Christmas Marching ~ a Kosraean tradition!

One of the traditions I enjoyed most here on Kosrae, was the Christmas marching. People from different parts of the island worked on original songs, to which they 'marched', and they made colorful mumus and shirts for the people in their group. Even though I had only been on the island for one day, I was included in the festivities. I was a little nervous at first, but I was given a piece of paper with the words to the songs, and I did attend one practice... sure! I could do this!!! Christmas marching is an all day affair. Christina and I headed to the church early so we could see everyone. The day started out with a performance by the young school children. 

They were sooo cute ~ especially this little ham!

When they were done, they made their way down the aisle and outside....

....where the next group was waiting to enter.  We are talking non-stop here!

This is the group of older men and women.  The tradition is that the women carry poles with decorations on top, and the men carry wheels with stars in them.  Each group is colorful and proud.

Each group made up extravagant marching patterns ~ kind of like marching bands ~

If you look closely, you can see Aliksa's dad~

Just about everyone was in the church for the marching ~ it was a family affair:  young, old, and in between!  I am pretty sure that this woman was the oldest member of the congregation:

And soon, it was time for our group. We had lovely purple mumus and white wreaths with hot pink sequins!  The blur in this picture is from the gifts that are being thrown out to the audience!  That's right ~ not only are we singing original songs, and marching in intricate patterns; each group also tossed gifts like snacks, candy, T-shirts, plastic bowls, toilet paper, hand towels.....  you name it!  They audience really loved this part!!!!

There we are!  (Yes, I am looking at my cheat sheet ~ didn't quite get the Kosraean words memorized.....)

Success!!!  Notice the new wreaths and necklaces?  Yes, we were given all of those as gifts because we were so amazing!!!

And the groups just kept coming....

But everyone stayed because you never knew what you might catch!

Half-way done ~ I am looking a bit sweaty.... it is humid on Kosrae, and being in the church was even hotter.  (Notice even more island  'bling'????)



Luckily, we were treated to an amazing lunch ~ it was gorgeous outside, but it was nice to have the tents to protect us from the sun.  I was still getting used to the heat/humidity!

And the groups kept coming....

Christina enjoying her new 'bling' and just generally being part of this wonderful community!

And the groups kept coming....

And the catching of gifts became more perilous.  See this innocent-looking, VERY old woman there.... Yeah, she was next to me and got a little upset that I caught some tasty snacks so she sidled right up against me so as to block my attempts at getting any more gifts!!  This is serious business!!!

And the groups kept coming.....

There is Leah, marching with her group of young people ~

This little girl had the right idea ~ bring a bag for your loot!!!

Here is the older woman (the nice one!) coming back to her seat after giving one of her many island necklaces to a young boy who was ringing the bell to keep cadence for his group.  She was much beloved by all ~

I forgot to mention, that in between each group, the congregation went up to donate money (later to be used by the church).  Christina and I gave a couple of times ~

And here we are: still smiling after a 10 hour day of Christmas marching!  Exhausted, but happy we stayed the whole day!

After our 10 hour Christmas Marching Extravaganza, Christina and I headed back to the hotel room where we collapsed in exhaustion!!!  What a day!!

As amazing as the actual Christmas marching was ~ that was not the end of the surprises.... Christina and I turned on the TV one night only to find..... OURSELVES!!!!  Apparently the entire day of marching was filmed and played, and replayed on Kosraean TV!! 

Doesn't our group look amazing!?!

And here we come:  TV stars on Kosrae!

Merry, merry, merry Christmas from Kosrae!

Christmas Day and a Little Touring

On Christmas morning, Christina and I decided to take a quick little tour of the island before heading to the house for Christmas dinner. She took me out across the bridge that leads to Lelu Island. 

Here we are ~ Christina in her Christmas mumu and me in my jelabia:

Crossing the bridge, we seemed to drive into yet another Paradise

This tree was one of my favorites!  I loved how it looked as though it was reaching across the road ~

And here we are, in front of the church on Lela ~

Back at the house, we opened presents and played games.  Here is Christina with Heisey ~

And here is our island Christmas tree! 

But of course, no holiday would be complete without a feast!  All of this food was made by members of the family ~ and everything was DELICIOUS!!!!! 

You can see that we each have our own coconuts as beverages ~ only the best!!!!

I think that my favorite part of the evening, was being sung to by Cia's parents and an uncle!  Kosrae is a place filled with music and laughter and love ~

Happy face!

Here is baby Ruth-Ruth and a loving uncle ~

And more kids ~ having fun playing outside, but not too sure about the new lady and her camera!

Finally in Kosrae!!

You know your children are grown up when you find yourself equally separated around the globe! My Jen and Matt are making their way together in Washington, my Christina is discovering the world and herself in Kosrae, Micronesia, and I am living it up in Dubai. Because Jen and Matt are incredibly gracious, I have spent time with them in their WA apartment, but I have only seen Christina's new digs via skype ~ good, but not the same as being there! And the worst part is that I can't even mail her anything from Dubai (Don't ask.... argh.)!!! So I set my sights on a visit.... Well, after three travel agents failed, and a lot of money spent, I finally managed to figure out how to get to Micronesia!FINALLY I made it to Kosrae! And boy was it wonderful being met at the tiny airport by my Sunshine! We stayed together in one of the island's three hotels, owned by the most delightful couple (she is from Italy and he is from Tennessee). Maria and Mark made my stay comfortable and homey ~ a million thanks!!!!! 

Happy to be together

   Here is a shot towards the main office of the resort. There were about 5 double cabins as well.

  Our room opened up in the back to a sort of 'lake' area and so through our sliding glass door we had a front row seat to observe these odd little creatures! Not really sure what it is... but apparently someone from a university came out just to study these odd fish!

  We had to navigate a bridge of sorts across brackish water to get to the hotel restaurant, Bully's. Here you can see the upturned roots of the mangrove trees ~ They are growing up out of the muck in order to 'drink' the fresh water that floats on the top! Looked sort of like a medieval torture device to me!!             

And here is Bully's!  My favorite restaurant on the island!!!!  It's built sort of ala Swiss Family Robinson meets Pirate Cove.

This is where I ate banana pancakes and BACON!!!! Every morning!!!!! 

Oh Yum!!!! 

 

 

After checking in at the resort, we headed to the family house.  Christina is lucky enough to live with a beautiful Kosraen family who have taken her in as one of their own.  Aliksa and Cia, and their three children, Aksa, Heisey, and Alicia, as well as Aliksa's sister, Leah, lovingly opened their home and their hearts to Christina, and I was about to find out ~ to me as well. 

The lovely Leah and Alicia!

Two sweeties: Aksa and Heisey!

I was treated as a special guest and that meant..... a FEAST!  Cia prepared all of Christina's favorite foods for me to enjoy, including: crab cooked in coconut milk, sashimi with the most extraordinary dipping sauce EVER, sukiaki, tarrot, salad... and more, including fresh coconuts to drink!

I think I am going to like it here!