My First Christmas in Peru

My first Christmas abroad has come and gone, and I must say it was a lot better than I had expected. I of course missed the usual traditions and spending the day with my family, but I was able to start new traditions. In traditional Peruvian fashion, nothing went exactly as to plan, but it was a wonderful day nonetheless. Christmas Eve we spent all over, going to mass at the hogar and in the central plaza. Then we went to the bakery to await midnight with all the girls. At midnight, everyone wishes everyone a Merry Christmas, fireworks are going off everywhere, and we shared a huge dinner of duck and pasta, followed by the traditional hot chocolate and panneton (a sweet bread with raisins). For Christmas day, in the morning we met with a friend who works with me at the bakery to go to mass. We were supposed to meet two of them, but only one showed up, a half hour late. Time here is so relative, you just have to accept that or it will drive you crazy. We went to mass in the national cathedral and then went back to our apartment where Catherine cooked a Christmas breakfast for the three if us. It was great food and great covnersation and we hope that we have made a friend as well. After that Catherine and I headed to the sister´s community for a lunch of duck and vegetables, which was delicious as well. Then we went back to wait for Mario, the nice boy who cleans our apartment, to come and get us so we could go to his house. He arrived an hour and a half late, so late that we figured that he just wasn´t coming. But we went and spent the evening with him and his family looking at pictures, talking politics, and drinking chicha, a fermented fruit drink. While everythign was a new tradition, I truly enjoyed celebrating the holiday with my new community here. I hope everyone passed a peaceful Christmas and I wish you all blessings in the New Year.