I’ll admit, I’ve been pretty homesick in the last few weeks. My thoughts have flicked to far-away family and friends, leafy streets in Bryndwr and everyone wonderful who lives there, St Tims, and the Southern Alps a bit too often. I thought Christmas day might make it harder. How good is it to be wrong! We celebrated the day in style, remembering a brave, confused teenage girl who gave birth to the baby who would turn the world upside down and inside out. Here we are, enjoying a feast with our neighbors:

Well actually Nick took the photo, so you’ll have to imagine him…

Here are my favourite features of our Lacor Christmas:

1. Cow poop. All over Lacor, people decorated their huts by smearing fresh cow poo mixed with red clay, soil, charcoal or ash, depending on the colour desired. I helped smear the floor of our church to make it smooth and cool for Christmas. It still looks swell, and the smell only lasted a few days!
2.  Glass bottle sodas. ‘Sodas’ (fizzy drink) are the mark of a celebration here. I kind of get why- soda usually comes in small glass bottles which must be later returned to the shop keeper. They feel much more festive than 2L plastic bottles!
3. Chilled. There was nothing rushed about our Christmas…no buying of tons of presents. No frantic preparations. We wandered into our 9am church service at 9:20, which eventually started at 9:40. Celebration with our neighbours started slowly with card games and chilling, with a meal in the late afternoon.
4. Together. I think I’ve mentioned in previous blogs that husbands around these parts are rarely-seen creatures. Christmas turned out to be no exception. BUT, our lady-neighbours all got together to have a party, so no one was lonely!
5. Fireflies. We don’t always get to hang out with these little friends. But after we had finished eating they came out with the stars and flitted around us as we lounged outside.