Christmas started with me
having a scenic coffee and presents picnic ready for the team down on a
terraced slope near the house. I had a string of battery operated lights
(brought from Maui) decking out a little bare tree branch stuck in the
ground as our Christmas tree. I hung candy canes all over it (also from
Maui) and arranged gifts (which i secretly got from the students'
families- and brought from Maui) under the tree. Then i led the team
down there, each one carrying their tin mug of Starbucks Via...
Christmas blend, of course. They loved it all and were so surprised at
their gifts from their families- they got all teary eyed and it was a
really sweet team time. The mountains were clear and gorgeous, our tree
dear and glowing... it was a great little Christmas morning.
But that was only the beginning.
We
sang carols at the village church's celebration, recieved thank you
speeches for our days of teaching, and then were given garlands of
flowers- just like leis! That was amazing and such an honor. Then, the
church slaughtered a goat for us and cooked and curried every inch of
it...we all ate platefuls of intestines and stomach etc. for Christmas
lunch. It was a bit of a challenging meal, but i just remind myself of
all the generosity and hospitality it represents... and persevere. Next
came the two hour hike to a scenic spot (which proved a bit less scenic
than the stunning view from the house we were staying at...) and the way
up was definitely UP- straight up via rough stone stairs(ish). Even
without our packs that was a difficult ascent.
Upon returning, we were
given an entire gutted goat to roast on the bonfire we were planning to
make that evening. So they skewered big hunks of bone and meat on rods
and sent them with us down to our fire site ... for us to figure out how
to barbeque. Hahaha It was a pretty awesome team activity (and it went
down better than the insides we ate at lunch:) We reveled in the warmth
of our big fire, and joked about how bad we probably smelled (no showers
and living in smoke and hay). Then we boiled a kettle of water on the
coals and had hot cocoa and peppermint chocolates (also brought from
Maui).
Last of all, when I climbed in
my sleeping bag, i ran my hand over my stomach and - what was that? A
hard object in my clothes? I felt for a moment and then burst out in
laughter (causing a stir of sleeping bags and a sudden glare of head
lamps pointed my direction. I struggled to free myself from my sleeping
bag and digging in my clothing produced... a candy cane! I don't know
how many layers of clothing you need to be wearing to fail to notice
that a candy cane has fallen down your shirt, but...yeah. Hahaha. It was
a pretty great moment.
Quite a memorable holiday. Really, a very Gorkha Christmas.
