This past Christmas was the first Christmas I spent away from family, outside the United States, and when it wasn´t cold out. In fact, as I believe it was well over 100 degrees that day. Even though the typical Christmas conditions that I´ve been accustomed to my whole life were a bit different this year, something very special happened. Something that brought forth the magic in Christmas which made me understand and appreciate Christmas for the first time, again.
At my work, the police station, the police hosted the annual Colibri Christmas celebration. All of the kids that belong to Colibri (a crime prevention program for kids who live and work in the streets) came for dancing, and of course to recieve their Christmas gift.
Some of the challenges we faced were organizing 150 kids so that each child recieved something without total bringing about chaos and madness. The kids are sweet as can be, but when the numbers reach that high with little supervision and boxes of toys at their disposal, I almost felt we needed to mandate Marshal Law to control the youngsters.
It wasn´t until after we passed out all of the gifts to the children, when I comfortably sat on my bed that night, that I remembered the looks on the kids faces when they got their dolls, balls, and toy cars. They were so happy and having the time of their lives. At the same time it made me very thankful that I was a part of the experience. I think that day will remain in my memory for a life-time and forever make me appreciate what I have and what little a person can give to make a child happy.
Oscar with his little sister. Oscar was one of the few kids who got their own soccer ball due to his good behavior all year long.
Just when I think I am getting use to the Peruvian culture, something suprises me. I think thats why I love Peru- its never boring.
Here we have two volunteers that helped out for Christmas...
Riddle: What does a young skinny Santa Clause with no stocking cap or beard, a Pirate, and Peruvan Police have in common?
Answer: Absolutely nothing. Thats why Peru doesn´t make sense sometimes and everyday is full of suprises. I ´ve learned to take each day at a time and always expect the unexpected.
Christmas Gift Table
Kids outside my office where they are waiting to recieve more gifts. I was one of the people passing out gifts from my office. We had to have Police officers guard my door so all the kids wouldn´t rush in all at once and take over.
As I was walking one misty morning on a pier enjoying the brisk morning breeze that came off the Pacific Ocean, I came across a little penguin sitting on his pedistal. I thought this would be a great picture since I had never seen a penguin before. After I shot the photo on the left, I discovered that ¨Photos of the Penguin¨ are part of a family buisness. Since I didn´t have any change on me I negotiated with the family and took a picture of the lady´s kids. Normally, one would have to pay a tip to feed or photograph this little guy. I found out from the mother of the kids that Pinky the Penguin comes from a small island about 8 hours by boat from the northern city of Chiclayo.
