Wow, this month has been busy!  Between school, events at the Embassy, and all of our new friends, we have barely even had time to be homesick.  A good thing, because our internet has been acting fussy this month which means we aren’t able to call home.  When Mike goes in to ask the Zamtel people what’s going on, they tell him “the line from Namibia is out.”  Hmm, couldn’t have anything to do with the way the line is strung through trees and razor wire and already defying expectations that it could work at all?  We think they are mostly clueless and have no idea what’s going on.

The last day of school was December 13th.  We parents were invited to hear the kindergarteners sing a German carol about “Kling! Klang! Klingalingaling!” and Frosty the Snowman in French.  It was really cute.

To get ready for Christmas, we’ve done some baking,

Check out Mike’s homemade Artisan loaf, up close in a grilled cheese:

Met Santa,

Went to a cocktail party and played Corn Hole with our friends,

Attended a production of the Barefoot Theatre

Did some more decorating,

Had an early Christmas Dinner with our Canadian friends,

And made Christmas Eve Dinner again at our house.  A garden party, Zambia-style, with four other couples and their kids.

One of the greatest features of our house is the outdoor Drink Bar, here full of gluhwein, hot cider, and a mini crockpot of sweet and sour cocktail sausages:

We grilled our Christmas dinner of beef tenderloin with mushrooms and port wine sauce, chicken kebabs, roasted green beans with almonds and blue cheese, couscous with caramelized onions and chevre, mint brownies, peanut butter fudge, pumpkin pie, plus too many appetizers to fit on the table.  The afternoon sun turned into the glow of dusk, and we had to light the lanterns to finish our coffee.  The kids were running around the yard in the dark pretending to be bats!  We were having so much fun that we didn’t realize how late it was, and as 8 o’clock approached, everyone trickled out to get their little ones home and tucked in bed in time for Santa.  Thanks to our new friends for making our holiday special.

And now the best is yet to come!