Celebrating Christmas

November 25 may be a month away from the actual day, but it was the day that Chimwemwe School held its annual Christmas party this year. For the last several years a group of Japanese JICA workers has been helping put on the event in cooperation with the school resulting in a bizarre mix of cultures but lots of food and fun for all.

To start off the party a Japanese woman with a Micky Mouse puppet on one hand and a Minnie Mouse puppet on the other hand welcomed the kids. The kids had no clue who the strange mice were so that required a little explanation. Then the visitors introduced themselves - there were about ten of them in all - and attempted a few Nyanjan words. I'm sure my Nyanjan is just as bad as theirs but, while I have a Canadian accent they have a Japanese one, which was strange to hear.

The kids at school had numerous entertainment acts prepared - some dancing (including the regular feature of little girls gyrating, although it wasn't nearly as bad as during the Independence Day celebrations), some poetry, and some singing. Kids from Grade One up to Grade Six all presented their features. Then some of the Japanese kids wowed the audience with a karate demonstration before bringing some of the Chimwemwe kids up to the front to try it out.

Upon the completion of the karate lesson we moved on to my favourite part - cake. There was enough for me to have a couple of pieces. What a deal!! After a few more entertainment numbers it was then the moment all the kids had been waiting for...presents.

These presents were brought in by none other than a Japanese Santa Claus and a Japanese person in a pig costume. I got a really good picture of this one. I'm not quite sure the connection between the pig and Christmas. It is possible that this was the only costume they had. Or, perhaps, since the nose was red and Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer was playing over the loud speakers there was a connection in this way. Whatever the explanation, these two proceeded to give every kid a present and some sweets. The presents were a wide variety of things - stuffed animals, little toy handbags, toy guns, books, games, etc. They seemed to be of the gently used variety. The day ended with a little jump rope before the kids helped clean up the mess made by the partying.

The Japanese visitors were really friendly and even offered me a ride home all the way to Woodlands. Since my stomach was sub-par that day, this was gladly accepted. It seemed like there was a bit of an expatriate connection even though we are expats of very different countries. In this small way there was a shared experience even though we came from the far corners of the globe.