Feliz Navidad

To be honest, I think I'd rather be saying "Merry Christmas"... Being away from home for Christmas is harder than I had thought! However, Christmas Eve festivities couldn't have been more fun and I wish I could have shared them with you all! I am staying with a family in Arequipa, Peru and they have generously taken me (and my brother) in for their Christmas traditions. It is actually much like it is at home.... People running around crazy trying to finish last minute shopping and cooking. Rob and I decided to venture into the masses of people yesterday. I got a kick out of it, while he got pissed off and walked home with his tail between his legs. After I had had my fair share of the craziness, I returned home, 6-pack of beer in hand with the hope of cheering my brother up. Success.

Christmas Eve dinner here doesn't begin until 10pm. I was worried I wouldn't be able to stay up that late since my sleeping schedule here is much like that of an 85-year-old man. But once I saw the display of food before me, my sleepiness vanished and I began to dig in. Day after day, the family continues to try to fatten me up with food. Much like it is for us, they try to show their love with food. Christmas is no exception and I was forced to have seconds....

After dinner, the waiting til midnight begins. Here in Peru, the kids do not believe in Santa Claus, although his name here is "Papa Noel." In that case, the celebration begins at the stroke of midnight when it becomes Christmas. I've never heard so many fireworks in my entire life! I'm reluctant to say that it made our Fourth of July celebration look extremely weak. I'm not talking big fireworks, I'm simply talking the little ones with the big noises. Tio Jose (Uncle Joe who I would say is in his 70s) was lighting them off in his hands. I was laughing so hard I thought my Christmas dinner was going to come back up. Fireworks could be heard for miles... We proceeded to light sparklers inside the house as we toasted to "la navidad" with champagne. The opening of the gifts comes next (every last one) and needless to say, we didn't make it to our beds until around 2:30am.

I know this is getting long-winded but I wanted to share one last thing about the "paneton" which to us is FRUIT CAKE and somewhat of a laughing matter. But here in Peru, paneton is one of the biggest traditions of Christmas. They are everywhere. In all the mercados and in all the little shops around the city. I bought one for each of my Spanish teachers in Cusco. I can't help but laugh. In fact, my belly is full of the stuff plus hot chocolate as I sit here and write this...

Merry Christmas,
Holly