Christams Begins

Well, it’s good to be back in Gulu. We had a bit of a rough week, but overall, we are happy to be back. We were so excited to see the ladies as we missed then most of all. When we arrived on Monday, Doreen ran up to me, picked me up, and swung me around in a huge hug. We have the most amazing ladies. Now, on to Christmas.

It doesn’t really feel like Christmas, it being 100 degrees outside here when we’re used to having snow at this time in Spokane. And, without family, it’s been hard to get in the Christmas spirit. However, we’ve managed to improvise a bit in order to carry on the traditions of homeland.

First of all, there is dust everywhere. It lingers in the air and attaches itself to our skin, clothes, feet, the insides of our nose and ears. But the great part about dust, in correlation with the Christmas season, is that if you squint your eyes just right the dust particles flying about look like little, bitty snowflakes dancing about the hot air.

Secondly, We did manage to download a handful of Christmas songs (and I do mean a handful) which we have been playing as much as possible. Actually, I have been playing as much as possible. I think Trav is already a little annoyed with Mariah’s “all I want for Christmas is you,” but it reminds me to be grateful that Trav and I have each other for Christmas.

Thirdly, the infamous Christmas tree. For those of you who saw our tree last year……ahem….it was more like a branch, this year’s tree could be considered a slight upgrade. The tree you see pictured above is not a tree at all. You’ve been fooled. It is a medium-large size mango branch. You will need to click on it to see it full size in order to appreciate the improvising that went into its decoration. I’d like you to know that we had only yarn bits and a hole punch to create these (even though you may doubt that when you see the high caliber ornaments). All of our ornaments have sentimental meaning. Our personal bests (just incase you can’t see them yourself) are our LOST DVD, our water bottle (blue wave is the best water brand for sure), heart made out of Pepto Bismol container, EmergenC (need those vitamins), nail clippers (either nails grow faster over here or you just notice the growth more because of the dirt that accumulates under them), Q Tip (can never tell if it’s wax or dirt that comes out of my ear at night), joker card (couldn’t punch any other card, we need them all for cribbage), and snickers bar (America). Oh and how could I forget, my personal favorite, Trav hung my night guard up as an ornament. Funny.

Still to come…..We made some stockings and we both think that the one we made is the best. So, we figured we’d post pictures of them in a few days and get a vote from the outside world. The winner gets a 10 minute back massage, so it’s serious business. Get mentally prepared to participate.

So, that’s about it for Christmas. The ladies are crocheting like mad and they are pretty much professionals. They are three weeks ahead of schedule, so they will be able to have three weeks off for the holidays.

We love you all so so much.

Trav and Leah