Christmas with the Russell-Jenkinses

I may have mentioned already that my trip has had really no direction or schedule, but the one date I had to make was Christmas. Nina and Joe have recently moved down to Huaraz, Peru, where they both work with a local after-school program. With all of us so far from Seattle we knew it would be nice to have a bit of home for the holidays, so I managed to plan far enough ahead to get me here by the 22nd.

Joe and Nina share their apartment with the loveliest people, Jan and Shelly, who gave me an amazingly warm welcome and felt like family immediately, cracking jokes and making sure I felt as comfortable as possible. A few days before I arrived, Joe and Nina had run into an old coworker of Joe's, Merilee, who along with her brother Eric is biking down to Santiago from San Diego, CA (They've got a blog, too). They were traveling with a fellow biker from Italy, Antonio, so the 8 of us made for nice big family. We started off with a spirited Christmas party at the school complete with clown/MC, Joe in a Santa suit and a spritely green holiday creature. Christmas Eve we collaborated on an amazing dinner, which I failed to take any pictures of because by the time it was ready I was too hungry to think about anything but piling it all on my plate and scarfing it down as rapidly as possible.

In Huaraz, the big to-do is Christmas Eve, when families gather for a big dinner and then wait for midnight. As comatose as we all were after our meal, we managed to stay awake to witness the excitement, and it was worth it. At midnight, the town exploded with fireworks, shot off from what seemed like every street corner and backyard. It was unbelievably loud even from inside the apartment, but when we went up on the roof to watch it was like we were at the 4th of July on steroids. Fireworks were shooting up on all sides; most of them were fairly lackluster, with just a spark shooting straight upwards and dissolving into smoke, but they were all loud enough to cover any visual inadequacies.

After about ten minutes, people started setting off their showy finales, and as I was filming some off in the distance, we were bombarded with a big set right over our heads. I've tried several times now to load the video, but alas, you'll have to do without the sounds of me screaming and the shaky shooting as I held my camera hand out in front of me for protection. Maybe someday when my internet connection is better...

After our thrilling/terrifying rooftop experience, it was time for bed. I woke up the next morning to a tree full of presents, though- tragically- not all for me, and a surprise mimosa and chocolate from Jan and Shelly! Is it any wonder I love them so much already?

Christmas mimosa! Or a "Buck's Fizz" as the Welsh folk called it.

Three happy Seattle-ites in some brand new knitwear.