Tis the season to by crying???

I’m not sure if I’m punishing myself or not by listening to Christmas music. Every time Josh Groban’s “I’ll be home for Christmas” comes on, the water works start up. But at the same time, I can’t resist since the thought of NOT listening to Christmas music is almost worse than listening to it and missing home.

This is going to be my first Christmas away from home…My first Christmas away from my family…One day more than I’ve ever spent away from the U.S…My first Christmas without presents, Christmas lights, and Christmas trees…You get the picture.

It’s hard to wrap my mind around the fact that in less than 5 days, Christmas will have come and gone and will officially mark my one-month anniversary of being in site. But, with everything that I do here, I try to look at in a positive light and be grateful for the experiences that I get to have, and the people I get to share them with.

For starters, Christmas is done a bit differently in Peru, of which, I’m not surprised, as almost everything is different here than from the states, Christmas not being the exception. Here are a few ways that Peruvians celebrate Christmas:

Paneton and Hot Chocolate: I don’t want to make any generalizations, but I’m pretty sure that almost every Peruvian follows this custom. Paneton (Pronounced Pan-i-tone) is a type of Christmas bread that has fruit jellies inside and it is accompanied by hot chocolate before, during, or after Christmas. I’ve had Paneton a few times and it’s not bad, but I’m a little suspicious since Paneton first started appearing in stores when I first arrived to Peru in September. And any bread product that can last on the shelves for more than 3 months makes me stop and wonder what kind of chemicals are inside.

Nacimiento (Nativity): Starting around the first of the month, stores start brimming with Nativity figurines since here in Peru, people put up Nativity scenes in their houses to mark the Christmas season. There of course the angels, the wise men, and all the barnyard animals you want, but Baby Jesus is not put out until Christmas day. It reminds me a lot about my advent calendar back in the states when my sister and I used to fight over who would get to put up baby Jesus. Usually the Nativity scenes are accompanied by little Charlie Brown Christmas trees, but not always. In the case of my family, we have neither a Christmas tree nor a nativity scene, but we do have a string of Christmas lights so there is at least some acknowledgement of Christmas in the house.

Gift Exchange: Having grown up with THE Mrs. Santa, it’s going to be a bit weird not exchanging gifts. Don’t get me wrong, Christmas is not all about the presents, but being the gift-person that I am, it is a bit weird. To amend this problem, I purchased socks at the market and decorated them, so as my family can have Christmas stockings (Christmas Gym-Socks more likely…). I got a few sweets and trinkets to put inside Christmas day, but I thought it would be a fun thing for them.

Amigos Secretos (Secret Friends): This is just like Secret Santas, only it plays out a bit differently. We exchanged names in my Health Micro-Red, of which I found out about only 2-hours before. The way in which you find out is by having a scarf tied around your eyes and having to pat down the mystery person in front of you while everyone laughs. Ha. People seem to really get into the “patting-down” part, so things get a bit exciting. I come to find out later that Amigos Secretos wasn’t down this way with my friend’s health post, so I’m pretty sure my Micro-Red is just extra special (and a bit weird).

So those are some of the customs I have seen so far, but I’m sure there is more to come. I’m going to be celebrating with my new host family and some family friends my site, so I’m not sure what’s in store, but it should be fun.

As always, and maybe even more, I miss you all very dearly and will be thinking of you all come Christmas Day.