CHRISTMAS

The next couple of days was taken up with recovery, sleep, tending to wounds and cleaning of clothes. Throughout it all, my throat had hurt and returning, it had been increasingly difficult to swallow, so I called the doctors in Yaoundé who told me that I had strep throat. I began taking amoxicillin right away, which after about three days made it mostly disappear.

Two days after our small team had returned, on Christmas Eve, the other team of five made their way back to Nan's house. As tired as they clearly were, oddly I think they weren't as beat as we were upon returning. Scott and I chalked it up to smaller, easier days of hiking and less elevation change each day. Maybe they were just in better condition... We had done all the shopping for our Christmas dinner before their arrival, and were busy preparing it. We had decided to spend the day at the beach, and have a nice big dinner when we returned in the evening.

The beach was a truly enjoyable experience, and though we had illegally brung a picnic (it was a private, access-controlled beach), we weren't hassled too badly about it. We played frisbee in and out of the water, read books (see book report) and related our mountain stories. A black-sand beach is somehow more exotic, and it almost made me forget that it was Christmas and for the second year in a row, I was in Africa without my family.

Christmas dinner back at Nan's was easy to prepare, but quite tasty. We had done basic preparations, but were eating "Ameri-treats" sent by Fran and Ted (the married couple who ended their service early in August) in the form of instant potatoes, gravy, stuffing and cranberry sauce. We also outsourced the preparation of the chicken to the grill man across the street. He had the grill, and we paid him to cook our chicken for us, which turned out really well. We sang a few Christmas songs, drank boxed wine and had a white elephant gift exchange. I ended up with a carved wood bottle opener, and since I had the first number, I was happy. It was a mellow evening, and I was able to talk to virtually my entire family, who were gathered in South Carolina for the holiday. I'll be home this year, I promise!