Garlic bread, gifts, and good company! (Dec 30, 2010)

Bom Dia!
I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday and is gearing up for a fun New Years! I survived my first Christmas away from family, and I am surprised to say that it was actually a lot easier than I thought it would be! Of course I missed home a lot, but the Tete group celebrated Christmas very well. We ate a lot of good food, played games, watched Christmas movies, and talked a lot about our families and Christmas traditions. It was a great weekend, and I am so thankful that I had such a good group to spend the holidays with! Besides the fact that I don’t think there was a moment spent not sweating, it actually did feel like Christmas down here in Africa. Audrey even made us all little stockings and we stuffed them with market treats and candies. We also did a White Elephant gift exchange, so it was nice to have something to open Christmas morning. For dinner, Audrey made lasagna from scratch, which we paired with some cheesy garlic bread and a nice salad. We also cooked up a pheasant that the neighbors gave us. It was FANTASTIC. Definitely going to be repeated any time we have any reason to celebrate together.
I’m back at site now, and my town is pretty quiet and empty. That’s alright, though, because the end of boredom is in sight! In just a few weeks school will be starting and I know I will be wishing I had free time again. So, I have spent the last few days making little decorations for my house, reading, working crossword puzzles, hanging out with the goats and cows that wander through my yard (and through my house if I’m not paying attention, I kid you not), and playing guitar. I know I will have to make a couple day trips down to the city over the next few weeks to get food, too, so that breaks up the time pretty well. I’m hoping I can talk people in to coming and visiting me at site, too! Too bad I am still lacking chairs and lights in my house! With time, I’m sure…
Well, sorry this post is a little short! The song for this post is “Glad Tidings” by Van Morrison. This song always puts me in a good mood, and just seems good for the new year! I am looking forward to 2011- it will be a year full of challenges but also will hopefully be very rewarding! Happy New Year to all!