Christmas Staycation

I spent Christmas at my site, in my home, with my neighbors and my friend John. Last year I was not in Kamuge for Christmas and I was curious how the holiday would pass in my village. It appeared to pass just like any other day, but our festivities in my home made it one that I will remember for a long time.

As some of you know I have five neighbor kids whom I get along with really well. So for Christmas we celebrated together. For gifts, I used a lot of the school supplies that had been sent to me from friends and family back home (thank you guys!) as well as some candies I had bought here locally. John purchased cookies and other treats for his contribution.

We created separate "gift zones" for each of the five kids: Junior, Sam, Omolo, Patience and Joann (that's Jo-ahn). We designated a spot for each kid on the table and put their respective gifts there along with a Post-It note with each of their names on them.

Getting the kids organized and together was somewhat of a challenge that morning as they spent a long time preparing for church, bathing, putting clean clothes on, cleaning their shoes, etc. It took a long time. And all the while John and I were telling them that we needed them to get together and come inside the house. So they knew something was up but they were definitely all pretty confused as to what specifically.

Finally, we got them all together and let them in to see their gifts. Their faces immediately turned to huge smiles and they all began clapping and cheering simultaneously in excitement. They were so happy. It was truly a special time for all of us. Just to see their faces light up and explode with joy. And to such minimal gifts. Literally we gave them school supplies (pens, pencils, highlighters, rulers), candies, cookies, and that's it. But it was more than enough for them.

We ate very well that entire weekend. Our meals consisted of huge servings of meat, pork, millet bread, and rice. After our Christmas meal, the kids brought out a huge plate of cookies for dessert. These were the very cookies that we had gifted to them just a few hours ago! And here they were offering them back up to us and each other. Such selflessness! I was and continue to be overwhelmed with the kindness that they show.

It was a great day in Kamuge. But to us Americans, Christmas came and went in a flash. At no point did it ever really feel like the festive season or Christmas at all. Maybe it was the lack of cold weather, Christmas trees/music/movies/lights, egg nog, fireplaces, etc. But we didn't notice or feel it at all. I think that made it easier to be gone away from the states for Christmas. We just didn't think about it. Still, it was a great day and one that I will cherish for years to come.