New Years celebration on San Cristóbal (Magdalena)

A couple nights ago we had a great New Years celebration. We started off in the afternoon by decorating the patio to create a display for the muñecos. Pablo was entering the competition this year and the judges would come by the house later to judge. Then our family, Ashanti, Diana, Kassandra and Isabel went to the malecón to look at the other muñecos. When we got back to the house the judges had already come and gone so Pablo put the muñecos in the back of the truck to display and most of us got in and we went around town showing off the muñecos. When we got back (at 10:30) we had supper. After that we still had an hour to waste. Everyone was tired but as it got closer to midnight everyone became more excited and became more alive. When it was about twenty 'till we all headed out on he street with the muñecos and put them on the rocks across the street. Luisa and Ashanti decided they were going to run around the block with suitcases which signifies good luck with lots of good travel in the new year. Then when it was midnight lots of fireworks went off down the road and we lit the muñecos with lots of gasoline. Then we all gave New Years hugs and went to the park in the middle of town where most of the people on the island were gathered along with lots of tourists (mostly Brazilian). And lining the edges of the park were lots of beer vendors. We danced to the music of the band for a while. Then our host family went home and our family went for a little walk around the park where we happened upon a drunk volunteer that we knew and he wanted to talk to us for a while. Being a sheltered Mennonite child, I hadn't ever talked to a drunk person before. It was funny. He kept bending over really far (more than someone who is over 6' 6" needs to) to talk to my mom. He asked us a couple times what part of the US we are from and he talked about how he lives in the part of Germany that is really close to the Czech border and in Czech they have really dangerous fireworks that can burn off half your arm. Then after we had been talking to him for a while he leaned over and said in my moms ear, "I'm sorry but I have to pee." Then we went on a pointless walk around town which didn't make any sense because nothing is open at 1:30 in the morning. So my dad and Luisa went home and my mom and I went back to the party and stayed for a half an hour more before walking home.