Not our first glass of wine...
Along with the madness surrounding World AIDS Day, Human Rights Day and Int’l Anti-Corruption Day, I was assigned the task of organizing an inter-Agency Christmas party, which went off nearly hitch-free this past Saturday. I managed to sell the (apparently uniquely Canadian?) idea of a potluck to the club manager –but he wanted me to provide samples of all the food ahead of time so he could have them tested for poison. Seriously. I guess the goings-on in the Ukraine have totally shaken people up around here… So, after signing a release absolving the club of all responsibility if anyone died, guests arrived bearing heavy trays of burek (Julie's and my favourite Serbian food), sarma (identical to Polish golompki) and ćevapčiće (like meatballs). The banquet table looked so similar to one of our Kozlowski family dinners that homesickness stabbed me hard for the first time in three months...
Improvising without the promised piano, Mary thought it would be a fantastic idea to stand in the stairwell and greet the guests with carols…it’s not clear how many were scared away by our singing, but attendance still hovered around 100. UNICEF was in charge of international drinks: Ann-Lis' Swedish Glögg and Mary's Irish Coffee got us roaring-drunk-yet-jittery --my cheeks eventually matched my sweater. Nicholas (my boss) was persuaded to squeeze into a Santa suit at around 6pm and, with the help of Miss Serbia & Montenegro, distributed gifts that parents had sneakily brought for all their kids.
If you're curious about Yugoslavian recipes and/or traditions, take a look at this thoroughly well-organized site. I found a snappy little folk poem there:
Kad žena ne kuva, deca beže babi!
A muž je u svakom pogledu, sve slab'i.
Zato uči kuvat'-Ad' ćeš zdrava biti,
Za mužem i decom - srečnije živeti!
When a wife doesn't cook, children run to Grandma!
The husband, in every respect, is weakened.
Therefore, learn to cook and healthy you'll be,
With husband and children – everyone’s happy!
Not sure what that has to do with anything, but I thought it was cute.
Most international agencies are emptying out and Nicholas has taken his family back to Britain for a month-long holiday, so Mona and I are finally getting time for lunch (and leaving work before 8pm) --it is Christmas! Between parties and packing, I have a few outstanding loose ends to take care of, then will be flying to Italy at 6:30am on Saturday to spend three weeks with Filippo and his family. Got a quickie round trip Milan-London ticket for under $40, so I'll also get to see Anju, Briony and Clare after all --there's word that Dave B. will be around as well; can't wait for this mini Tokushima reunion!
Hmmm, am listening to one of Yahoo's holiday radio stations right now, and Nat King Cole is making me embarrassingly teary... Christmas truly is my absolute favourite time of year; I turn into a mushy and nostalgic little kid. Apologies in advance if you receive a sniveling midnight phone call...
And for all those last-minute shoppers who would rather face a firing squad than the mall this time of year, let me direct your attention to a most worthy website: World Vision's Meaningful Gift Catalogue. For the price of a CD or designer pair of socks, you can improve someone's quality of life and contribute to a community's well-being.
That's what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.