Tea Towel Shepherds

Much like in North America, Australian school tradition calls for an annual Christmas show, and Erik's school was no exception. So, at six pm after an early dinner of tacos (yes, you can find El Paso tortillas and refried beans here) we headed down to Sherwood Primary. The whole evening seemed bit odd to us given the "bring your own lawn chair" outdoor seating in 90 degree heat with the Australian flag hanging limply in the humid air and the clear disregard for separation of church and state. A reverend actually opened the performance with a prayer - Jesus and all. It's something I can't quite imagine happening in Seattle. It's not even because Australians are that religious - church attendance is much lower here than in the U.S. - but it's more an unawareness of PC concerns. For example in Erik's class performance, all the boys were dressed as shepherds and all the girls as angels - no exceptions, no gender neutral parts. It was adorable, but talk about gender stereotypes! In any event I had to come up with some shepherd garb, which at home in Seattle wouldn't have even required a trip to the store, but here we have nothing extra, no rags, no odds or ends lying around. In the end, I fashioned Erik's costume out of a curtain I bought for $3 at St. Vinny's , which also exists in Australia, and with a bit of scissor work and some clothes pins, he was ready to go. In retrospect, we might have gotten by with a little less effort as most of the other mums had made due with tea towels (thin cotton dish towels to us Americans). We had a flock of boys who with their head gear could clean up the dishes in a pinch.