Gingerbread House...African Style

Usually in America on December 24^th I would be running around doing some last minute gift shopping, but when you live in a village and vegetables and meat are not on your gift list you start baking instead. (There was a big market today which contained many people eagerly awaiting their once-a-year piece of meat and tomatoes and onions to cook it with.) Today was full of baked goods as I made banana bread, brownies, and cookie bars for the next day. Oh, and I cannot forget the gingerbread house. One of my family traditions every Christmas season is for each child in my family to make a gingerbread house and then display them in a row so that on Christmas Eve my grandparents analyze each one and try and guess who made what house and why. I knew my family would carry on the tradition this year, and I was not going to let a few thousand miles between us separate that tradition so I made one from Uganda. Now it is much harder to make one here when you don’t have the milk carton you normally use as your base and instead have to cut and tape up a cereal box to use. Additionally, my candy supply was severely limited to a few pieces of candy Anne’s parents had sent from home and a package of M&Ms from town. To top it all off we had no canned frosting so I had to attempt to make it from scratch, it ended up working although the frosting was a bit runny and did not stick quite as well as the packaged kind.

Sister Edith and Katusabe were in the kitchen when I was assembling my house, and they had never heard of a gingerbread house before and subsequently were struggling to grasp what the final product would look like. After I had finished one side of the house with the help of M&Ms, biscuits, peanuts, and a twizzler and created an African grass thatched roof by putting some random herb from the kitchen (at least I think it was an edible herb) on the top I was able to convince Katusabe that she should decorate the other side.She did a nice job, and added some African style security lights on the side to complete the look. The house was not as fully decorated as the houses I am used to making back in America, but given our limited supply of resources I have to say it looked good. 

To carry on my family tradition at dinner we had everyone guess who completed which side of the gingerbread house, and then Sister Edith, Katusabe, and I described what each piece of candy represented (ex: yellow M&M was the sun, purple air head was new life, brown M&M was the soil from the manger or ashes, a cross for Jesus life, etc.) Now my family also likes to vote on whose house is best. Well, my sister Kari thinks that without my presence at home this year her house will get top honors, however, Kari you have yet to see the house Katusabe and I made...you have competition!

Christmas Eve Mass

So tonight Sister Daisy, Jane, Katusabe, Cissy, Anne, and I attended Christmas vigil mass in Kyarusozi. It started at 10pm and I wore my blue African suka dress that I wore at the clinic Christmas party. Now keep in mind I still have my hair plaited, no one had at the parish had seen my dress, and to top it off the dress was full of silver sequins that were reflecting in the dark night sky. I walked in with Katusabe a few minutes after most of our group had arrived, and although I was oblivious to it all Anne said that when I walked in everyone turned their heads towards me and could not stop staring. I am sure an African appearing “mzungu” was a sight to see especially on Christmas Eve. I sat in the very front row for mass and was able to get a great view of the choir. The church was decorated with a beautiful lit up Christmas tree, a large lit up manger beneath the tree, and fabric hangings draped across the ceilings of the church. There were two priests serving that night along with several seminarians, catechists, and alter servers for a grand total of about ten religious all dressed in white, red, and gold. It is hard to put into words what their entrance was like, but in one word it was breathe taking. They stood out as they carried the candles and cross amongst the dimmed lights and dark sky. This is my first Christmas away from home and I do miss my family, but when I look around and see my African family and friends, smell the incense permeating the air, and listen to the voices of the choir combined with the beating of the drum something tells me that this is right where I am supposed to be this Christmas.

Christmas Eve Mass

So tonight Sister Daisy, Jane, Katusabe, Cissy, Anne, and I attended Christmas vigil mass in Kyarusozi. It started at 10pm and I wore my blue African suka dress that I wore at the clinic Christmas party. Now keep in mind I still have my hair plaited, no one had at the parish had seen my dress, and to top it off the dress was full of silver sequins that were reflecting in the dark night sky. I walked in with Katusabe a few minutes after most of our group had arrived, and although I was oblivious to it all Anne said that when I walked in everyone turned their heads towards me and could not stop staring. I am sure an African appearing “mzungu” was a sight to see especially on Christmas Eve. I sat in the very front row for mass and was able to get a great view of the choir. The church was decorated with a beautiful lit up Christmas tree, a large lit up manger beneath the tree, and fabric hangings draped across the ceilings of the church. There were two priests serving that night along with several seminarians, catechists, and alter servers for a grand total of about ten religious all dressed in white, red, and gold. It is hard to put into words what their entrance was like, but in one word it was breathe taking. They stood out as they carried the candles and cross amongst the dimmed lights and dark sky. This is my first Christmas away from home and I do miss my family, but when I look around and see my African family and friends, smell the incense permeating the air, and listen to the voices of the choir combined with the beating of the drum something tells me that this is right where I am supposed to be this Christmas.

Wedding Introduction

The bride, Cissy, and I at the ceremony

Today Jane, Cissy and I attended the wedding introduction of Teacher Grace’s sister. In Africa it is tradition to have the groom’s family come and introduce himself to the bride’s family and ask for permission for marriage before the wedding. The dowry is also presented at the introduction. This was my first time attending an introduction and I was curious to see what exactly goes on. The ceremony was supposed to start at noon so the three of us hopped on a boda (motorcycle) around 1:30 expecting to arrive on time. Although all the guests were present and seated when we arrived bit of rearranging took place when they saw us arrive and we were quickly given the front row like we were VIPS even though I had never even met the bride. (Being a white female in an African dress with plaited hair, having a Sister with you, and having our night watchmen as the spokesperson I think all contributed to that.) At 3pm the groom finally arrived and the ceremony began. Atwooki, our watchmen, was the spokesperson for the bride’s family and conversations went back and forth between Atwooki and the groom’s family as he bargained for a dowry. At one point I was able to follow the groom and his entourage into the bride’s house where the bridesmaids offered milk and roasted peanuts to the men. The room was very dark and bridesmaids had to keep their heads down at all times. No eye contact was allowed and they were not allowed to turn their back towards any of the men. I was seated in the corner by a curtain and I heard some small rustling behind it. Curiously I took a quick peek behind the curtian and saw about eight young girls huddled together smiling at me. They had small baskets in front of them and were not allowed to come out yet and instead were supposed to keep quiet.

I had brought a camera with me and soon became the photographer for the wedding. After exiting the house three separate groups of girls- primary school girls, teenagers, and maidens came out walking onto a matted walkway. Each group was dressed differently and presented different things to the groom’s family. For example, one group came out with firewood, vegetables and millet baskets representing the hard work they have done while another group came out dancing. Each group was still not allowed to make eye contact or turn their back towards the groom’s family. At one point the groom had to search among the bridal party and guess which one was his wife, it’s a good thing he got it right!  There was no handholding or kissing between the couple, only an awkward hug, but by the way the groom brightened up when he saw his bride you could tell he was happy. The ceremony ended with a big feast of matooke, millet, chicken, rice, Irish potatoes, and several sauces. I think in the past few weeks I have seen almost the whole life spectrum of celebrations- a birth, a baptism, a wedding introduction, a wedding, and a burial. Next up, a profession of final vows and deaconate ordination of six brothers of the Holy Cross.