We’re leaving to the beach tomorrow. I haven’t decided yet if I’ll bring the computer or not. While we don’t have internet in our house (yet) there are rumors of internet in the clubhouse.
If you don’t see anything on this page for a while, now you know why.
Have a safe and happy start to 2009!
I survived my first Peruvian Christmas. At times it felt more like the 4th of July crossed with New Year’s Eve.
We spent most of the afternoon in the kitchen, making food. My job was to wash a year’s worth of dust off of all the holiday tableware. It was a small price to pay for the big party.
Christmas here starts a little later than I’m used to. Vanessa’s parents had invited uncle Ori and his family over to the house at 9 p.m. for dinner. They showed up closer to 10.
Vanessa’s friend Christine also joined the festivities. She brought all the makings for sushi and some excellent homemade Egg Nog.
We socialized over a few glasses of wine and some sushi appetizers. Then it was on to the main meal.
There was turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, sweet potato puree, black rice and apple puree. There were a few other side dishes as well, but those are the highlights.
Let’s start by talking turkey. Vanessa’s mom cooks the bird in a wine and vegetable bath. This helped it stay moist and gave it a good tangy flavor you don’t find in most turkeys. By the way, turkeys seem to be the big Christmas meat here. Starting near the end of November rows of turkeys begin showing up at the grocery store and tv is plastered with turkey ads.
The ham was also good, cooked in a traditional pineapple glaze. Nothing strange, but it tasted much better than it looked.
One thing that is different is how the Peruvians treat their spuds. Both the yellow potatoes and sweet potatoes were pureed. Think of it as a super whipped potato with no lumps and the consistency of thicker baby food. They were still good, especially the sweet potatoes. They were mixed with cinnamon, cloves and orange juice, topped with marshmallows then baked in the oven. The result was sweet, but not enough to rot your teeth out.
After dinner Vanessa’s aunt Sonia and her family stopped by to “ring in Christmas”. When the clock hit midnight we had a toast, gave everyone a Christmas hug, and opened presents all while fireworks were blasting in the background. The whole scene was pretty surreal. There was so much life and joy in the air.
If you were to shoot off fireworks where I came from on Christmas night you would face a few problems. First off it sounds like the great makings of a Jack London-esque story “To light a firework”. A brave soul goes off into the frozen tundra that once resembled his (no woman would dumb enough to do this) back yard with his trusty dog. Our firework frontiersman would have trouble sparking a flame in the cold prairie wind. In this story he would likely give up and not have to kill his dog for warmth. If he was successful, chances are the police would pay him a visit.
Here, the weather didn’t pose much of a problem. It was around 70 at midnight and at times seemed a bit warm with all the people in the house.
The party wrapped up around 2:30 a.m. Which is late for my American Christmas standards. If my family makes it past 10:30 p.m. it truly is a Christmas miracle.
Now we get to enjoy the leftovers, which will last for days.
Merry Christmas.
P.S. we are heading off to the beach this weekend and will be back sometime after New Year’s. Apparently the beach is filling up since a lot of people move there for the summer right after Christmas. Summer and Christmas in the same sentence. Sounds weird doesn’t it?
Remember Monica, the maid who disappeared after working one week? Lucho (the man who knows all) said Monica may be showing soon looking to get paid.
It’s hard to get paid if you never come back.
Let’s see if she shows up.
In case you are wondering, Norma is still here. So far, she’s working out just fine.
My dream came true.
Last night Andrea and I made sugar cookies. We followed the Nestle holiday recipe. It called for condensed milk and self-rising flower. That made the cookies fluffy and sweet.
The frosting was another story. We ran out of powdered sugar so it came out a bit runny.
All in all these cookies are a solid B. Not quite A grade material, but good for a first try at Christmas sweets south of the equator.
My mom’s are better, but what can you do?
We are just a few days from Christmas, yet something is missing.
It’s not snow. Of course, there’s no snow on the ground here since its 75 degrees and all. However, there is plenty of snow on Christmas displays at the mall, in the grocery stores and Christmas themed ads on TV.
It’s not Christmas lights. There might not be snow, but icicle lights are all the rage in Peru. Yards are also decorated with all the big inflatable ornaments you find at your friendly non-neighborhood big-box home improvement store in the U.S.A.
It’s not Christmas music. That’s been everywhere since the end of November.
Peru may be rich in many holiday traditions, but Christmas cookies are not one of them.
There are no spritz, rosettes, sugar cookies, Russian tea cakes or other family favorites.
Paneton is everywhere
Instead we’ve got Paneton. It’s a sweet bread with dried fruit much like the Norwegian Julekake except much taller and a little sweeter.
Paneton’s roots can be traced to Italy (panattone) and has become a Christmas staple for much of South America.
Traditionally paneton is cut into large wedges and served with hot chocolate. Sounds like a good way to warm up on a cold winter day except its not cold or wintery here.
Right around the time Christmas music (mostly in English) begins playing in the stores, piles of paneton hit the floor. Literally, there are paneton pyramids at every grocery and department store since they are packaged in easily stackable boxes. There are also about a dozen different brands of paneton. Some are softer, sweeter, have better ingreadents.
Paneton is good, but they’re not as good as Christmas cookies.
So just when you think you’ve had one to many cookies, have an extra one and think of me. I’ll be chewing on a piece of bread.
Sunday Vanessa’s aunt Luz sponsored a Mass for the Divino Nino Jesus or divine baby Jesus. Her uncle Ori is part of a group dedicated to Jesus as a toddler and the miracles he performed.
Luz sponsored the mass because she believes the Nino Jesus helped her fight cancer. As host of the mass, she asked friends and family to help out. One of her nieces made an outfit for the shrine, others bought snacks or helped out in other ways.
This was not your average Mass, it had an almost evangelical quality. Throughout the service people clapped. After the priest finished somebody yelled something, and the crowd responded.
I’d tell you what they said, but my Spanish still isn’t very good. At least this mass was short (about an hour). A few weeks ago we went to Vanessa’s sister’s conformation 3 1/2 hour conformation Mass. That was brutal for length and comprehension.
After the service people shot confetti into the air, followed by an hour long procession around the neighborhood.
After it was all over, we went to Luz’s house for lunch. We left when everybody started dancing. The whole thing lasted about seven hours, much like a day at work.
While surfing the internet for a job I came across this on Craig’s List Peru.
The post has been up since last month and is not flagged for removal.
Before we left I gave away my Playboy collection (most of 8 years worth) on Craig’s List. The ad was up a total of 5 minutes, getting 3 responces before it was flagged for removal. Puritans must not troll Peruvian Craig’s List for content.
P.S. There are a few listings for U.S. “adult” video outfits looking for “models” willing to work with American men too.
What a difference a continent makes.
Norma is here!
She’s working upstairs as we speak.
I’m down on the deck stealing the neighbors internet signal and sipping an ice cold coca-cola. Things could be worse.
Vanessa is wrapping up her last day of school (for teachers).
Her sister is still sleeping (it’s 12:30 p.m.) after her party. The yard was pretty clean I must say. All the beer bottles were stacked neatly on the table this morning and there is still plenty of cake leftover.
In fact… there are still a few beers in the fridge. I think I’ll grab one.
Glug…glug… glug.. ahhhh…..It’s very light and non-offensive. Just the thing for the 17 year old drinker. Good for blogging on a warm near-summer day in Peru.
I’ll leave you with a few pictures of snow in Las Vegas courtesy of my friend Leah.
The weather is indeed changing around the world.
Another day, another maid.
Tomorrow our second new maid in a week starts.
Her name is Norma. Hopefully
Tonight we continue the two day party called Andrea’s birthday (V’s younger sister). It started yesterday (her actual birthday) with a few friends and a some family coming over for sandwiches and cake.
Tonight it ends with a party for her friends.
Out of seemingly nowhere, a bunch of beer all appeared in our garage. It’s apparently for tonight’s party although Andrea is only 17. The legal drinking age here is 18 I’m told, but that’s not stopping the party.
Last time she had a bunch of her friends over I was at R.E.M. Vanessa was left to play housemother, breaking up multiple make-out sessions on the lawn.
We’ll see what happens tonight.
Hopefully Norma’s first day of work isn’t greeted with a big party mess.
Instead of turkey or ham go guinea pig this holiday season.
Just don’t tell Suzie and Johnny what happened to fluffy.