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A three day holiday turned into four days off with the passing of Gerald Ford. To my amazment, I didn’t receive any work related phone calls throughout Christmas and New Years!

For the most part, it was calm. We had leisurely breakfasts and gatherings with friends. On the morning of the 31st, the kids remembered Toulouse with Nina one and a half years ago, given it’s her birthday. Stefan recalled her stories of the Juneau garbage bears rummaging through town, eating trash. He received his very own "garbage bear" from her as a gift for Christmas. Dina and Camille made Aunt Valerie’s famous carmel corn and fruit on a toothpick in preparation for the kids’ New Year’s Eve party. It also happened to be Tobaski, the Muslim holiday. Goats were slaughtered in the early morning after being taken to the mosque. We didn’t actual observe the slaughtering but it was imjpossible not to see all the slaughtered goats being butchered in the street and then cooked on the open fire pits.

Dina and I were invited to our neighbor’s house. She is originally from Argentina and her husband was a chef before he joined the Foreign Service (and according to him, "took a pay cut."). They had a very nice sit down dinner with lots of food and at midnight, we popped open a bottle of Moet to toast the New Year.

On New Year’s day, our friends came over with Stefan’s favorite playmate for the afternoon. The weather has been increasingly dusty and seems like a high overcast. We sat outside and ate Nims and yummy crepes Dina made filled with broccoli in a cheese sauce seved with a green salad and garlic vinegrette dressing. A glass of wine. a glass of water. A glass of wine…

I had no plans for Tuesday given the short notice day of remembrance for the former president. Our DCM called and invited me to a game of golf. I was apprehensive, not knowing how skilled he was at the game, and myself not having swung a club in about 2 years. I thought of Bob (my brother-in-law) who taught me the game. I have enjoyed several rounds with him but am never really certain where that ball is going to end up; in front or behind me after the swing.  My friend Gary was also invited so I joined them to make it a threesome.

The drive out to the course is about 20 minutes from Niamey. It’s situated along the Niger river. It actually has a club house and driving range. You tee off of these platforms. The fairway is marked by green painted rocks and the imaginary water is outlined with yellow painted rocks. The greens are smooth hard packed sand. Most of the terrain is rocky with compact dirt and scattered shrubs, some low lying dunes and trees. With the hazy dust, it resembles the moon. Plenty of sand traps! As long as your ball is on the fairway, your caddie places a piece of astro-turf under it with each stroke. If your ball is out of bounds, it’s best to have an old club (or a weedwacker!). Unlike the golf courses at home, these fairways are forgiving in that the ball really rolls a great distance if you top end it. We had a lot of fun playing and socializing. It turned out my colleagues were only a little bit better at it than I was. Or maybe they were having an off day.

The holidays have been very pleasant. The temperatures were in the mid 80S to low 90S. Not a snowball in sight. I never received a single work related call.

We spent Christmas Eve afternoon out on the sand dunes of the Sahara dessert with some embassy friends. We had a picnic with Dina’s homemade biscuits, German ham, French cheeses and wines, Nims, and sodas for the kids. Our Land Cruiser performed superiorly to most of the other 4WD vehicles who got stuck in the sand and we helped push out. 

As dusk approached, we watched the ever changing shadows form from the dunes and saw a beautiful orange sunset out on the plateaus of the horizon. The kids rolled down the steep sandy slopes and we sang some Christmas carols to a group of Nigerian natives who came out of no where and shared in our festivities.

We each opened a few gifts from my family and Dina and I watched a movie (Meet the Fockers) and wrapped gifts late into the night. The kids woke us up early with excitement. Santa came and left presents! I drank some strong coffee and we had breakfast while opening gifts and listening to Christmas music. Stefan played with his wooden track for cars and trains. Camille got horseback riding gear and lots of good books.

Our friends came over around 2PM and we started cooking and baking while the kids played and we sipped Lillet, wine, and snacked on hor-d’oeuvres. Dinner was great. Dina roasted a turkey (or perhaps a peacock) with stuffing, green beans, mashed potatoes, and gravy. Sirianna made a Finish raspberry linzer tort served with homemade ginger snaps and lace cookies. Zuri stayed to clean and help serve. A very relaxed evening.

It’s been quiet at work. Many folks took vacation for the holidays. The kids are on their two week break. Camille is riding horses with a group of kids her age. Stefan got his dream come true remote car from Grammie and Grandpa and they got other great gifts that preoccupy their time.

Next comes New Years!

We took the "Denver spruce" tree out of the box and assembled it. We played Christmas music and the kids helped decorate the tree. It looks pretty good! Especially after a few glasses of wine and a full meal. The only thing that’s missing that could make it better is one of those tree shaped, pine scented, air freshners people hang from their rear view mirrors to use as an ornament.

I got a little nastalgic thinking about those smells from the kitchen my mother always created, fogged up windows, and sneeking a peak at the gift tags to see which presents where for me when I thought nobody would notice. On Christmas Eve, my grandfather would sit by the tree and put on his reading glasses. Each one of us would take turns going up and choosing a present for him to read the label out loud and then take it to that person. We would have to sit and wait until the gift was opened before the next person could go and get another one. It would take half the night but we loved it.

I miss our families and friends. It may be in the mid 80’s outside without all the fanfare here but friends are still calling "you who!" and inviting us over for holiday cheer. It’s great to see the traditions that everyone tries to maintain wherever we go. We celebrate Christmas and try to bring all those traditions that we were raised with to our home. And the kids are excited that Santa WILL come to Niamey; snow or shine! And that’s what Christmas is all about.

We’ve pretty much gotten most of our boxes unpacked. Read some. Our chef came on Saturday and made these delicious chicken buns with shitaki mushrooms.

There was a going away party for a couple and it feels sad since they are both good people who I have become fond of as well as had private personal consultation with their medical issues. I am privy to more information than most people (so I know more about them than the average Joe).

Dina went to parent teacher conference and the kids are doing well. We expected the usual somber mood that the French teachers usually give at the first conference, like; "we hope your child improves or they will have to stay back a year." But this time, both were very positive. Stefan is speaking French at his level and well liked by his teacher. Camille’s teacher recognizes her maturity and he is impressed with her French considering it is her second language. "Bravo Camille!" he wrote on her report. This makes parents very happy.

Yesterday, my friend Gary came over to search for bugs! Dina and I have been getting bit by varmints in the night. The bite itches beyond belief but we cannot find the parasite. We suspect bed bugs but there are no tell tail signs of blood smears etc. Gary happens to be a pest control specialist. He could not make any definite conclusions but we have a plan to control and eradicate now.

I got a phone call from a friend here who I found out is pregnant with triplets.  I am excited for her and her husband. Triplets! Wow!

We went to Stefan’s playmate’s 7th Birthday party. She is Stefan’s favorite friend and it’s really cute to watch them play together. The theme was ladybugs and her mom, made a delicious Finnish cake, decorated with a ladybug and later, a ladybug pinata bashing!

Back at work now and wondering where the weekend went.

I back and I’m trying to deal with the usual administrative things, catching up on patients charts, seeing patients, and the call at 7AM on Saturday morning from someone who has "a bit of a  tummy ache" and do I think they need to take something for it?

Uh? "Who is this and what time is it?"

And a regional psychiatrist is visiting so I have to act "normal" which is challenging. I don’t think that they know that I think they don’t know sort of thing.

So I’m trying to get breakfast ready and get everyone up to send the kids off to school, get to work in time for a meeting and prepare for a "community assessment" with the shrink when Stefan wanders into the kitchen in his planet underwear and asks, "who made God?" He drew me a martini glass with a smirk face on it on a bookmark he made me and described it as "a very happy Mr. Martini." I’m still not sure what it means or what gave him that idea. He scarres me.

Next week; my regional medical officer comes for a visit…