We’ve been back in school for two weeks now, so it’s with longing that I think back on our relaxing break over the holidays. Brian and I didn’t travel anywhere this year, and it was wonderful to simply sleep in, read, watch movies, play tennis, and spend time with friends.
It’s a challenge to really get in the Christmas spirit when it’s sunny and green outside, but the students did their best to decorate the director’s yard and pool for the festivities. Here’s one of the school’s lifeguards surrounded by tinsel and lights—you can see our Cameroonian Christmas tree to the right, complete with a tree skirt. 
The holidays are always a good reminder of how fortunate we are, and the ASOY students continue to act on that gratitude through their community service. I recently accompanied some of them to a local orphanage where we read and colored with the kids. It was a great afternoon, and I was very proud of how helpful and affable our students were.
During the last week of school in December, the HS student council always organizes candygrams; friends order them for each other, and then we deliver them that Friday afternoon before break. (The candygrams are quite the hot commodity because Brian and I buy a bunch of Snickers, Hershey’s kisses, Milky Ways, etc. from the embassy commissary—it’s so funny how excited the kids get about the “American” candy.) On the afternoon when the students assemble everything, my classroom looks like Santa’s workshop!
As I mentioned, our time off included many chances to get together with friends. One such occasion was a toga party at the house of an embassy couple. Local fabrics really breathed new life into this old party standby!
Our friend Meera was in town again, and the guards at our apartment made her this stylish headdress to wear with her toga—quite the quality craftsmanship.
Our friend Meera was in town again, and the guards at our apartment made her this stylish headdress to wear with her toga—quite the quality craftsmanship. 
A few days before teachers who were traveling left for their vacations, all the expat teachers convened at the Sumrows’ apartment for a potluck dinner.
This photo from that evening isn’t the best picture of us, but it made me laugh that this was weather-appropriate attire for a Christmas party.
By contrast, here’s a photo from Christmas Eve of my mom and sister facilitating our first video skype with my grandparents. (I know it sounds silly, but I miss cold-weather clothes!) Grandma is holding up a phone so we could wish my uncle a merry Christmas.
While we have skyped several times with them over the last few years, our connections hadn’t been good enough for the video. When Grandpa saw us, he teared up and kept saying, “I just can’t believe it.” My sister took a screen shot so you could see both the Des Moines group and the two of us at the same time—our long-distance family Christmas photo!
This photo from that evening isn’t the best picture of us, but it made me laugh that this was weather-appropriate attire for a Christmas party. 
By contrast, here’s a photo from Christmas Eve of my mom and sister facilitating our first video skype with my grandparents. (I know it sounds silly, but I miss cold-weather clothes!) Grandma is holding up a phone so we could wish my uncle a merry Christmas. 
While we have skyped several times with them over the last few years, our connections hadn’t been good enough for the video. When Grandpa saw us, he teared up and kept saying, “I just can’t believe it.” My sister took a screen shot so you could see both the Des Moines group and the two of us at the same time—our long-distance family Christmas photo! 
On the 25th, we had friends Sean and Anjana over for dinner, and Anjana prepared an absolute feast of Nepalese curried dishes.
For a taste of home, I followed the Schneider recipe and made a big batch of wassail. I had to be a little creative with some of the ingredients (no apple cider in Yaoundé, for example), but it was a big hit!
I also surprised Brian by attempting his favorite dessert, bread pudding, for the first time. It was delicious, but I made way too much of the whiskey sauce…some of which ended up in my lap after the precarious angle of my plate in this photo. :)
For a taste of home, I followed the Schneider recipe and made a big batch of wassail. I had to be a little creative with some of the ingredients (no apple cider in Yaoundé, for example), but it was a big hit! 
I also surprised Brian by attempting his favorite dessert, bread pudding, for the first time. It was delicious, but I made way too much of the whiskey sauce…some of which ended up in my lap after the precarious angle of my plate in this photo. :) 
Our next post will likely be about the school hiking trip Brian is leading up Mt. Cameroon in February. Until then, happy 2011!
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