Christmas

Everyone except our two children, Andres and Aiko, were gone by Christmas. We stayed in Arequipa. We had a quiet Christmas, I got a potato peeler. Peruvians typically peel potatoes with a knife and are not too worried about "wasting" a lot of the potato because the peel can be boiled and the water used is drunk because it is a good diuretic and cleans out your kidneys.

Peruvians are incredibly aware of the health benefits of all foods. When you go to the market and ask what a particular vegetable is "good for" it is understood that you want to know its health benefits and not whether it goes with fish or not.

Everything is used. we regularly boil the pineapple peel and drink the result or else mix it with water from boiling purple corn and make what is called chicha. Chicha is also the name of one of the current popular music styles in Peru.

Anyway, back to Christmas. I was asked to be Santa Claus for a colleague's child and her cousins.

Santa with Olga
I was a great success. I arrived on the housetop and all the kids were down below to greet Santa.
Welcoming Santa
Gifts from Santa are given personally. It makes for a good night's work for those who have a costume. The little girl in the photo is Anaflavia, the daughter of the director of the department where I worked.
Anaflavia meets he Main Man

She was so impressed by me that she grabbed my hand and kissed it when it was time for me too leave. In fact, her father drove me home and asked his daughter if she wante to sit on Santa's knee. "No! No quiero ir al Polo Norte!" ("No! I don't want to go to the North Pole."). Luckily for me she fell asleep in her mother's arms before we got to our house so her image of Santa is safe for another year.