Sun 25th Dec 2011
Today is Christmas! Another year away from the gorgeous family...away from the routine of getting up, opening pressies and then going to Nonna's and Babcia's house for the best meals ever! As much as I miss it...experiencing a traditional Christmas in Africa is a once in a lifetime opportunity. Don't worry gorgeous family, I'll be home next Christmas.
After waking up without that damn rooster crowing...I can only assume it had been killed and cooked. What a great morning! But unfortunately for us...we had no food in the house. Only milk and the Swedish girls cornflakes.
The Sweeds and Dutchies went off to a local Xmas party (yes, we were specifically rejected from their exclusive invite list)...we decided to have a traditional African Xmas, starting with a church service. 500 Tanzanians and 2 Australians filled the pews of the massive church. The 3 hour long service, completely in Kiswahili was entertaining. Lots of singing and over 3 collections for donations. There were no Xmas hymns and no communion...I was dying for some breakie but I guess not this morning.
So after church we had a great Xmas lunch at the hospital with the locals...yes for only $1. I'm starting to love this pilau...which is just rice, meat and spinach. After the hearty meal we set out on the dalla dalla for this resort close to Machame- the Protea Hotel. It was recommended by Mr Mushi...and this place was amazing. A massive swimming pool, live band, and a bar made of straw! We laid by the pool for several hours before retreating into the African style hut to have Xmas dinner...surf and turf with salad (which I was not going to eat). Although I do feel bad about wasting food in Africa.
Today was such a great day to spend Xmas...nice and relaxing. Even though we are without family...we are in great company. Oh and our families did call today which is nice. I guess you don't have to be on an exclusive Swedish guest list to have a great African Xmas.
As we have already mentions, we are picking up heaps of Kiswahili. Really all we know is how to great someone. When we say 'hujumbo', 'habari', or 'mumbo' (all of these mean 'how's it going')...everyone thinks we speak really good Kiswahili. The only problem is when they start asking us questions...we just say asante (thankyou) and walk away. A polite way of saying 'hello' to an older person is 'shikamoo'. This actually means 'I'm at your feet' ...or 'I'm below you'. The reply is 'marahaba', which means 'you may come up'. When we say this to people their eyes light up...because they don't expect a foreigner to know the phrase. I guess we have the Sweeds to thank for that!
After an amazing dinner, we waited about 30 mins for the dalla dalla...but because they were all full, no one would pick us up. We did have a few conversations in Kiswahili with the locals.
We spent the rest of the night avoiding Yatzee...by far the worst thing ever invented. After an hour of sitting, staring blankly at the wall, we succumbed to the temptation and played one game. As always, I lost!
What an amazing Xmas!
Heri ya Krismas (Merry Christmas)
Justin
PS- Michael particularly enjoyed the amazing Lionel Ritchie covers played by the band. I hated it.
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