Cenas Familiares

Things that keep me sane in the United States....Family!

Coincidentally enough, this is also the thing that sometimes drives me insane. Hmph...funny how that works.

But because I live on a different continent, my family moments are treasured because they are so few and far between.

So it just warms my heart when the family can get together for Christmas, birthdays, random events, and what we took part of tonight The Tuesday night family dinner.

The menu? Chicken Pot Pie. The Dessert? Peanut Butter Cake. The conversation? Priceless.

It's my family, every bit as unpredictable and hilarious as one family can be. Come over some time, we'll feed you...and you might even get a few laughs in.

Things that make me go...Que?

So, every time I come to the U.S.A., I am culture shocked in some form or another. Sometimes it's something small, sometimes I feel a little disoriented, sometimes I feel like I fell into a vortex and am living in an alternate universe.

Luckily for me, this trip hasn't been too rough on me, minimal shockage. But there have been a few things that have caught me off guard on this trip, so I thought I'd share.

1) December 21st, 1:45pm Flatirons Mall...It was just gross. That's all there is too it. A Monday afternoon and there were so many people. Consumerism at its peak. Blech.

2) Sooo many previews...and So many movies I haven't ever heard of. My family went to go see Sherlock Holmes on Christmas Day. It was super crowded and we got to celebrate the joy of the season from the 2nd row. Nothing says Christmas like a crick in the neck. It was a very good movie though, and I got to see all the previews for movies that I might not ever see!

3) Baking...in Peru, we don't do cake mixes. Everything is made from scratch, and I've gotten used to it. So imagine my surprise when I was able to bake a cake that was NOT from Scratch. I made some cake balls to take to church on Sunday, and successfully put together two cakes and had them in the oven within 13 minutes. It was easy, but I felt a little unscrupulous.

4) Snuggies...I just don't get it. How does one ugly blanket/robe become such a vogue?? 4 million have been sold. Is the US finally starting to take pleasure in the simpler things in life?

And to all a good night...

The world would be a much better place...

If everyone had the type of friends that I do.

I am beyond privileged and blessed to have the friends I have. I think if everyone had the type of friends I had, a lot of the world's problems wouldn't be so difficult to overcome.

I just said goodbye to a lot of great friends in Peru, in order to go reconnect with a lot of great friends in the United States.

This past weekend I spent a weekend that can only be described as too short, too funny, and too fantastic. My first stop in my US endeavors was South Carolina, where Julie and I met up with our college roommates and had a weekend full of non-stop laughter, silliness, nostalgia, and the questions- Are we really almost 25? and Can you believe we used to laugh this hard everyday when we lived together?

A trip to Anderson, a trip to asheville, a trip greenville, it doesn't matter where we are...we'll have a good time, guaranteed.

Want to watch some silliness? This was a song we made up on the way to Asheville...we didn't have a radio.

The Lime.

Well, here I sit, once again, at the starbucks in the Lima airport, awaiting a flight that will transfer me from my South American comfort zone, to my North American "somewhat comfortable in a distant kind of memory way" zone.

We (Julie and I) spent the day in Lima spending too much stupid money on overpriced taxis and other assorted inevitable fees including but not limited to transportation, luggage lockers, and airport taxes. But we had a fun time at the US embassy (Julie's getting married and had to do some paperwork), eating a delicious lunch, and shopping until almost dropping at the Lima Markets, where only the persistent hagglers will walk out with a fair price and the dignity of not getting ripped off. After all the mayhem of the day, Julie and I finally ended up at the Jorge Chavez International Airport, where we checked in, and booked it to the Starbucks, where wifi is free....relatively speaking.

Last time I was here, I waited until about 5 in the morning for my flight to leave, and I was exhausted. This time, I leave at 12:45am and I am not cranky. Why? Two reasons.

1) I am excited to go home, see family, be in Colorado, have a cold winter experience, and catch up with old friends i haven't seen in...ooooh, just about forever.

2) I am wearing the coolest things I've bought...maybe ever.

Today in the Lima market, I was shopping around, finishing up the last of my Christmas gift frenzy, and then I saw them...a positive vision in burnt orange, two beauties before my eyes. Yes friends, I bought...

Two handmade rib knit baby alpaca open finger arm warmers. Not just any arm warmers, my first pair of arm warmers, that are so sensibly, fashionably, and awesomely fantastic. Plus, when I wear them, I feel like a superhero. I just need to find a handmade rib knit baby alpaca cape. Next time, Lima Market...next time.

In the meantime, Look out USA...things are about to get Peruvian.

Peruvians know how to have a good time.

End of Story.

One thing that I do alot here, that I rarely did in the US is dance. Well, dance with a group of people. Dancing alone in your room as you get ready in the morning does not count.
I love to dance though, and one more reason that Peruvian culture fits me like a glove is our shared love of the baile.

Weddings, Birthday Parties, Baptisms, National Holidays, Monday nights, you name it. Any time is a good time to dance in Peru.

So what did I and two of my favorite amigas do last night? We danced.

There's a (relatively) new Discoteca in town called AMA. Normally I would not go because of the steep cover charge, but my friend Ivka gave us free passes, so of course we couldn't pass it up. The locale was nice, though ridiculously smoky, and the music was great, and then came a peruvian custom that I luurrrrved.

La Hora Loca.

Yep. The Crazy Hour.

As described by the events group Santiago who you can contract for your next Peruvian party:

"EL SHOW DE LA HORA LOCA full fun without end! Hora loca is the height of fun in every type of party, wedding receptions, quinceañeros, anniversaries, birthday parties, business events...in other words, where there is a celebration, there's the Hora Loca Show that will turn your party (big or small) into an unforgettable Super Party!

Guests will be surprised with a carnival of joy when colorful characters on Stilts, Clowns, Mimes Harlequins, Dancers, and more appear at the moment least expected, throwing confetti, passing out noisemakers, masks, balloon hats, and more!"

Here's a visual if you still just can't quite picture it. La Hora Loca Video

In La Hora Loca, there's a non-stop mix of music that has every type of genre imaginable. Last night, it started with a giant Balloon Drop that began when the music started for Black Eyed Peas "I Gotta Feeling" and then went everywhere from YMCA to a mashup from Grease, to Reggaeton to a lot more mixed in there. Balloons were passed out, clowns were dancing on stilts, and just like at any good Peruvian party, a fun time was had by all.