Dec 27th

Bank holiday today (Boxing Day whatever that is…) so Deb and I are lethargically wandering about the house trying to find stuff to keep busy. Not that there isn’t anything to do. But the weather is rather threatening & it’s been raining on & off this morning. We were hoping to do the remaining wash and so much needed yard work but instead we’re taking care of needed indoor necessities.

I successfully made it through Christmas! Successful in that I wasn’t a blubbering idiot all Christmas day. Actually Christmas day & eve went rather quickly and with a minimum of tears. It was a nostalgic time but without the negativism I anticipated. It was very different from any other Christmas I had remembered in the past. We were not only in a completely different culture & country, we were also in a different climate so that almost everything was a new experience for us which makes the memories of the past that much more inviting. Somehow I managed to avoid a preoccupation with x-mas past and dealt with Christmas Present. We had an interesting and very filling x-mas eve party with other PCV’s and some local folks plus a delegation from Taiwan (who were friends of the host). The Taiwanese whipped up some stir fried vegetables & beef. Along with tongue and fish. Marion, Guy’s girlfriend made some Dutch treats. I brought bread and some folks brought local specialties. It was a very ethnically rich evening and very pleasant too. It very much seemed like Christmas. The midnight mass at the Anglican church, though long, was very festive and moving. We went to Joan & Greg Klebes after and had some cheesecake and watched them open presents. We got home at about 3am and tried to sleep until about 9am. Deb and I spent most of Christmas Day just cooking. We made the following (for the record): Roast duckling, corn, mashed potatoes, rolls, cinnamon current bread, apple pie. It was a wonderful festive meal (we took pictures, too) and ate until well stuffed. It took 7 hours to prepare and a ½ hour to eat. But it was wonderful and Deb and I had a good day together. Christmas night we tried to call stateside but the circuits were busy. We talked to Mrs. Douyon and then went to the Duncans. All in all, I was pleased with the day but glad it had passed. Sunday we called home and found that (at least in Chicago) it was 64° on x-mas day. About 11° cooler than here but at least it was a non-traditional day for them too.

Now that the holidays have almost passed, I try to gear myself for the long haul. Having successfully passed the rather high emotional hurdle of Christmas, I now need to face the fact of day to day living in St. Vincent. Christmas has been an immediate short term problem on which I have concentrated and little else has been on my mind. Now I need to look forward to beginning work, getting the garden going, the chickens going, etc Now I must live here and I am a bit intimidated by it. I still find myself looking toward next Christmas home in the states. I look toward COS that will follow 11 months later. I find myself trying to whittle that 2 years into manageable chunks so that our stay will pass quickly. As mauch to get back to the states as to see how we did for our 2 years in the Peace Corps. I’m anxious to get this two years over to see how we fared. Its also a bit intimidating to think that I’ll begin to look for work in just 18 mos. I’m hoping that the US/World economy has rebounded by then but it still looks rather bleak at this end. We made need to make Peace Corps a career.