Since Sr. Valentina is now back at the orphanage, I went to visit today. I met some of the children and learned that not all are true orphans. Some children have a parent still alive but the parent cannot care for others because s/he is drunk or mentally unstable. There are also a few children who are mentally handicapped and are at the orphanage because their parents did not take them back during the school holiday (they go to school in Singida). However, there are about 40 children who live at the orphanage where they have a few cows and a very large “garden”. Actually, most of the land around the 2 buildings (1 for girls, 1 for boys) is planted with a food crop, especially banana trees. Sr. Valentina planted the trees and I am told it is because she is Chagga (from up near Kilimanjaro) and bananas are a staple crop for them. Many PCVs, especially teachers, will pay school fees for a student out of their monthly living allowance. Sr. Valentina said she would find a good student for me to support, probably a girl. By going through her, I can remain anonymous but still ensure that the student is taking their studies seriously (threatening to stop paying school fees is a great motivator here).
In true Christmas fashion, I baked a lot today but still need to finish tomorrow. I made bread, peanut butter oatmeal cookies, and Snickerdoodles (cinnamon & sugar coated cookies). I’m just bummed I couldn’t get into the computer lab today because the lock was changed. It appears that they needed to get into the room while I was “not available” this week and I must have had the only key – they had to cut/break through a steel lock loop and remove the lock in the door (2 locks total). I would have given them my key if I’d known they didn’t have one.
Christmas Eve mass was at 22:00 (10pm) so it was dark out and a bit scary walking to the church. I realized I should have taken the slightly more traveled route and hoped that any people sleeping on the side of the path (my light beam caught one) would stay there. It had also rained so the slippery mud was a bit of a challenge to walk in but I made it to the church. I tried to think of the rain as being like snow back home on Christmas. At the beginning of mass, the church bells were rung and the sound really seemed to signify the joy of the occasion. The church is decorated in white and yellow with a nativity to the side of the altar that has banana leaves arched over it. Though the typical Christmas carols I’m used to were not sung, there did seem to be a Kiswahili version of Gloria in Excelsis Deo that I enjoyed. Quite miraculously, the mass was a little shorted than the regular masses I have been to here; maybe because the priest is different. After mass I had more trouble navigating down the muddy hill but I ended up following a group of people and found a better route to the church.
While walking today, I couldn’t help but sing Christmas carols to myself…at least those parts I could remember.
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