Another Christmas in Senegal

A lot of times, you never understand the magnitude of the traditions surrounding holidays that you have experienced much of your life, until change occurs. In my family, the main holiday was always Thanksgiving. From the time I was born till the Thanksgiving before I came to Senegal, my family and extended family spent it at our mountain house in north Georgia. For me, it was and is a place that I keep close to my heart, providing a sense of connection to my late grandparents, and also an aurora of calm, relaxation, and always good food. For me, here in Senegal, I knew that regardless of what I did for Thanksgiving, it could not compare to the memorable 24 others.

Christmas this year was something new for me. I was a bit apprehensive. Because my parents were in Senegal last Christmas, this year was the first year I didn't spend with my family. I have somewhat lost touch with American/typical holidays here, but Christmas is one you can't avoid, so I wanted to do something that felt right.

About two months ago, I decided I was going to spend Christmas at Aliou and Fatou Sane's house and grill cheeseburgers. I work with Aliou at the hospital and go over to there house typically a couple times a week. Also, there two girls are adorable.

On Christmas afternoon, another Volunteer and I went over to the Sane's to cook and feast. Amy and I were in charge of fixing the cheeseburgers, in addition to making coleslaw and Jello chocolate pudding. We also brought several boisson sucres (soft drinks). Fatou fixed French fries and surprised us with making a cake. Because at times, I believe in excess, my goal in all this was for someone to eat sooo much that they would throw up....you have to aim high you know.

Before we ate, the two girls opened gifts that my mom sent from the States. The generosity and enthusiasm of my parents back home to the excitement of the girls opening the gifts was absoluetely amazing.

By now, it was time to eat. All the sides were prepared and the last of the burgers were coming off the grill. Those, other than myself, sitting around the table, did not know what was about to hit them. Each burger was roughly .38 pounds of good quality beef with some diced onions and garlic accompanied by a touch of soy sauce and pepper mixed in, bringing the total weight to about .4 pounds of burger....they were some good ol' burgers that Senegal had yet to experience.

About halfway into the meal, one of the girls dipped her fork into the mustard (really spicey here) and it apparently went down the wrong pipe. As a result, the bathroom came o' calling and my goal was somewhat achieved.

About 45 minutes after sitting down, no one could move. We were absolutely stuffed. As a result, I talked to Aliou this morning at work and he said that his daughters did not move the rest of the day and night.

In the end, under the circumstances of being away from the States, I could not have anticipated a better way to spend my Christmas. It was probably one of the more memorable, touching, and rewarding ones that I've had.

Hope everyone on the opposite side of this post had a Merry Christmas celebrating old traditions or creating new ones and continues to have a safe holiday season.

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=1IZsnLNo4Yvwg&emid=sharshar&linkid=link3

***Sorry, I tried to take more pictures of us being stuffed, but for some reason my camera stopped working.