Pre- Christmas parties in the interior are the best!

In the last six years, we created our tradition with our extended family in the interior of Suriname. Just before Christmas, we drive off to the villages and pack our car with lots of food and drinks, just like a little food fest. At first, we cooked ourselves in our little kitchen but we needed to upgrade the volume of the food so we got help from catering services.

Driving our car almost 120 kilometers to the interior, the aromas from the food, packed in the back of the trunk, enter your nose holes continuously. By the time we enter the villages, our appetite is ready to kill (the food). While we enter the village as hungry lions, we still need to wait for the tables that are carried out of the women's houses.  As time passes the women and their children start showing up one by one.

Time to eat hungry lion? Nope, not yet. Don't forget in the interior they don't live by the time. We are waiting for the last tablecloth to arrive and before we dig into the food, we take our time to reflect and we speak out our wishes for the next period of time. Sometimes the women have some build-up frustrations that still need to come to the surface.

Our little pre- Christmasparty in the interior never begins at the expected time, we always forget something and it always brings up something unexpected. But you know what the most beautiful thing is. Celebrating our little tradition in nature. You don't need to stress about a thing. At the end of our little food fest, everything falls into place. The spoons or plates we forgot in the city doesn't seem a problem, the tables that were missing at our Christmas party are handled smoothly and even the last frustrations are brought to calm again. Not only does the food taste extra delicious because you can share it with your family, but seeing the happy faces and the empty plates brings so much gratitude.

 

As I grew older, I didn't like Christmas as much as I used to. Seeing all the marketing stunts they pull to make sure you contribute to the massive consumption industry is such a turn-off for me. But celebrating Christmas in the interior with some food, drinks, and dance battles are seriously the best!

 

Enjoy your holidays and come visit us in nature sometimes!

 

Lobi,

 

Pekula