolution. It would be a crime not to venture out, wouldn't it?"

--Donald Miller

HOLA 2010!

Thursday, January 7, 2010

This New Year's I was invited (or dragged) by the mother to a New Year's party with Chilean people. (There are about 30 of us in the Nashville and surrounding areas in case you were wondering).

I had never met any of these people and figured that this was going to be another "adult party" where I was surrounded by the 50+ crowd and end up celebrating the New Year bored and in a corner.
Fortunately for me, this was not the case.

How Chileans Celebrate the New Year

1. Show up to the party around 10 (it doesn't matter that the party was scheduled for 9, everyone shows up at 10)
2. Get kissed and hugged by every person present (doesn't matter that you've never met them before)
3. Eat a ridiculous amount of food nonstop for about two hours (I tried cooked red cabbage--interesting)
4. Ten minutes before Midnight: Learn about different Chilean traditions of ringing in the New Year
***First, kiss the cheek of the first man you see (unfortunately, there were no cute single guys there)
***Eat a spoonful of lentils (for good luck)
***Eat a spoonful of black beans (more good luck)
***Eat 12 grapes (because Chileans like good luck)
***Drink champagne
***Be wearing yellow underwear (so that you'll find your true love in the next year--also why I'm still single)
***And my favorite tradition: Run around the house carrying a suitcase (to bring good luck on your travels--duh.)
5. Play ping-pong and other various games until the wee hours of the morning

This was possibly one of the most hilarious and cheerful New Years parties I've been to and next year if you invite me to your New Year's party, maybe now you'll know why I'm bringing a suitcase

1 comments:

Anonymous said...

More posts, please!!

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