Celebration

Summer is here! The season that make me feel like home. My home country is Cameroon. Time to shine like the sun, time of joy, of laugh, of socialization. Far away from the sadness, from the cold, ( no heavy coat or boots). We can be out, we can meet our family and friends, socialize, go for a jog, have BBQ gatherings, you know what I am talking about… . Can you imagine?! This is the only season I can indulge, especially in those BBQ gatherings ( because food always has a special taste when shared with other people.) When I eat food that I know will make me gain weight, I don’t worry about putting on a few pounds because I know “tomorrow for sure, I will be outdoor jogging.” Summer is definitely the season that connects me to my roots, and I should confess that as much as I enjoy my freedom here, I miss Africa a little bit.

In contrary to the unique stories portrayed and that Africa is just giant and diversified, we have a great civilization and for those Africans who keep our tradition in their daily life, we have some good values. I want to share with you my daughter’s first birthday party in Africa.

The event was planned for 35 people: 20 kids and 15 adults. Two week prior to the party, I met with my landlady, who happened to be one of my neighbors and informed him that the party may last the whole night. Of course we had to be mindful/respectful of other neighbors’ privacy ( because back home we love to party!) . Five days before the event, my landlady informed me: “Pulcherie, I want to tell you that you should expect, more guests, I informed all the neighborhood people about the party for your daughter’s first birthday, and they all told me they will be there”. I agreed: “ok, maman”.

I called my family to adjust the budget, and my mother said: it will be fine, don’t worry. I will come with a buffet from my house. Prepare more space, because I also told my neighbors that my grand-daughter will be one year old, and they are all invited.

The day of event was “crazy”. At about 5:00 p.m. lots of women from my neighborhood came to my house to help with the preparation: setting up dishes, finalizing meals recipes etc. I rented 100 chairs and it was proven not to be enough for the total guests that showed up. But it did not matter because the party is meant for dancing and not sitting, hence the party carried on. We had cooked a whole pork, and lots of traditional dishes namely Senegalese rice or ‘riz-au gras”, charcoal baked fish, eru with waterfoufou, meat kabobs. “BHB”, in my native country is the formula for “Bouillie- Beignets- Haricots”. My mother and my aunts made goat stew, chicken, African pistachio cake, and a variety of other dishes. My colleagues, friends and siblings offered beverages (juice, beer, wine, liquor…). My daughter had two birthday cakes, because everyone wanted to contribute.

The event was held on Wednesday, the kids party started at 3:00 pm and finished at 7:00 p.m. The adults ‘shaked’ and danced until 1:00 a.m. because we had to go at work the next morning. My mother’s (mom and aunts) helped me with the cleaning, while we were dancing. The next day, my friends said to me “next year, you have to do this on a weekend, it’s not good to have half the fun, “we’ll then be able to dance till daylight”.

I miss those times of sharing, brotherhood and sisterhood, joy, and dancing all night long. When I feel summer, I reflect back on those memories. I want to have a big party and have fun not only with my friends but also with my neighbors. It is different here in Canada.