SAINT MARY HOLIDAY

So its funny, I was not sure if Tuesday was a holiday or not, but I sure found out soon enough that it wasn’t a typical working day and in fact a holiday, as when I went to catch the bus in the morning around 7:45am every single bus was completely packed, I waited at the stop for nearly an hour, when two other women at the stop told me to follow them and they took me to another bus stop, they said because of the holiday all the buses were full, as everyone was going to the main cathedral downtown to celebrate and pay tribute to Saint Mary. They told me they didnt think I would have work today, however, I thought I should still get to the office and check just in case. So I took the bus downtown, got off near the market and started heading toward my office, when all of sudden I found myself in a sea of traditionally dressed Tigrinyan women dressed all in white, chanting something in Tigrinya altogether, marching in the direction of the cathedral. It was really something special so I decided to follow along, even though I totally stuck out in my black suit. Really there must have been over a couple thousand women marching toward the church it was really quite phenomenal, and I wish I would have known as I would have brought my camera.
In any case, after I made it to my office, to find nobody there but one of the main administrators taking some decorations down after the celebration. She told me there was no work today and so we went for tea. After I was invited for lunch at another work collegue's home and got directions from her how to get there. It was really neat, as I met all his extended family and they were all extremely hospitable and welcoming in their tiny one room home near the central market. They offered me some homemade brew, ingera, and the typical veggie and spicy chili meat dishes. After the meal I was offered a shot of “ZIBIB” a very strong liquor similar to samboca, and then naturally that was followed by a coffee ceremony, where I drank several shots of expresso, while I sipped my shot of ZIBIB in between the rounds of coffee . Then much to my surprise after visiting for sometime with his family, I was to repeat this whole ritual at another work collegue’s home. After two lunches, lots of coffee and a couple shots of Zibib, I was homeward bound, with no need to make supper that evening.