Noël Noël!

March 6, 2011 at 6:22 am | Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Sorry these next couple of are delayed. Some technical difficulties.

 _____________________________

Christmas has come and gone with it’s mass, pageant and celebrations. So what did I do, you ask. Good question. I shall tell you.

It started out on Christmas Eve. In the morning I hung out with a bunch of the women who were doing their hair and watching babies. I didn’t get my hair done, but I still helped. Cutting length of string to sew in their weave is as easy it looks. That afternoon I went to marché and helped a friend find some tres jolis tomatoes. There was food to be made!

Because Christmas Eve mass did not start until 9pm and I usualy go to bed before that, I had to nap in preparation. Yes, I meant 9pm. I started to leave my courtyard but the nurse there said hold on a second cupcake, it’s freezing tonight. I had to add a sweater and two shawls. People don’t seem to understand that cold is in my blood. Not this hot season that’s coming, though.

Church was packed. They put little scaled down hut with a manger scene infront. There were metallic streamers. Most of the service I did not understand but I did understand the play. For example when my brother ran around flapping his arms I understood it as the international symbol for angel. At the end, Mary crouched behind the altar (JR- my computer autocorrected my typo to agar haha ) and when she stood up she was holding baby Jesus.

I got home at amost exactly midnight. Just in time to sleep for a few hours before the 9am mass. I dressed in my Christmas pagne complet and found church nearly empty. I guess most people only go to the Christmas eve mass. The rest of the day was a flurry of plates of rice, calabashes of dolo the local beer, and a few gift exchanges. My aunt’s family sent candy canes and those little rubberband bracelets and those shred nicely with my friends’ children. This was my first Christmas I received onions as a gift. I didn’t miss home as much I thought I might. I was lucky enough to have my friends go out of their way to make sure it was terrific.

Cheers!