Christmas Season

As you might imagine, living in the largest Muslim nation in the world, I am pretty sheltered from the side effects of Christmas. And by "side effects", I mean basically everything that defines the holiday season in America. Don't get me wrong - I don't mind the lights and the pretty trees. But I definitely don't miss all the radio stations, TV shows, and storefronts shoving Christmas commercialism down everyone's throats. I like being in control of how much Christmas I have to experience. And I feel like I expand a little bit more each year.

Last year, I got my first little Christmas tree. My first tree in five years! This year, I hung lights and some small decorations in my classroom. FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER. And I started listening to small amounts of Christmas music last week. I also get to celebrate this Christmas with Melanie, my lovely friend who currently lives on Borneo. She's flying in next week to sleep on my couch for Christmas. What a gal, right?

Christmas never really feels like Christmas here, because it's during rainy season. Someone at my church last Sunday got up and did a solo rendition of "White Christmas", and I was like, "YEAH RIGHT." The closest thing I've got to that is the white mold I found growing on my leather sandals yesterday...

Anyways, all this to say that yesterday something happened that made me have warm and fuzzy Christmas feelings, which I don't usually have here.

I was walking home from work when I noticed all of our national staff - guards, cleaners, cooks, office workers, facilities guys, gardeners, teaching assistants, IT guys, secretaries, drivers, librarians, lifeguards, etc - gathered in the school pavilion. So naturally, I stopped and rubbernecked. There was a GIANT gift wrapped box sitting on a table in front of everyone, and our superintendent was talking to them about how much he appreciates them and how our school wouldn't be able to function without them. Then he asked for a volunteer to open the box. Inside the box was a letter, and the girl who opened the box read the letter out loud to everyone.

Have you ever watched The Price is Right? Do you know how exaggerated the emotions are when the people get called from the crowd to compete? Or when they win big, and they jump up and down and clap their hands and scream and cry all at once? That's what happened as the girl read the letter and the entire national staff realized simultaneously that the school board appreciated them and wanted to bless them EACH with a Christmas bonus. A bonus that for most of them is equivalent to a three or four month salary. Think about that  - that is HUGE. The pavilion erupted. There was laughter, there was shouting, and there were lots and lots of tears and hugs! Some of them saw me standing and watching and they came over and hugged me and kissed my cheeks WHILE jumping up and down and crying so hard they couldn't even talk.

I'm so glad that they know how much they are cared for and appreciated. I'm happy that I work for a school that values its national staff. And I'm thankful that we recognize that we are a body and that we couldn't have one part without the other.

Teachers got a big Christmas bonus for the first time last year. I don't know if we will this year or not. All the bonus money in the budget may have gone to the national staff this time around. Seeing them get their bonuses was so special though. I'm glad I stuck around. And if all the bonus money went to them, then it is so worth it. THEY are so worth it.