Missive from the Congo 010

Originally posted on Mon, 25 Dec 2006 16:18:17 +0200

Decorations at Canada House.
Note the special wrapping paper for the gift under the tree.

Well, today is Christmas but certainly not a typical Christmas for me. First it’s green, though I understand that a green Christmas will be a reality for most people in Quebec and Ontario. It is, however, warm. We went to the pool yesterday PM to catch some rays and relax. The last time I spent time in the pool on Christmas Eve was in 1984. So it’s been a while. Also, while approximately 80% is Christian, and Christmas is celebrated here, you just don’t get the feeling it is Christmas because there are very few decorations. Quite understandable really, Christmas decorations take a back seat to eating and paying rent for just about everybody. Having said that, we decorated a little at Canada House. We took out the small, fake, Christmas trees as well as the snowman and Santa Claus. I also put out the inflatable Snowman that the ladies from work sent me.

A few of us will be hosting holiday meals on a rotating basis. Last night was the turn of a South African lieutenant-colonel named Herman Claasens. He served a large plate of biltong (dried meat like beef jerky) as a snack. The main course was ox tail stew. Very tasty indeed. Tonight we go the British house. Lord only knows what John Kerwin will be serving. Our turn is next weekend.

My Christmas tie from the girls
at my office back in Canada

I went to midnight mass at the cathedral with my boss, colonel Mbengue. He had spoken to the bishop and got us some reserved seating near the front of the church. It was a very interesting service. I did not really understand much of what was going on since most of the service was in Swahili though I knew in general terms what the flow ought to be. There was quite a bit of singing with a large choir taking the lead. Not as energetic as a church service I attended in Bermuda but certainly a little more so than your typical Canadian service. One thing for sure, it was long. Mass started at 11:15 PM and finished at 2:15 AM. So a three hour mass and we arrived 45 minutes early to make sure we found our place. Still, it was an interesting experience. I didn’t understand any more of the mass this time than I did 22 years ago when we went to mass in Cancun but at least this time I got to sit.

As a closing I would like to wish all of you a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year.

John