There's a haze over the city--just stay inside.

Tonight is a holiday of some sort called Quema del Diablo. From what I've gathered, it's an indigenous tradition that burns away the sins of the year before the new year. But somehow it has turned into a massive bonfire fest all over the city. I was told to stay inside all night because, "It looks like hell, it smells like hell, it sounds like hell, and it feels like hell." At sundown I heard lots of commotion off the balcony and it must have been all the firecrackers going off, then the smoky haze leaked into the house so I closed all the windows and doors, then the person next door (the Canadian Ambassador's residence) started shooting off fireworks...REAL FIREWORKS from their backyard! All I had to do was go out of the front door of my apartment to see them. So exciting! Lupe was a wreck, hiding behind boxes, and Nate is out on an assignment somewhere in Guatemala. I'm trying to tell myself what I used to tell my kids when I taught Spanish... it's not weird, it's just different. Now I look out the back door and can see big fires in the distance. Here's a link if you want to see the creepy pinatas that are for sale all over town.