Merry Christmas to all!
My Christmas this year was very different from all my Christmases before, but a good expereince. These last few weeks leading up to Christmas have been rather quiet. The weekend before Christmas I set out to the Coast to experience Mombasa for a few days and have a little relaxing time. We stayed in this cute bambo, wood and stone decorated cottage complete with an outside shared kitchen. After taking an eight hour overnight bus we were greeted to a breakfast overlooking the beach, complete with pina coladas and Tuskers (Kenyan beer). Well, only after I insisted we finish taking out the braids in my hair which I had been working on since the day before. Mombasa time was spent walking up and down the white sandy beach, laying in the sand out in the water in the low tide, eating our faces off and seeing Nemo while snorkling!
After returning from Mombasa, the rest of the week has been rather quiet. The children at the orphanage have all gone off to family and friend's places for the holidays so there wasn't much to do around there. Later in the week the founder of the Kibera tour program I have been volunteering with arrived in Kenya from Toronto. He is looking to move onto the next phase of the project by starting up a workshop to train members of the program in various skills to offer them a way of generating a steady income. It is all very exciting to hear his plans for the future and to make changes to allow the program to run better.
The Christmas weekend was a quiet one as well compared to the welcomed chaos I get at home. Christmas Eve I made my traditional meal of perogies, borscht and mushroom gravey for the volunteer house. I think they enjoyed it...I did anyway, and my first attempt at home made perogies turned out pretty well! The next day I woke up to Christmas morning and had my usual breakfast of toast and instant coffee, already a difference from what Christmas at home would be like. I then went to church with one of my host mamas, and really for the first time in Kenya I started to feel like it was the Christmas season. I had been trying to get into the Christmas spirit earlier, but it had been difficult as it is not nearly as commercial here as it is at home. Although, this wasn't exactly a bad thing. As we walked up to the church you could already hear the music from the choir and all the people singing along. Getting into the church you could feel the energy of everyone there, and how happy they were to be at church on Christmas morning. Song after song was sang, some familiar Christmas carols, some gospel songs. As people sang they swayed, danced, lifted their hands in prayer and allowed themselves to just be free to worship the way they felt. It was so different for me as I am used to such a ridged, structured and standard way of worshipping back home, but I loved it! The service was done very much the same way; children, teens and young adults were called up at random to lead the church in prayer. It was organized randomness, where the pastors could run the service the way that they felt was right for the moment. Leaving the church you could feel the happy energy from everyone as they bounced out of the building, thankful for what they have and off to get Christmas lunch ready. Walking around was different as well, the streets were much calmer and everyone you passed said a Merry Christmas with a smile. It was also different not to mention because it was sunny and 25 C outside.
As soon as we returned to the house the host mamas got right to cooking. Our menu consisted of chicken (kuku), mashed potatos with peas and corn (mokimo), fried cabbage, rice, beans and carrots, chipatti, salad and fruit salad. So just like home, it was a feast! For the rest of the day we layed in a food coma and later played Monopoly, just as I would have at home.
It was a neat experience to be in a place where the emphasis wasn't on presents, decorations, extravegant Christmas parties and so on. People don't wake up early to rush and open what Santa has brought. While that is fun when I'm at home, I saw what the true meaning of Christmas is suppose to be. Presents aren't an emphasis here as most families do not have additional income to spend. Instead they focus on travelling around the country to ensure that they can get together with their families and have a great feast, which is really my favourite part about being at home too.
I missed my family terribly during the holidays especially, but I think spending a Christmas away will just help me to apppreciate my next Christmas home that much more and focus on what really matters while I'm there. I'm looking forward to the new year as well. I'm excited to see what 2012 will bring me. My plan is to move out to Maasai land in the beginning of January for two weeks and spend my time teaching english and living a more simple life without water and electricity. I will keep you updated!
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