Mark went to Nic's birthday party today. They played very hard, so hard that six boys earned injuries that brought tears. Their final game involved dunking their head into water to bring up foil-covered chocolate coins. Then, they had to do the same in a bowl of flour. I took a few photos that you can see below. Mark was one of the boys with a bad injury that he obtained in an obstacle course. I took a photo of his scrape.
Today marks the one-month-to-go point for Tracy and the kids. They'll depart South Africa on 28 December. We're starting to get into "return" mode, carefully thinking about small Christmas presents, giving away outgrown clothes, and mentally preparing for our return to the U.S.
Yesterday was Black Friday in the U.S., traditionally the day that opens the Christmas shopping season, and one of the signs of the season. But we're not receiving any of our usual social cues this year:
* No Thanksgiving, although we did have a very nice meal with good friends.
* No discussion of shopping madness or retailer revenue compared to last year.
* No cold weather, in fact, it is getting H-O-T.
* Little Christmas music. And Christmas carols make no sense in our new context, anyway. (Why would anyone dream of a "White Christmas" in South Africa?)
* No Christmas parties. Rather, many year-end parties.
It is interesting to conflate the end-of-school-year events (graduation, preparing for summer vacations, year-in-review, etc.) with the coming of Christmas. To me, it seems too complicated. Better to separate the end of the academic year from Christmas.
But, removal of all the social cues makes one consider the real (and more profound) meanings of the holidays. So, sincere wishes for a Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas to all.
--Matt
