David's Diary: Friday, December 20, 2002

Let's Party

Christmas is approaching and we decided to host a party in our apartment for fellow cruisers and friends. Jocelyn has made friends with two students at the school where she is taking French. Nabiha is from Monastir, while Maya is originally from Bulgaria. In two months, Jocelyn has gone from understanding a few French words to be able to have long conversations with Nabiha and Maya.

The Ladies Socialize

We have about twenty people in our apartment. We have decorated it for Christmas and we put Christmas music on the CD to quietly play in the background. It is really hard for me to get used to having Christmas in a Muslim country. There are no Christmas decorations outside, no Christmas music, and no stores done up for the festive season. We have to make do with the little bit of Christmas cheer that we have created in our apartment.

Dinner was pot-luck so there is a large variety of food. Nabiha finds it interesting to try the different dishes. She finds most dishes bland as she is used to a lot of spices, especially chilli, in her food. The rest of us enjoy the variety and afterwards we mix and visit. Except for Jocelyn's friends, everyone is a cruiser so we have lots of stories to share.