Ala Fia: Christmas in Northern Togo

I'm having a wonderful time in Arwen's village. Everyone has been exceptionally welcoming to me, they've served special food for the holidays, and I've been able to observe Arwen doing her work and interacting with the people she's been living with for a year. We got in on Christmas eve, and early the next morning we got up, put on our complets, and went to church with her village counterpart. The church is a very basic cement box, with open grillwork for light and air, but inside I experienced one of the best Christmas masses I can think of. There was so much amazing music, from singers and a small group of musicians playing traditional instruments. The sermon was long, but very good, in both French and Kabye (the local language), all about hope, thankfulness and working for peace. Throughout the congregation, the feeling of sincere happiness was palpable. It was such a wonderful sensation, I felt swept up in it. At a certain moment, they had an offering, and invited people up according to the day of the week on which they were born, which apparantly holds great importance in this culture. There was dancing, greeting, and all around good spirits. Everyone was dressed well, and the women especially were striking in their beautiful complets, some with braids or wire head-dressed, most with shaved heads, which I think it a very attractive look.
Later, they served us "fufu", boiled yams pounded into a sticky paste, and served with sauce. The sauces are much spicier here, but bearable, and I like the taste of fufu! "Pate", which is a grainier dish made of ground corn, is not nearly as good. But so far what we've eaten has been pate (which is cheaper to make than fufu) with a sauce on the side. Then we ball up a bit of the starch and dip it into the sauce dish. Since it was a special occasion, we also had spaghetti, and once or twice a dish called "watchi", which is sticky rice and beans with hot tomato sauce. Since I arrived during the grande fete, we've had meat for several dishes, but Arwen says this is not common; she explained that usually they put leaves in the sauce to add nutrients and flavor. The area of the village is gorgeous. At the base of some low mountains, it it covered with trees of many kinds, including palm trees, which are particularly picturesque at the foot of the hills. A truly lovely spot.
I can't forget one thing that has marked my Christmas here: tchouk. "Tchouk" is a home-made alcohol, kind of like beer, but not really. They serve it in little calabash bowls. Arwen and I have been offered a lot of this! It's not bad, but after a couple calabashes I'm pretty done with tchouk. Anyway, Togo is so different from Senegal, and I am having a fantastic experience here.