Christmas in Africa

Can’t even believe I just spent my first of two Christmases in Africa. I was lucky enough to spend these past couple of days with three other PCVs at a site in southern KZN, and we tried our best to make it feel like the holiday season, but there were a few differences…

For starters, it was quite strange to be on “summer vacation” from school; no grading to worry about, no lessons to plan, no midterm exams to prepare. Not that I really did any of those things on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day in America, but it was nice to know that they were not are going to creep up on me just after the holidays.

This was the first time in 35 years that I was not with my parents on Christmas Day. There were years that I arrived home on the 24^th and there were years that I left on the 26^th, but I have always spent the 25^th with them. I know that they are fine without me and I am fine without them, but it is still strange to be so far from home – I have come to realize that most of all, it is family that makes it feel like the holidays.

As I am from the Midwest, I am used to cold and snow this time of year. The past two afternoons were in the high 80s and then a big rainstorm rolled in and cooled everything down to the low 70s. Although I never particularly enjoyed shoveling the snow, my favorite Christmas days involved waking up to a snow covered ground and trees; it certainly did not involve sweating by 8am.

So as we were all craving some Christmas cheer, we did as much as we could to remind of us home. On Christmas Eve, small decorations either brought or recently sent from family and friends back in the States were hung from the rafters of the house. We spent most of the day listening to Christmas music and watching Christmas movies – Rudolph, Frosty, Charlie Brown, the Grinch, The Holiday, and Muppets Christmas Carol ran at various times. 

Christmas Cookie Time!

After dinner we rolled out cookie dough and cut candy canes, Christmas trees, stockings, stars, bells, and ornaments to bake as treats for tomorrow. For some reason, we also took to trying a few more ambitious shapes, like the continent of Africa, the USA, and the states of Wisconsin, Texas, and Ohio. Pretty sure no one except us would recognize any of them, but who cares, it was fun to try. Safe to say none of us will be opening a gourmet bakery at the end of our service.

Christmas morning, we woke up and exchanged small gifts among ourselves and then with the host family we were visiting. 

Christmas Day with my PCV family.

That afternoon, we were lucky enough to be visited by another group of PCVs who joined the family braai (bbq) as well. There was eating, drinking, dancing, and singing. The people were all new, but the spirit was the same. All in all, Christmas had a slightly different feel, but one I will cherish for years to come…another part of the Peace Corps experience.

Happy Holidays to all!