Fall Break!

We're just a little bit behind.  While most of you have been enjoying snow and sledding and chestnuts roasting on an open fire, we've just been enjoying a wonderful vacation that seemed remarkably like fall.

We stayed in the city for Christmas Day, and drank ice cold lemonade instead of hot chocolate, and opened presents while wearing shorts and t-shirts instead of flannel pj's, but it was a good day.  And then we got to take a trip up, up, up into the mountains to spend 5 days in a place that could easily be Missouri in October.  We only traveled about 450 km, but the climate change was huge.  Sweaters, socks (can you believe it?  We wanted to wear socks!), bonfires in the evenings, and chilly nights.  Marshmallow roasts, apple cider, and hamburgers cooked on the fire.  Piles of blankets on the beds, hot soup bubbling away, and warmth from a wood stove.  I didn't know all of this was possible in Africa.

There are actually pine trees in this part of the country, carefully planted years ago by a French botanist.  We spent a couple of hours one afternoon walking in the shade of those massive trees, enjoying the familiar scent of pines.  And of course, pine cones collected on the walk make nice additions to any bonfire!

This is actually part of a huge tree that split in a fire several years ago (not an over-sized praying mantis), and has been propped up nicely as a jungle gym for the kids.  Or, as in Joya's case, a nice drawing studio with a great view.  

New Year's Eve was bright and clear, and a ball was scheduled for the evening.  Normally, camping and fancy costume balls don't really go together, but why not?  The girls in the youth group who had found fancy dresses for the Christmas party wanted one more reason to wear them, and New Year's Eve seemed like a good time to have another party.  The house we were staying in has a large, wrap-around front porch that was just large enough to be a small dance floor.  For those content to just watch the dancers, there were chairs and logs pulled around a nice bonfire.  We even had fireworks to celebrate the New Year.  (You really can find almost anything in the markets over here.)

True, we missed watching the ball drop (yet again!) to signify the end of one year and the beginning of another, but I was still just so thrilled to be wearing jeans and sweaters again that I consider it a fair trade.

Vacation is over now, and we are back to warm weather, burning trash in the air, and a fine, reddish-brown dust that settles on everything in no time at all.  But those few days in the sunshine and fresh air did us all good.  We even got to see some monkeys.