Tuesday, December 28, 2010

A Peruvian X-Mas

It sure has been a while since I wrote anything here. It seems that the Christmas season is just as busy down here as it is in the States. I finally found a moment to sit down and write something, so here it is.
It's a bit strange for me to decorate a Christmas tree in 80 degree weather. But I can't say that I would want the blizzard that just dumped 30 inches of snow back in the States. Meteorological misgivings aside, my Peruvian Christmas was very fun. We decorated the house and at midnight ate a dinner of pork, mashed sweet potatoes, and unmashed regular potatoes (Did I mention that potatoes are big in Peru?). Then we went to my aunt's house and sat and talked with some visiting family for a couple of hours.
For someone who never had a big family and always downplayed Christmases, this was pretty fun. I can't think of any awfully alien Christmas traditions, but there is one that was noteworthy. It's called a chocolatada.
A chocolatada is put on by a community, school, parents group, church group, or anybody who loves chocolate and wants to do some good. Usually it takes place in a school with economically disadvantaged kids. The group will invite anywhere from 50 to a few hundred kids. Then they bring toys, food, and, of course, hot chocolate! They pass out the toys and food to the kids and then give them their own cup of hot chocolate. Usually there is some kind of show to entertain the little ones. The shows often consist of middle-aged women in skin tight spandex dancing to Christmas songs and playing games with the kids. I also formed part of the entertainment for the kids. I couldn't go more than 3 minutes without some 8 year old asking me to lift him up and spin him around.
I went to about 5 chocolatadas and I never want to see hot chocolate again. Well at least until next Christmas.
After the new year I am going to start giving English classes to the kids in the community. I didn't do this originally because I was focusing on my health classes, but now those are over and I need to start something else. I am also going to start planning my main project with my dad.
The municipality is building a new library in the central plaza of my town. It will be on the second floor of a house where Pedro Ruiz Gallo, a Peruvian pilot and war hero, was born. My dad (the librarian) and got the idea of putting a cultural/youth center in there too. This would be a place where kids could come learn instruments, join a book club, play chess, get help with homework, or just relax with their peers. It would be a central hub for the youth in the community. Once it is in place, we want to have monthly events put on by the kids. These would be poetry recitals, musical presentations, plays, art shows, sporting events, etc.
I'm really excited about the prospects of this new project. I think it will give the kids something to do and get them more involved in their community. I'll keep everyone posted on the progress.
That's all from me for now. I'll try not to let another 2 months pass without an update.
Chau,
Roberto