As we were approaching the Christmas/New Year’s season,
Sarah and I were both curious as to what celebrations would look like here in
Maryland County. Needless to say,
celebrating these two holidays in Liberia was nothing like celebrating back in
the States.
Christmas arrived, and to be honest, it was just another
day in our life. The market was still
open, though for only half the day, and everyone still had work to do. The market was much livelier leading up to
Christmas, but that is to be expected.
Giving gifts on Christmas is not really a thing here. Though there were a lot more dolls and
stuffed animals to be found in our market, there was no Christmas trees,
garland, or bows to decorate with.
Instead, Christmas turned out to be a day where everyone
donned new clothes, did their hair in a new way (whether that be a different
plait style or a new weave), and “bluffed” around town. Regina, our neighbor, knew that we were
celebrating Christmas, and for “our day” she cooked us an entire duck with
soup. It was so generous of her, and I’m
grateful for her friendship. (Regina is
Muslim and so Christmas was just another day for her.) Evelyn’s family also brought us over cabbage
soup as a Christmas gift.
To reciprocate the wonderful gifts we have received from
our neighbors over the prior few months, we had bought pineapples for every
family. Pineapples were currently in
season, and though they were plenty, they were also more expensive than other
fruit available at the time. It was a
gift that was well received and it was a nice way to share the Christmas spirit
with everyone.
New Years arrived, and with it Sarah travelled to
Monrovia for a meeting; subsequently, that left me here to defend the fort by
myself for five days. I was a little apprehensive
about it, but looking back, I’m not sure why I was so worried. The neighbors quickly adopted me as a part of
their family, and the days passed by as fast as they normally do. While it was interesting to experience Pleebo
by myself, I was so happy for Sarah to return.
Lighting a coal pot and then cooking rice for just one person is the
loneliest thing I have done since arriving in Liberia. I now understand why Liberian families are so
large… :)
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