Another Birthday Celebration!

Awkward, but Happy Accidents: 

Normally, while in Huanuco, we don't just head out for the sake of it. Huancachupa is no short distance from town and it's been pretty rainy of late (even though it is supposedly summer).

So we got ambitious on April 30th and headed down the hill. As it turns out, we don't really remember how to get around the city. We hopped on the A and made it downtown. We were trying to get off at the market, but ended up getting off at the main square. Later, the same exact bus passed us at the market. Oh well, we didn't have any particular place to be, so we just wandered. We tried to find our bread shop - the one we always went to after going to the gym last time we were here - but for the life of us, we couldn't find it. I have a vague concept for where things are, but just could not remember the details. I will have to do some more wandering around to get it all back. 

We happened upon the place in the market that sells maracuya juice, ice cream, and other treats. We opted to pick something up there in place of something from the bread shop we couldn't locate. Melissa had a parjaul (sp?), which is a flaky bread thing with manjar blanco (similar to caramel). I had turron, which is a crumbly anis cookie with caramel layers and sprinkles on top.

From there, we wandered over to Junin to visit Henry and Vanesa and see who else was around. Which is when we happened upon a birthday party. 

When we arrived, the door was open and there were a bunch of family members there that we don't normally run into. Vanesa then told us that it was her Aunt Neli's birthday. Ahhhh... oops. (Maybe they just forgot to invite us?? haha) 

Luz Emily and Imelda

We had a great time catching up with everyone - especially the little girls. Imelda gave us the biggest hugs ever. Then, Melissa helped her with her math homework. Fabiola and Luz Emily shared with me the English words they are learning at school. They are working on colors - blue, red, yellow, and green. 

Then arrived food and things got awkward. We were like, we should leave. We weren't invited to this shindig. We started saying our goodbyes and heading for the door. Then, we go to say goodbye to Neli and Vanesa, which is when we were informed that the plates were already served and it would be less nice if we left. Um, er, ummm. 

So we stayed and it was a great time. We got to eat pollo a la brasa - rotisserie chicken with french fries and salad. We had some good conversation with everyone, talking about movies, school, weather, and such. Then, we helped them sing Happy Birthday in English and sang along with the Spanish version and got to partake in the cake. Yum! Yay! 

Neli fending off getting a face full of cake from her brother, Victor.
It is tradition for the birthday person to take a bit out of the cake,
which is prime time for someone to smash it into the birthday person's face. 

I hope Neli enjoyed having us at her birthday. I'm thankful for the opportunity we had to share with the family. Sometimes, I feel like there is lots of pressure when we're around because we're recruiting or asking for something, so people keep their distance. At this, we just got to be guests at a party and it was fun. 

Feliz Cumpleanos Hermana Neli! 

~nos vemos~