An Endlessly Changing Horizon: Parlor Games, Gift Exchange, & Karaoke.... Oh My!

The Friday before Christmas, December 20th, the office closed early for the Episcopal Diocese of Santiago's annual Christmas program! Of course like any party in the Philippines karaoke was involved along with fun games and many laughs!

The party opened with the men marching in with the gongs and some of the woman getting up to dance! Then then fun continued with "parlor games" where the staff was randomly broken into teams. Team 3 consisted of me, Bishop Alex, Sir Pat, Joy, and Charity. Somehow our team was smaller than everyone else's which seemed unfair. But we held our own and didn't come in last place!

The games included an egg race, a beer chugging competition, pin the nose on Rudolph, Karaoke competition, and a pandesal eating competition. I unfortunately got volunteered for the pandesal eating competition where I had to eat three, thick, yeast rolls as quickly as possible! It's hard enough to quickly eat thick bread but add people screaming and yelling in front of your face - it becomes nearly impossible to focus. With all the pressure, I pulled through for my team!

Ma'am Andrea & Penny!

Egg Race competition.... passing a boiled egg from spoon to spoon without using their hands.

Can you see how excited I am for this competition?

Spectators & team members enjoying all the fun!

After all the games, the fun wasn't over yet! Next up was the gift exchange. We did a classic Secret Santa where a few weeks beforehand everyone on staff randomly drew someone's name from a hat. I received a blender! I'm so excited to start making smoothies on my own! There was also a raffle where you could win a bag of rice, laundry detergent, or groceries. I didn't participate as I didn't see the need for any of those items. However, the Bishop won big having his numbers drawn over four times!

And finally, after all that was said and done we indulged in a delicious dinner, drinks, and karaoke! I swear this karaoke machine scored all the songs higher because barely anyone got a 100 throughout the night, including me! That's unheard of! (haha)

Trying to find the perfect song to sing!

Also, a couple weeks before the party I was browsing through a local grocery mart and found Kirkland (yes, Costco brand) margarita mix! I couldn't pass up the opportunity to share my favorite drink with my new friends. It was a huge hit! I became the bartender for the evening mixing up margaritas for everyone to try until every last drop was consumed!

Me playing bartender mixing up Margaritas!

The evening was a wonderful end of the year and Christmas celebration with the Diocesan Staff! I truly consider these guys part of my larger family as they've welcomed and supported me throughout these past months!