Christmas (24th of December at Midnight) in Yuracoto was expectantly subtle, without commercialization, but yet still very fun. It was just like any other day of the week, Yefer worked on learning to ride his bike, I read a book, Dina and Yordan hung out in the house, and of course, Roger worked. There were no Christmas songs on the radio, few mentions of Navidad specials at any stores, and no toys or gifts were wrapped.
Here's some of the pictures the boys and I took to make an electronic Christmas card for Roger and Dina:
At 6:00pm Roger came home from work, and he and Yefer went to Caraz to buy some pollo a la brasa (roasted chicken) and papa fritas (french fries). While they were gone, Dina, our neighbor Liz, Liz's daughter Jeny, and I cut up a salad and made cholotada (hot chocolate).
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| L to R: Dina cooking, Jeny holding the cat, and Liz cutting potatoes. |
When Roger returned, we set the Christmas table and sat down for a nice chicken dinner. It was a great dinner, with a fun family feel. For desert we ate panaton (kinda like a Peruvian fruit cake) and drank chocolate. This is very typical, and what I was prepared for (no surprises).
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| Family and friends at the Christmas table. |
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| Yefer showing good manners. |
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| Roger and Dina |
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| Liz and her daughter Jeny |
Later we spent the night sharing a few beers (first time I've drank in my site), and dancing until Midnight (huayno music...not my favorite). Once Midnight hit, we danced a couple more songs and then I went to bed, and the neighbors went home. Again to was very basics without frills, but very nice.
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| The post-Christmas dinner rug cutting session. |
The morning of the 25th, I left early to Huaraz, to send the day celebrating Chanuka with Karen (a fellow Peru 17 volunteer) and her parents... but look for a future post on that.
