Feliz año neuvo

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I was starting to wonder whether Peruvian men had a weird fetish for yellow underwear as ever shop had hundreds of pairs on display until I realised this is how they celebrate new year in Peru. So in order to have a thoroughly Peruvian experience Ai, the other volunteer, and I went shopping and got ourselves a pair each. The yellow is for good luck, and the picture on the front indicates what you want good luck in... with the options generally being dollar signs for money and hearts for love. As I was in a Ayacucho and probably pretty well off in comparison with most people there going for the dollar sign seemed a little off, so I got some hearts and thought that maybe it could mean Jim gets some good luck - he's going to need it rowing across the Atlantic!

Ai and I had our own little fashion parade in our yellow undies - mainly traipsing through our host house with them on our heads which really tickled our hosts 12 year old nephew!

New Year is an all night party for Peruvians, so we headed to our favourite (the only) bar in town, Magia Negra, where we met the friends we had made and had a couple of drinks. Then the Baracho, (the nick-name for the barman there) closed shop and we all went to his house for a houseparty. Our host joined us, and at about 5am the party moved to a garage where someone had set up a makeshift bar.

One very weird Peruvian tradition for new year was to sit under the table and thrown seeds and corn around... I didn't figure out why and missed doing it because I was actually in a mototaxi as new year came around, between the bar and the house party. However, being in a mototaxi seemed very fitting for my new year in Peru - I have definately developed a small fascination with them!

New years day is pretty much a Peruvian write off, so when Ai and I turned up at the orphanage (at 4pm, but we did make it!) the teachers looked more than a little surprised and had a good laugh at us... we probably shouldn't have gone because we looked like death warmed up, but the kids were thrilled to see us and told us all about their midnight feast they had the night before.

Feliz año neuvo all! Here's to a good 2010!

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Photos

Yellow underwear
Modelling the underwear

Better this way?
I think so!

What size?
Extra large?

Eating out
For 40p...