Visit with Baby Christiana

Last Saturday we visited the home of a fellow teacher, Mr. Farah, to hang out and meet his family, especially his three-month-old baby daughter Christiana. She is the first (and only) baby named after me! When his wife was nearing her due date, Mr. Farah and I were talking about names and he asked my suggestions. I gave him a list of my favorite names, and also mentioned my own name, Lesley Christiana. Since the baby was born on a Sunday and in local tradition names are often related to the day/season of the birth, Mr. Farah and his family thought a name that reflects the Christian day of worship was appropriate. Her full name is Pili (also refers to Sunday in the local language) Christiana Medza (a family name). They don’t use a surname the way we do, but rather give each child a different name from a family member. She is such a happy, smiling baby – she loves to “stand” and dance and giggle!





When someone has a namesake here, the two people are jokingly referred to as being interchangeable. So, I became a daughter to Mr. Farah and a sister to his other kids, while baby Christiana became a wife to Chris. All throughout the day we laughed and joked about our new extended family!



To celebrate the meeting of the Christianas, the family hosted us with coconuts, tea, sweet breads, and pilau (a meat and rice dish made on holidays). To make the traditional pilau, they slaughtered a chicken and a goat! This is a very special thing usually reserved for holidays, weddings, and other celebrations.





We spent the whole day with their family, hanging out and eating, mostly. I tried to help the women cook, but after crouching over a smoky wood fire and big steamy pot in a tiny room, my eyes started to burn and I had to bow out. At the end of the day, Mr. Farah presented us with another tradition – a leg from the goat they had killed! He said it is proper to send the guests home with something to eat for a few days.



A fun but somewhat tiring day, as we had to hike 30-40 minutes each way between our home and theirs. It was definitely worth it, though, and I hope I get to see my little namesake again!