Kilisimasi Fiefia!

I woke up to a persistent knocking this morning, just 5 minutes before my alarm went off. Don't you hate that? Like when you wake up just minutes before your day should start, and you think, 'MAN, I could sleep three more minutes, dangit!' and you force your little eye curtains to block out the start of a new day.
That was me this morning, trying to communicate telepathically to this door-knocker to PLEASE, go away. PLEASE, come back in 10 minutes, when I've at least had time to roll myself out of bed and brush my teeth!
Then I remembered: oh wait, I'm in Tonga. If someone knocks on your door, they knock until you come. Fortunately, I had a considerate door-knocker who didn't call my name every 5 seconds. That's what they do here. If they need you, they call a monotone "Seini. Seini. Seini. Seini. Seini. Seini" until you answer. (Seini is my Tongan name. I like it :))
So I begrudgingly swung my legs over the bed, pushed away the cardboard boxes from my door (to keep away the mice and stinkin' cockroaches...I killed one roach last night. Ick.), and tiredly padded to the door. I unbolted the lock, gently opened the door, and there was this beautiful teenager smiling at me, saying,
"Merry, Christmas, Seini!" as she handed me a GINORMOUS plate of food. On top of this lovely pile of sandwiches (tomatoes and butter, usually), sausages, cookies and crackers was a beautiful, sprinkled piece of chocolate cake. I instantly salivated. I said mumbly thank-you's--I had nearly forgotten it was Christmas!-- to my nice door-knocker, shut the door, and instantly went to the sima vai to get water to boil for tea. After all, you can't have a breakfast like that with no tea!
Since that much food can put anyone in a good mood, I decided to open up a package from my parents that I had received yesterday. I saved it so I could have something to open on Christmas...and the first thing I pull out from this beautiful heap of candy is a stocking! It really is Christmas, woohoo!
I got a nice dose of the Christmas spirit yesterday, when I called my parents. I wished my mom a Happy Birthday (which is today, in America), and asked my dad to read me Twas the Night Before Christmas. It's an Ogles Family Tradition for we kids to cuddle next to Dad on the couch right before bed on Christmas Eve as he reads the adventures of Santa that we've heard every Christmas Eve night since I can remember. As he read it on the phone, I found myself silently lip-syncing the words and nearly tearing up. Oh, the affect of Christmas when you're without your family.
But yesterday was a great day. I rode my pasikala (bike) to the next village to see a PC friend, and we literally hiked to town to buy food for tonight. We took a shortcut into a ravine and seriously--it was like rock climbing. I have to take pics soon, because you won't believe me. I promise. The way back was even trickier, balancing a bag of eggs in one hand, groceries in the other... Ohhh, Tonga.
Last night I stayed up preparing the pasta salad I will take to our PC Christmas dinner, and after I eat with my Tongan family, I will go home, rest a little, and then make the potato dish my sister and I make a lot. Potatoes, onions, peppers, and salt. Sadly, I don't have the Parmesan cheese, but it's okay. Garlic salt may have to substitute.
Today, after my crazy large breakfast, I put on my faka-Tonga getup (like the one in my Facebook profile picture), and went to the Wesleyan church in my village. The singing... holy cow. I understood very little of anything in the service (though I heard "Jesus", "reason", "joy", lalala), but the singing made me feel absolutely high in my spirituality, which was a nice change. It's hard to feel spiritual in church when you don't understand the sermon, but thank goodness singing is universal. I think I'll sing Christmas songs to myself, too, when I go home. I can play "Oh Holy Night", "Away in a Manger", and "Silent Night" on the uke, so that should be nice.

I do wish I had my computer and Christmas movies, though. Faka 'ofa. (How sad.) Here are some of my favs:
-Love Actually
-The Family Stone
-Elf
-Meet Me in St. Louis
-It's a Wonderful Life
-Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (that's mine and my sister's Christmas movie)
-White Christmas

So tonight, when you're doing your last-minute present-wrapping (which is my absolute FAVORITE part), your last-minute stocking-stuffing, and maybe your tradition of opening once Christmas present on Christmas Eve or reading the Jesus story or reading the Night Before Christmas, please do one (or all) of the following:
-Watch a Christmas movie with your family
-Belt out a Christmas song in the shower... preferably a Mariah version
-Bake Christmas cookies...and eat them. All of them.
-Pick out your favorite ornament
-And think of me!

That's all. Have a wonderful Christmas, everyone! I hope it's a white one!