You wouldn't really know it was Christmas here. No houses have trees in the windows; no twinkling lights anywhere; no one is rushing around buying Christmas presents. There are not piles of Christmas cards on the door mat every morning. Mind you, I have my one and only card from my mother in England. She addressed it to the gringa with the big dogs and then the name of the town! The post man - who I had no idea we had - said it took him a week to find me! To be honest I was amazed it ever arrived.
But the barrio has made a little effort. We have a Christmas tree! It is in the middle of the road and is not like any Christmas tree I have ever seen. It is made of a plastic tube with chicken wire around it and concrete blocks to keep it in place. It has lights, and a wire comes out of the top and is attached to the overhead lines so it lights up at night - when there is electricity. The man sitting on the beer crate outside the colmado (convenience store) told me that it is beautiful when the lights come on at night! Definitely the strangest tree I have ever seen - has anyone seen one stranger than this?
That one is a tad unusual... there is one in the local village here which has been constructed from used beer bottles which is a variation on last years which was made from styrofoam cups!!!
ReplyDeleteNice blog again Lindsay!
http://bilder.bild.de/fotos-skaliert/baum-23876255_mbhf-1322084693-21189562/2,h=343.bild.jpg
ReplyDeleteThe tree in your town looks a lot better than the tree in front of the Gedächtniskirche in Berlin!
Thank you for blogging!
Beer bottles haha. Wow Ines what a strange tree! I assume that is modern art? I think I definitely prefer the old fashioned pine tree.
ReplyDeleteThank you for reading!
Lindsay, in your town it must be very peaceful.
ReplyDeleteHow would like Chrismas.
Happy Chrismas without Stress and Presents.
Mustafa
You are right Mustafa. No stress and no presents. Just the true spirit of Christmas.
ReplyDeleteHere is my best friend (Dominican) beside a Christmas tree in DR.
ReplyDeleteP.S. It's made of presidente bottles.
https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/11839_217188472343_523637343_3593703_1522488_n.jpg
What a fabulous tree Gerry! Thanks for sharing that.
ReplyDeleteSigh...we should be looking at this tree right now with you! I think it looks pretty good...very creative!! I also had a Christmas card for you...how should I mail it to you? Perhaps there is hope with the Dominican mail system after all?!
ReplyDeleteHi travel chica! Yes you can mail me a card - the post appears to work. You just address it to the gringa with the big dogs haha
ReplyDeleteTrust me, the post works. I send gifts through the regular mail all the time to various people outside the DR and they arrive. When we lived in Santo Domingo I got cheques, gifts (electronics, gadgets, watches, etc.) and mail through the regular mail with no problem.
ReplyDeleteThe problem with incoming mail is the lackadaisical numbering and street-naming. I once lived in a street where there were two no. 18. I used to stop every week by my neighbor's house down the street to exchange mail. And this was one of those fancy neighborhoods in SD!