¡Hoy es Navidad!

One of the more fastidious Christmas traditions in Panama is that Jingle Bells is actually a hymn. Not that "Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle all the way" is classic musical writing, the Spanish version ranks up there as one of the most annoying songs every.

NAVIDAD
NAVIDAD
HOY ES NAVIDAD.
ES UN DÍA DE ALEGRIA
Y FELICIDAD.

Annoying. And the fact that it is played in church, and the aforementioned chorus is repeated about 100 gazillion times, well, that just adds to the horror. (If you are brave enough to face both a bad Christmas Carol and David Bisbal--the one man Spanish equivalent of the Backstreet Boys--check it out.)

Yet today, toting a large package under my arms and returning from Lunch break, I couldn't help but sing it.

My Christmas Package from my family arrived today. YEAH! Today was finally Christmas! I was excited. The package only took one month exactly to get here. (Lesson learned: DONT SEND PACKAGES EXPRESS! They arrive in the same amount of time, and you are out $30.) I ripped open the package to find baked goods (molded. Lesson learned: food hardly makes it through a four week transit, most of which I am sure was spent sitting on the Panamanian post office floor) and three secrects awating all wrapped in Christmas-y goodness. Hardly containing my excitement (I didn't have to open the package at the customs check point, so this was almost like actually opening REAL christmas presents by the tree), I ripped the packages open one by one.

SHEET MUSIC! My fingers are itching to go home and play the Debussy, Bach, Beethoven, Gershwin, and Joplin that my parents sent along.

DVD: The Bourne Ultimatum, which was actually just in theaters here last month but I did not see.

Literary Magazine: More a consolation prize than a present, I requested an article online for the paper I finished writting three months ago, and was unable to download it. As compensation, the University Compultense de Madrid sent me an entire copy of the Anual. Literary Heaven for my reading pleasure the next few weeks.

Some salvagable bakes good: Seven Layer Cookies, Peppermint Almond Bark and Sugar Cookies: its kind of ironic, being diabetic and all, all the sugar in these salvagable items preserved them, and all the somewhat healthy things perished. Darn!

Anyways, Today is Christmas! ¡Hoy es Navidad! YEAH!!!! Finally the Christmas season is over for me!