Birthday

In Peru, parties are big and anything is a good excuse to throw one. Practically every weekend there is a birthday party, a going away party or a welcome back party. On October 1st I turned 23, and that naturally was an occasion to celebrate.

On the eve of my birthday I invited some 20 friends over for dinner. My lovely flatmates and two Peruvian friends helped me with the cooking – or rather, they cooked and I helped out. We made a tuna salad, a vegetable salad, papa a la huancaína (potatoes in a creamy sauce spiced up with yellow chilli peppers) and pies filled with yuca and cheese.




Celi made me a torta de tres leches (a sponge cake soaked in three different kinds of milk; the most delicious type of cake I’ve tasted).




As a welcome drink we served pisco sour, a Peruvian cocktail containing pisco, lemon juice, egg whites and syrup. It tastes a lot better than it sounds! :) At midnight it was time to sing Happy Birthday to you, and I could open the presents. According to Peruvian tradition, the birthday boy or girl has to take a bite of the cake (or smash his/her head into it). Only then can he/she cut the cake.






I woke up at sunrise on my birthday and left for Chamis secondary school, where I teach English every Thursday morning. After my morning cup of coffee I was actually quite awake and eager to meet my students. Once they spotted me getting off the combi (van turned into bus), the pupils shouted “Happy birthday”, in English! They sang Happy Birthday to you and had even brought buns and marcianos (somewhat like water-ice) to share. I had brought soft drinks, cookies and sweets, so we had quite a feast. The youngsters at Chamis are the nicest ever, nothing like the mean and nasty Finnish middle school students. I’ve grown very fond of them.

In the evening my workmates organized a “surprise” party for me at the office. We started with a flowering ceremony. The lights were turned off, everyone sat in a circle in candlelight, I was seated in the middle, and one by one all scattered rose petals on my head and voiced their birthday wishes. Then we had cake (tres leches, once again!), snacks and red wine.

My colleagues gave me a red quilted jacket, which was the perfect present, since I never dress up warmly enough when I go up to Cushunga (3.500 metres above sea level) or Sexemayo (3.800 metres). Last Tuesday I was so cold I shivered all over and my teeth chattered. From now on, I will stop thinking I’m close to the Equator and it should be warm; I know it is not, so I’ll wear my new jacket, a woolen cap and mittens! :)