So as we prepare to head off on the overnight train to Mombasa (very romantic except that it will be us and three other people sharing a cabin) we thought we would send a Christmas greeting to everyone back home that we are missing.
The atmosphere here is the same as usual, nothing really tells you that it is Christmas time, except that the traffic is slightly better than normal because the schools are on holiday. There are no tacky decorations lining every street, no cry of the best sales known to man only on offer this season, no stuffing your face with ridiculous amounts of chocolate just because it is there and no Christmas party season. I never thought I would remember those things fondly but it is strange that without the usual nonsense we have come to know so well it doesn’t really feel like Christmas. Our Christmas day will comprise of 10 volunteers from various parts of the globe struggling to cobble together some sort of meal on a one hob gas burner, followed potentially by a trip to the beach and a few drinks watching the sun set over the Indian Ocean, I know there is no need to feel sorry for us! But something in me is a little jealous that we are missing out on what will probably be the first true white Christmas in a long time, I’d like to be back to see that, well just for the day anyway.
So while you all snuggle up indoors, put on your slippers and listen to Slade and the Pogues for another year running we will be hiding under a palm tree from the blazing sun, eating some sort of carbs and listening to the reggae version of Celine Dione’s ‘Think Twice’ (strangely popular here).
Merry Christmas to you all, hope you have a good holiday season and we will be in touch again in the new year.
Jo and Gareth
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