A Christmas Party??
on Tara's Ethiopian Adventure (Ethiopia), 28/Dec/2009 14:52, 34 days ago
I guess it should have been obvious...with 25 of them and only 1 of me...that Ethiopian Culture was always going to win when I invited the secretaries round for an English Christmas Party. I made mulled wine and  served cheese and crackers but they were much more interested in the bread and honey drink they brought with them. One group had offered to bring some bread for the party and I suggested the other group bring soft drinks in case anyone wouldn’t drink wine. I was amazed by the amount they brought. Baterie put herself in charge of coordinating their contributions and baked bread that was almost as big as me! It was a large round loaf about 75cm in diameter. She also brought a large Jerry Can full of the honey drink (20 litres).I had moved the party from Tuesday to Wednesday, as Wednesday is a fasting day and most Orthodox Christians don’t eat any animal products when fasting (therefore no cheese or chocolate). However... I had forgotten that some strict Orthodox Christians fast for the whole month leading up to Genna (Ethiopian Christmas) therefore there were a handful of people who couldn’t eat it anyway. I also forgot that Protestant Christians in Ethiopia don’t drink alcohol and so that ruled out my mulled wine for a few too! The bread and honey drink they brought was definitely a more inclusive choice of menu and I think they found my‘Christmas Food’ a bit weird (a similar sort of reaction I probably gave during Meskel when I was served spicy doro wot for breakfast). We also had popcorn, chocolate and some sweets which went down well.   Although I had Christmas music playing throughout the party my laptop speakers were no competition for 25 gaggling girls. We couldn’t hear the music so instead when it came to dancing they clapped and chanted to provide a suitable background for some typical Ethiopian dancing. They all enjoyed watching me copy their moves and I had more exercise than I have had in while! It was great fun! Later in the evening I tried to play Pictionary with them and was very amused by how much cheating went on!Later still... I’d given out my cards and a small Christmas decoration each...wished everyone a merry Christmas and bid them goodnight...and was able to survey the damage! I can say without a shadow of a doubt that these Ethiopian secretaries are the messiest guests I have ever had! Every week during our classes I serve them kolo (a local grain and seed mixture) and am often bemused by the fact that at least a quarter of it ends up on the floor each time. However... with a whole selection of food to throw about this was something else! If they had had a food fight I don’t think they could have made more mess! I found lumps of bread as large as small loaves, in, on, under and behind the sofas. Cheese was mushed into the armrests and rug...mulled wine spilt over my table cloth, sticky honey drink spilt on the floor and popcorn and crumbs everywhere! At one point in the evening I noticed that they were even using my open laptop as a plate! As a result my keyboard is a bit sticky and the space bar is a bit reluctant...hopefully this will get better with use as I dislodge crumbs!So... I (and my laptop) survived my first Christmas Party in Ethiopia. Although it had little resemblance to any Christmas party I have ever been to before, it was great fun and the secretaries appreciated the opportunity to let their hair down and dress up in their finest (they wore the most beautiful traditional dresses). I’m not sure I taught them anything about a typical English Christmas and there wasn’t much English spoken all night but it was a lovely opportunity to get to know them a bit better and have a laugh!