Christmas in Africa

Rosie, our Elf on a Shelf (or in this case on a giraffe)

Christmas is fast approaching and this is the first time in 31 years I have not spent it with my entire extended family.   While I do miss my family traditions and seeing everyone, part of living in Africa is to experience the holidays here.  There are quite a few differences about celebrating the holidays in Africa versus back home in the States.

First and most notable is the weather.  In Missouri, it would be freezing, everyone in winter attire and hoping for a white Christmas.  In Africa, I am enjoying 80 and 90 degree weather, shorts and tank tops, rounds of golf and dinner outside.

Grant loves the water and since he tends to fall right over, we sit pool side together.
 His little pool is always much warmer than the big pool. 

Never thought we would be swimming around Christmas time, but almost every day Adalyn plays in the water.

Since when does a 4 year old need to lay out reading a magazine!

Practicing clearing Mark's head with her pool jumps.

When we came back to the States last Christmas I did think it was a bit depressing being cooped up inside all day, going stir crazy and not even feeling like venturing out for dinner.  Even though the weather is nice, it does not quite feel like Christmas with the summer atmosphere here.

In South Africa, how Christmas is celebrated is different.  NO ONE WORKS.  I love that this country fully celebrates the holidays, stores shut down, everyone enjoys their family time and you are able to forget about the hustle of life.  During Christmas time, most people will take off several weeks, no matter what type of job they have, many actually take the month off and are on vacation most of that time.  This is the longest break of the year for kids in South African schools, so the entire family can enjoy several weeks off together. 

Christmas decorating is different.  The stores will fill with fake Christmas trees (most looks a little sparse) and wrapping paper and play holiday music a few months back, but a real Christmas tree cannot be found.  Since I did not know how many more Christmases we would get to spend here, I chose to have us decorate a tall plant in our home.

Adalyn did not care and we all know Mark is too laid back to have an opinion on the matter, so Adalyn and I made our own ornaments using Christmas plates and cookie cutters then strung lights around to complete our look.  

I had family bring over our stockings but most of the house is decorated

 in crafts Adalyn has made at school. 

 I was happy to find a nice manger scene at an African craft market that I plan to 

bring back to the States with us. 

Very few neighbors also put up Christmas lights so things do not look too different than any other day.

Christmas shopping at the malls is different as well.  There are Santas at most locations but no lines of children waiting to sit on his lap.

Adalyn was not taking a turn with Santa this year.
She kept her distance, about 15 feet away. 

 Every year I purchase Christmas themed pajamas for Adalyn and now Grant but I have yet to be able to find any here.   I rarely see wreaths or swags of evergreen (even the fake ones).  What you do find at all the stores are Christmas crackers.  They are basically mini presents that when pulled apart, make a “pop/crack” sound and candy/prizes fall out.  Adalyn got to test some out at her school Christmas party and they were a hit.

I have made most of my Christmas chocolate treats this year with the exception of a few due to not being able to find the items here and not remembering to have family bring them over.  I never would have guessed that I couldn't locate light corn syrup, so I had to make some this year and it was way easier than I expected.  Making a mass quantity of chocolate treats in the African heat with no air conditioning is not the most conducive to a quality finished product but they sure do taste good. 

We will celebrate this year by hosting Joyce’s family for a BBQ (Joyce is the wonderful woman who works in our home).  This will be the first time most of her kids, including her husband will have been to our home.  Joyce says they are excited to swim as some have never done that before, including Joyce herself.  I just hope they like my American cooking and feel relaxed around us to enjoy themselves.  I enjoyed Christmas shopping for them, though surprisingly it was tough to find an African baby doll and Barbie, but I prevailed after my 8^th toy store, which is quite sad given the percentage of people who are African here. 

We will also celebrate with our friends at a Christmas day BBQ after Adalyn has opened all of her and probably Grant’s gifts.  I am interested to see what type of Christmas Eve service our church has.  I miss our church back home and loved the candelight service with Oh, Holy Night being sung.  We will rely on Skype this year to attend our family Christmases back in the States,  I have already watched family open some gifts and it was enjoyable.  It is nice to be making new memories and knowing that we can continue some of our own family traditions here in South Africa. 

Adalyn 1st year of school

Adalyn with her friends Sumin and Nosa at their gymnastic performance.

Wednesday was the last day of school for Adalyn this year.  Since her school term runs January to December, she has finished grade Triple Naught (000) and will be moving onto grade Double Naught (00) in mid-January.  It has been a fantastic year for Adalyn who really blossomed socially and enjoyed everything Tyger Valley has to offer.

Last week Adalyn had a ballet recital and it was precious.  I don't care if she pranced around, twirled or curtised, just seeing all those ballerinas dressed up was enough for me.  Adalyn really enjoyed ballet and would show off her new skills at home. 

 During their final “performance” of the recital the song they danced to had lyrics and being the music lover she is, Adalyn sang along with the chorus despite her teacher’s instruction not too.  I got a little giggle out of watching her do it and I am glad she will continue to enjoy ballet next year.

Two weeks ago Adalyn’s class showed off their gymnastic moves to the parents.  It was fun to watch them all maneuver the obstacles, roll in a ball, hang from the bars and jump through the air.  

I do think that the gymnastics she took in the US was much more advanced, but she loves it just the same.  Adalyn made sure to go through the line of obstacles with her best friend from class, Eleni.

Tennis is now finished though they did not have an opportunity to show what they have learned to the parents.  Mrs. Nunan did tell me that Adalyn can hit a tennis ball coming at her with the racket now and that Adalyn is quite proud of herself.  Mark may now try to get Adalyn to hit a few balls with him since when he tries to help her with golf, she just rides the club like a horse.

The entire school had a music concert a few months back.  The theme was Holidays Around the World and Adalyn’s class had Dubai.  She dressed up like a little lady going shopping with her purse, jewelry and some lipstick on.  Adalyn was quite shy coming on stage with her class and although she refused to sing, she did at least stand there.  If you get her at home and turn on her “Frozen” cd, you would never guess she is shy as she belts that right out .   

The friendships Adalyn has made this year are quite sweet.   She now asks if her friends can come over to play and Adalyn will tell me if her friends are sick or on a trip. 

Adalyn misses them when they are gone and always wants to share her lunch or a new gift she has received with them.  I love that Adalyn has made friends with other kids from around the world.

  Adalyn's current best girlfriends at school are Sumin from South Korea, Nosa from Nigeria and Eleni from Romania (pictured in that order above).  Of course she pretty much sticks to playing with the girls at school, probably because most of her friends outside of school are boys. 

Adalyn being in school and getting invited to all of the other kid’s birthday parties has given me the opportunity to meet the parents and know all the other classmates better.  I will miss seeing them all in her class next year but happy that a few of her good friends will have her same teacher next year.

Adalyn with her friends Eleni, Gemma and Mrs. Nunan

 Adalyn was blessed to have Mrs. Nunan this year, she is lovely, caring and creative with the kids.  We could not have asked for a better teacher and will miss her next year.
 
Adalyn has learned way more than I expected and loves all the fun times with her new friends so we are pleased with Tyger Valley and looking forward to another year there.