I am starting to realize that holidays (local and U.S.) in this Foreign Service life serve as not only a countdown (how many more ____ holiday will I celebrate at this Post?), they are also an indicator of how settled you are in your current home. Dooflicky is the name of the annual Barbadian Independence Day celebration held at the Embassy. Last year it took place about two weeks after we arrived here. While we had fun, it was definitely a blur of meeting new people, being introduced to Barbadian culture via its foods and music, and meeting the needs of our then 4 month old child. This year, we were encouraging newcomers to attend because we knew what to expect and how much fun it was and wanted them to experience it too. We had even more fun than last year and it was a social gathering of people we knew and with whom we spend time regularly. Even S recognizes many of the faces at this point, and he had a good time dancing to the music and running around the courtyard.
Thanksgiving also had a different feel in its second time here. Due to our food preferences and allergies, M and I tend to have a low-key Thanksgiving celebration when left to our own devices... we tend to make Indian food, actually, and that's what we did last year! We know so many more people now, and were appreciative of being included in a friend/neighbor's celebration. We contributed a green bean casserole and had a lovely evening pigging out with new friends.
These holidays also serve as a countdown though. Last year, we knew we would be here for these events in 2011. Now that November 2011 has come and gone, we don't really know whether we will be here next year for these same holidays. Our departure date won't be set for some time to come, but we can't be certain whether it will be Nov 1 or Nov 30 or somewhere in between. Going forward, we either have to go to the event/happening or forgo it entirely since we can't rely anymore on the fallback of "we'll go next year."
No comments:
Post a Comment