As mid-November arrived with an afternoon heat that left me sunburned and exhausted, I realized how much I miss the slowing down of Autumn and the hibernation of Winter.
The weather here in Huánuco is consistently beautiful, la Primavera eternal (eternal Spring). While it sounds ideal and romantic, I find I need the change of seasons and the altered moods each one brings.
However, while there are no colored leaves strewn on the ground or the anticipation of the first snow, a new season has in fact begun – Advent.
The concept of Advent seems very real to me this year – a time of preparation and waiting and following a certain Light even if I don’t know where it’s leading me.
The first sign of the Christmas season came to me while sitting at the kitchen table, humming various church hymns with my host mother and sister. The next thing I knew, my host mother had spread out three dusty hymn books, and we started searching for Christmas carols we all knew, Noche de Paz (Silent Night) and Regocijad Jesús Nació (Joy to the World).
Another evening we sat together translating Sarah McLaughlin's “Angel,” – “En los brazos del angel, puedes buscar conforte aqui" (In the arms of the angel, may you find some comfort here).
On my return home from our Thanksgiving retreat in Lima, an eight hour bus ride up and over the Andes, I saw a most familiar sign that I had just about given up on… snow! Having reached a level plain, the highest altitude of the route, passengers were offered cotton balls saturated in alcohol, which I learned to inhale to lessen the change in air pressure.
As I situated myself to fall asleep, I peered out of my condensation-filled window and saw wide open fields with a dusting of white snow, which seemed to camouflage the few roaming llamas. I was stunned in a state of pure joy and disbelief.
I arrived back in Huánuco with a distinct feeling that I had returned home. Almost three months ago I had arrived for the first time, in a mental fog, completely disoriented yet utterly curious. This time, I entered the city of Huánuco with a sense of belonging and familiarity, wondering what happenings had occurred while I was away.
Walking home along the main streets of 2 de Mayo and 28 de Julio, I passed a tienda selling artificial Christmas trees and tinsel. The store was cluttered with imported plastic wreaths and Santa Clause dolls, with the sound of the Rolling Stone’s “I Can’t Get No Satisfaction” blaring out into the crowded street. Not exactly what I expected…
I soon found myself looking for certain markers I typically associate the holiday season, like Christmas trees affixed to car roofs. However, I had to remind myself of my new context in Peru when I mistook a heap of alfalfa for a freshly cut pine tree. Another car appeared to be carrying a snow covered fir tree, which I soon realized were actually two live sheep tied to the roof of a taxi.
While there are some obvious differences in the Christmas season here in Peru, much feels the same. I chuckled to myself as my host mother placed a miniature llama in the manger scene, just as my mom places our collection of Boston terrier figurines among the camels and Three Kings.
I remembered the Joy Gifts Collection at my home church in New York, as my co-workers and I sifted through a box of donated clothes from Switzerland. We gave an article of clothing, wrapped in a plastic bag with a red ribbon, and a pocket radio with headphones, to each of the young women in the Tamar Collective, a support group for survivors of sexual abuse.
I thought of the various holiday food drives at schools and churches as I visited the market with my host mother. We prepared five small bags with viveres (basic ingredients), including a kilo of sugar and rice, a can of evaporated milk, a plastic mug and a chocolate candy bar. The bags were later delivered to five women who had participated in a program for survivors of domestic violence.
There is surely an air of anticipation during this Advent season here in Peru. Yet for me, I am unsure what will come with the celebration of Christmas. It will be the first time that I am away from my family, with our traditions of going to the candle light Christmas Eve service and my dad cooking waffles on Christmas morning. But in the unpredictability and newness of entering this Season in another country, I find myself in the midst of something… very… Holy.
The weather here in Huánuco is consistently beautiful, la Primavera eternal (eternal Spring). While it sounds ideal and romantic, I find I need the change of seasons and the altered moods each one brings.
However, while there are no colored leaves strewn on the ground or the anticipation of the first snow, a new season has in fact begun – Advent.
The concept of Advent seems very real to me this year – a time of preparation and waiting and following a certain Light even if I don’t know where it’s leading me.
The first sign of the Christmas season came to me while sitting at the kitchen table, humming various church hymns with my host mother and sister. The next thing I knew, my host mother had spread out three dusty hymn books, and we started searching for Christmas carols we all knew, Noche de Paz (Silent Night) and Regocijad Jesús Nació (Joy to the World).
Another evening we sat together translating Sarah McLaughlin's “Angel,” – “En los brazos del angel, puedes buscar conforte aqui" (In the arms of the angel, may you find some comfort here).
On my return home from our Thanksgiving retreat in Lima, an eight hour bus ride up and over the Andes, I saw a most familiar sign that I had just about given up on… snow! Having reached a level plain, the highest altitude of the route, passengers were offered cotton balls saturated in alcohol, which I learned to inhale to lessen the change in air pressure.
As I situated myself to fall asleep, I peered out of my condensation-filled window and saw wide open fields with a dusting of white snow, which seemed to camouflage the few roaming llamas. I was stunned in a state of pure joy and disbelief.
I arrived back in Huánuco with a distinct feeling that I had returned home. Almost three months ago I had arrived for the first time, in a mental fog, completely disoriented yet utterly curious. This time, I entered the city of Huánuco with a sense of belonging and familiarity, wondering what happenings had occurred while I was away.
Walking home along the main streets of 2 de Mayo and 28 de Julio, I passed a tienda selling artificial Christmas trees and tinsel. The store was cluttered with imported plastic wreaths and Santa Clause dolls, with the sound of the Rolling Stone’s “I Can’t Get No Satisfaction” blaring out into the crowded street. Not exactly what I expected…
I soon found myself looking for certain markers I typically associate the holiday season, like Christmas trees affixed to car roofs. However, I had to remind myself of my new context in Peru when I mistook a heap of alfalfa for a freshly cut pine tree. Another car appeared to be carrying a snow covered fir tree, which I soon realized were actually two live sheep tied to the roof of a taxi.
While there are some obvious differences in the Christmas season here in Peru, much feels the same. I chuckled to myself as my host mother placed a miniature llama in the manger scene, just as my mom places our collection of Boston terrier figurines among the camels and Three Kings.
I remembered the Joy Gifts Collection at my home church in New York, as my co-workers and I sifted through a box of donated clothes from Switzerland. We gave an article of clothing, wrapped in a plastic bag with a red ribbon, and a pocket radio with headphones, to each of the young women in the Tamar Collective, a support group for survivors of sexual abuse.
I thought of the various holiday food drives at schools and churches as I visited the market with my host mother. We prepared five small bags with viveres (basic ingredients), including a kilo of sugar and rice, a can of evaporated milk, a plastic mug and a chocolate candy bar. The bags were later delivered to five women who had participated in a program for survivors of domestic violence.
There is surely an air of anticipation during this Advent season here in Peru. Yet for me, I am unsure what will come with the celebration of Christmas. It will be the first time that I am away from my family, with our traditions of going to the candle light Christmas Eve service and my dad cooking waffles on Christmas morning. But in the unpredictability and newness of entering this Season in another country, I find myself in the midst of something… very… Holy.
