The Holidays

The New Year is upon us and it could not have arrived in a more different setting. Last year we spent New Year’s Eve in our mud house on the edge of the Sahara. This year we spent New Year’s Eve on the rooftop of a Bamako mansion sipping champagne and watching fireworks. Last year, New Year’s Day was a normal village day. This year it was going on a hash run (see link) followed by a double helping of the cheesy lasagna and an ice cold beer. While both of these days were great in their own ways, I think we agree that this year was better. Not because of the goings on, although they were delightfully distracting, but because they occurred a full year closer to seeing our family and friends again.

Christmas was great too. We spent Christmas Eve at our friend Bethanne’s house across town. See had a tree and lights and cookies baking. It really made us long for home. Fortunately, she had plenty of beer too, so we were distracted.

Christmas morning was spent with fellow PCVs Ryan and Ester, who came over to enjoy a fabulous breakfast that Sam cooked. She had specially set aside some of the eggs with vegetables for Ryan, as he is a vegetarian. She then threw in some bacon (a Christmas miracle!) for the rest of us. Ryan looked a bit sad and that she could put some in his too. Sam and I were confused until Ester cleared things up with a friendly, “He’s a poser.”

We had the most elaborate Christmas dinner either of us have been a part of for a long, long time at our friends Jim and Melissa’s house. The intentionally ambiguous “Festive attire” request on the invitation was designed to see what people would come up with and we nailed it (or at least we felt we did and that is all that matters) by commissioning matching Christmas clothes made out of commemorative baby Jesus material we got over at the cathedral. There was turkey and lamb and more wine than you could shake your Fula shepard’s stick at! It was a marathon of merry-making.

We were too poor to give each other gifts so we decided to give each other haircuts instead. We were too lazy to actually perform the task. Maybe we’ll save that gift for Valentine’s Day! Fortunately we had lots of gifts to open from our families. They have been taking care of us unconditionally from afar. We have talked for months about the need for a doormat, so we pulled a west African move and just waited and waited and finally some toubabs sent us one for free. That move really does work! Thanks uncle Tommy and aunt Kathy (he fancies himself quite clever sending us a Boston College doormat to wipe our feet on, little does he know we have a Boston University toilet seat!)