{"id":4698,"date":"2018-02-11T16:30:32","date_gmt":"2018-02-12T00:30:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/?p=4698"},"modified":"2021-02-25T18:32:49","modified_gmt":"2021-02-26T02:32:49","slug":"christmas-peru-u-s-peace-corps-volunteer-huaricolca-part-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/christmas-peru-u-s-peace-corps-volunteer-huaricolca-part-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Christmas in Peru: A U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer in Huaricolca"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"writer
My host siblings and I in our \u201cChristmas costumes,\u201d fake mustaches and all<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from my home in Peru!<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

For many volunteers, the holidays can be the most difficult time of the year. We miss comfy sofas, lazy mornings with coffee and a book, and most of all \u2014 family and friends. Personally, despite studying in a different state and two different countries, I\u2019ve been privileged to never miss a Christmas at home with my family. Until this year,\u00a0I was not aware of the comfort and joy that familiar friends, family, and traditions can bring during the holiday season.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Although\u00a0muy tarde,\u00a0<\/em>I want to share a few Peruvian customs and traditions and my Christmas experience with my host family<\/strong>. My perspective is admittedly narrow, but I hope you learn something new about Peru<\/a>. [Imagine visiting the U.S. from a foreign country, spending Christmas with one family in one town, and reporting on what you learned. Undoubtedly, many customs and nuances would go unnoticed or overlooked.]\n

\"paneton\"
Panet\u00f3n, eaten throughout December & January in Peru.<\/span><\/center><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

My host grandpa has informed me that Christmas hasn\u2019t always been the same here. When he was a kid, the holiday was hardly celebrated, at least not in the fashion it is now. Surely due to influence from the U.S., commercialization, and advertising, new traditions began to arise. Some of these more recent traditions probably include Christmas trees,\u00a0Pap\u00e1 Noel,\u00a0<\/em>and gift exchanges.<\/p>\n

In Peru, two words define the holiday season \u2014\u00a0panet\u00f3n y<\/em>\u00a0chocolate<\/em><\/strong>. Panet\u00f3n,\u00a0<\/em>or fruit cake, is given as gifts, distributed at parties, eaten for breakfast (and\/or dinner), and altogether loved to the max, especially alongside a cup of\u00a0chocolate\u00a0<\/em>(hot chocolate). I don\u2019t think I had ever tried fruit cake before coming to Peru, yet I came to enjoy the citrusy bread and its interesting gummy fruits. While the debate rages on among volunteers over whether\u00a0panet\u00f3n<\/em>\u00a0is the best part of the day or belongs in the garbage, we all agree it cannot be avoided.<\/p>\n

\"nativity
This was the school\u2019s nativity scene, complete with real grass and a multitude of animals.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Aside from food,\u00a0one of the older and most important traditions here in Peru is the nativity scene<\/strong>. In every home, business, and organization you will find a nativity set. Many are placed on a platform of real grass, fill up a whole corner of a room, and include upwards of 50 tiny statues of animals or people. Looking closely, you might be surprised to see that the manger is oddly empty. Then you remember \u2014 of course \u2014 Jesus isn\u2019t born until Christmas! Like a gift in your stocking, you won\u2019t find baby Jesus in the manger until Christmas morning.<\/p>\n

\"nativity
My little host brother made this nativity set as an activity in school. I was intrigued by the cultural adaptations, Machu Picchu in the background, traditional Sierran clothing, and llamas in place of camels.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Overall, the heart of the celebration is Christmas Eve, or\u00a0Noche Buena<\/em>.<\/strong>\u00a0Most Peruvians stay up until midnight, place baby Jesus in the nativity scene, and enjoy a special dinner as Christmas morning arrives. Then, in classic Peruvian style, the party might continue until the sun comes up.<\/p>\n

Despite the advertising and chatter surrounding the season, Christmas doesn\u2019t dominate other holidays as it seems to in the U.S.\u00a0While Christmas Eve and Christmas Day come and go rather quietly, many local festivals and national holidays last for weeks or even months.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"host
My family\u2019s arbolito de Navidad<\/span><\/center><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

My family\u2019s Christmas was similarly\u00a0tranquilo.\u00a0<\/em>As the day approached, I was filled with certain expectations of traditions and meaningful memories \u2014 Christmas like I\u2019ve experienced it in the past. I quickly realized I had to let go of these expectations.\u00a0With new traditions and without my U.S. family it simply would not be the same \u2014 something I had to be okay with.<\/strong><\/p>\n

My family and I spent the holidays in our own relaxed way. We cut off the top of a small pine tree as our\u00a0arbolito de Navidad\u00a0<\/em>and decorated it with ornaments. The fresh evergreen smell gave our kitchen a real Christmas feel. My host sister and I also decorated the ceiling with streamers. We listened to Christmas carols put to both classic tunes and traditional Peruvian music and practiced dances to accompany them.<\/p>\n

On\u00a0Noche Buena,\u00a0<\/em>we prepared a tasty pork dinner, and my host dad\u2019s prayer for all our absent family members brought tears to our eyes. Accustomed to going to bed and waking up early, we decided not to stay up until midnight. We shot off our fireworks early and headed to bed.<\/p>\n

In this moment, I missed home the most, especially the sharing of gifts around the Christmas tree and our traditional candlelit dinner. Rather than feel sorry for myself, I decided to remind myself the reasons why I\u2019m here\u00a0\u2014 reasons beyond myself.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

In the morning we were back to our regular Sunday routine, household chores and soccer in the grass stadium. And just like that, Christmas had past. Or so I thought.<\/p>\n

Two weeks later,\u00a0we had Christmas again<\/strong>. Due to the postal service, a package from my parents in the U.S. had just arrived.<\/p>\n

What followed might be my favorite memory so far with my host family.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"writer<\/p>\n

My siblings and I dressed up, prepared snacks and drinks from the U.S., and made a surprise entrance in front of my parents and grandparents. They loved the gold fish, sunflower seeds, apple cider, and roasted peanuts. As I\u2019ve mentioned before, food holds great significance in Peru, and I was grateful for the reversal of roles and the opportunity to serve them for once.<\/p>\n

\"writer
My host family and I with their gifts<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After they opened the gifts (headlamps and electric candles),\u00a0the custom of\u00a0palabras\u00a0<\/em>(literally \u201cwords\u201d) began<\/strong>. Many parts of Peruvian culture are very formalized, especially documents and speeches. At almost any event, birthday party, or celebration, people have the opportunity (or are forced) to share their\u00a0palabras.\u00a0<\/em>They take a specific form and always include at least a formal greeting, thank you, and closing.<\/p>\n

While volunteers joke about hearing over and over again\u00a0buenos dias\u00a0<\/em>followed by a long list of names and courtesies, I find the tradition meaningful, especially among loved ones.\u00a0The custom formalizes something we regretfully neglect, verbally sharing our love and appreciation for those we care about.<\/strong><\/p>\n

And that\u2019s what we did. With tearful eyes, one by one my host family welcomed me again as part of the family with an appreciation I didn\u2019t deserve. They also thanked my family in the U.S. for the gifts and wished them health and success in the future. In turn, I had the opportunity to express my deep gratitude for their hospitality and care \u2014 for 3 meals a day, endless patience with my Spanish, and a willingness to share with me their culture and way of life.<\/p>\n

I came to realize that perhaps I already had what I was missing most \u2014 what we all hope for from Christmas \u2014 to feel like we belong and are loved. Despite different traditions, I found both among my family in Peru.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n


\n****Disclaimer: \u201cThe content of this website is mine alone and does not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Government, the Peace Corps, or the Peruvian Government.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Despite studying in a different state and two different countries, I\u2019ve been privileged to never miss a Christmas at home with my family. Until this year,\u00a0I was not aware of the comfort and joy that familiar friends, family, and traditions can bring during the holiday season.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":51,"featured_media":4692,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[556,551,787,788,720,789,790],"class_list":["post-4698","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-travel","tag-christmas","tag-christmas-eve","tag-holidays","tag-paneton","tag-peru","tag-peruvian-customs","tag-traditions"],"yoast_head":"\nChristmas in Peru: A U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer in Huaricolca<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Despite different holiday traditions, Alex discovers that what we all hope for during Christmas \u2014 to feel like we belong and are loved \u2014 he found both among his adoptive family during Christmas in Peru.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" 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Brouwer","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6018afc5956f8fbbd4706b7a44c8803fbd566542cd38e504d96640676769cfa0?s=96&d=retro&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6018afc5956f8fbbd4706b7a44c8803fbd566542cd38e504d96640676769cfa0?s=96&d=retro&r=g","caption":"Alex Brouwer"},"description":"As a youth development Peace Corps Volunteer, Alex lives in a small community at over 12,500 feet above sea level in La Sierra mountainous region of Peru. Although born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, he spent the last four years studying youth ministry at Azusa Pacific University in Los Angeles county, including semesters in Oxford, England and Pietermaritzburg, South Africa which sparked his love for travel, culture, and service. Alex currently supports and coordinates with the local school, health post, and municipality in the community to improve employability and life skills, community participation, and leadership among youth. Eating guinea pig, learning to knit, speaking only Spanish, shepherding cows, and sharing life with his host family, Alex feels honored to experience the beauty of humanity and the world from a fresh perspective. In his free time, he reads anything from theology to fiction, pretends to be a poet and photographer, or finds a game a basketball or soccer to join.","sameAs":["https:\/\/alextbrouwer.wordpress.com\/"],"url":"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/author\/alex\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4698","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/51"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4698"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4698\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22388,"href":"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4698\/revisions\/22388"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4692"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4698"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4698"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4698"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}