mi aijiada

In rural Peru every family has a ceremony for newborn babies called “echar agua.” The baby has a madrina and padrino for the cermeony I was asked to be the madrina of my host cousin, Erica’s, new baby, Ariana Thais. I participated in the ceremony with the whole family. As the madrina, I was expected to dance and eat the most. The dancing was not a problem for me, the eating, on the other hand… They killed two chickens for the evening, which is a pretty big deal here. Because I was being honored as the madrina, I was served the BIGGEST plate of fresh chicken and rice and noodles and potatoes (balanced, right?). I broke my vegetarianism for a day to show respect for my new aijiada and family.