A Very Merry Senegalese Christmas!!!!

Twas the season and it couldn’t have felt less like Christmas here in Senegal!  No Christmas decorations lining the streets, no Christmas trees to hang ornaments on, no Christmas carols on the radio, no Christmas shopping (can’t say I really miss all the stress of that), or Christmas parties to attend… and no holiday spirit! Instead my holiday season was spent attending Gamous  (religious ceremonies), listening to loud, shouting Arabic noise, planting moringa beds with Fae around the village (and breaking water pipes in the process), finishing my world map (finally), and freezing my butt off (believe it or not, it’s now cold here)! But one of the main goals of Peace Corps is to spread the American culture and traditions with the world, and OHHHH did we ever!!! Team Djolof traveled to the Petite Coast  with all our Christmas Joy and celebrated Christmas like ROCKSTARS!!

Me and Baby Ida!!

Dr. Diallo's new friend at the health post

Fae and baby Ida...Love her soo much

Finally My finished Masterpiece lol

 Yes this Christmas was truly different for me! It was the very first Christmas that I was away from my family and friends. I missed everyone so very much this past holiday season. However I got the chance to spend this holiday season with a new family, who do not celebrate Christmas. It was an excellent opportunity for me to share a little part of my culture  and religion with my new host family. I talked to them about Christmas traditions like Santa Clause, Christmas trees, and presents. And thanks to my AMAZING friend ANNIE who sent over coloring books, crayons and toys, I was able to give the kids in my family a little Christmas Joy! The kids just absolutely loved the coloring books. It was the first time they had ever seen a coloring book. Unfortunately kids here don’t have many opportunities to partake in arts and crafts activities due to the lack of resources and the means to pay for supplies.

Thank You Annie..Love the kids

Such Artists!!

Daouda working hard

Even Baby IDA enjoyed her toy…yummy!

Me and my girl AnnMarie and our Santa Hats

I spent the majority of December in village right up until I left for the Petite Coast to celebrate Christmas in style with some of my other  friends who had stayed in country for the holidays. We journeyed to the coast of Senegal, spreading Christmas cheer along the way until we reached our destination Toubab Diawlaw, this absolute gorgeous little beach resort type of village!! We stayed in this hotel that was just sitting atop these cliffs, overlooking the Atlantic ocean! Our Christmas Eve was spent laying on the beach..soaking up the sun and enjoying a few cocktails…it was paradise. I won’t go into all the detail of our vacation for I would like to keep my blog PG. Don’t worry Mom and Dad, we didn’t get into too much trouble!

Andrew made a new friend at the Garage

The coolest handwashing station ever that I almost broke!

PARADISE...Hello Toubab Diawlaw

Our Beautiful Hotel

Catching some rays

Our Christmas Eve Dinner

Bonnie's giant fish!

Some new friends I made on the beach

Cheers to Christmas!

Christmas Day was a really weird day for me. It was my first time not waking up to my Christmas stocking on my bed, or opening Christmas presents with my brother and parents. It was an odd feeling and I think everyone of us were feeling a little homesick that Christmas morning. I was even more bummed because my Nanny and cousin Maxine along with her husband Mike and their two little girls, Louis and Dana, traveled all the way from Scotland to spend this holiday season in Florida with my family. It would have been lovely to have seen them for it has been way too long since I saw them last. But I’m glad they enjoyed their time and I know my parents and brother were glad to see them. However in the name of Christmas Spirit, we did our best to make the most of it. I guess I really shouldn’t complain though… I mean I was on a beach that looked like a Tropical Paradise. We spent the morning trying to get a delicious Christmas brunch with no luck. Let’s just say I would have much preferred a cooked brunch by Chef David Cardno any day! So we took to just lounging around on the beach and going for a swim in the ocean (I decided the water was way too cold for that).  Our big treat of the day was sitting outside on our balcony waiting for the sun to set and shooting off our cheap fireworks. The night ended with Christmas dinner at this really cute Italian restaurant where we all order mouth-watering pizzas (soo good) and a lot of tasty wine! It was a good end to a wonderful Senegalese Christmas!

FAMILY..Love you Guys!

Notice the lovely Makeup, done by yours truely..you can find me at jenncardnodoesmakeup.com

As much as I wanted to be home for this past holiday season, I have to say I couldn’t have asked for a better Senegalese Christmas…I am leaving you all with a lot pictures for I feel they do better justice in showing how joyful our Christmas was..Enjoy!

MBOULA'S GAMMOU ( it involved a lot of eating and a lot of screaming Arabic noise...Good times)

My Family was overwhelmed with all the Toubabs (foriegners) that had shown up to celebrate

TOUBAB DIAWLAW

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