Lima Day 10: Christmas Kids' Party

Sunday, December 22

Today was the the whole reason I was on this trip. Some of my friends are in an organization that raises money all year, and they bring Christmas parties to poor kids throughout Peru the week before Christmas. There are -- it turns out -- a few satellite parties in other cities, but today was the day for the 'big' party.

I had to leave the house early to get to the meeting point. Luis picked me up, and we stopped at the Tamale Lady. I had her make me two sandwiches.

We got to the meeting point, loaded up the truck with the gifts, and headed out for Jicamarca, about two hours away from where I live in Lima.

Let me get the food out of the way. Since we were in the middle of nowhere, we brought Lunch with us. I had a Chicken Leg, Rice, and Vegetables. Later, I bought a Marciano, which is what we would call a Freezer Pop, except it was made with real Fruit.

OK, here's some shots of cute kids, cute kids with their Chocolate Milk and Paneton, Cute Kids watching the show, and Cute Kids with their gifts.

This is the second year that I have gone to the event, and it is very rewarding. Some of my friends and co-workers contributed to the fund, and I can personally tell you that none of the money went to waste. If you want to see a whole lot of photos, click here to look at an album I posted on Facebook. If you want to contribute to next year's fund (any amount is welcome), drop me a line.

We got back to the meeting point at around 6:30. The guys wanted to go for Chinese Food. As much as I liked the fellowship, I don't like the Chinese food. We said goodbye until next year, and I went on my way.

While I was looking for a cab, I saw a saw a Rice Pudding Kiosk. I got a large combo with some Purple sweet stuff. It sent me back a hot$1.25, and was worth four times as much.

That tided me over until I got back to my neighborhood. I was too tired to make any food decisions, so I went to the nearby Rodizio place. It isn't as fabulous as the ones in South Florida, but it did the trick.

I ate more than is pictured, but not much more. I was tired. After that, I went to a casino and figured out that I was too tired to lose any money, so I went home and went to sleep.