Just like on New Year's Eve, people count down until midnight before popping open a bottle of champagne and making a toast. Then, after the fireworks and firecrackers go off in the neighborhood, Christmas Eve dinner starts at midnight consisting of turkey, potato salad and hot chocolate with an Italian fruitcake called panetone. A smell that's a cross between lemons and face powder. I went crazy trying to find the scent that passed me by so frequently on the street. It smelled so fresh and reminded me of taking a shower, but I had a hard time finding it in the stores this time.
People take soccer very seriously in South America.
I was asked numerous times which regional Peruvian soccer team I was a fan of, and if I answered wrong I was quickly corrected and convinced to like differently. Teenagers have made graffiti symbols on the walls of their neighborhoods, marking certain team territories, and adults make serious bets on who is going to win this year. Young children learn to play soccer as soon as they can kick, and instead of a basketball court in the neighborhood playground there is a small soccer field. When I asked relatives if they liked American football, they said it just didn't make much sense. The food is homemade and delicious, the drinks are on the house and the music is loud and rhythmic.