Birthday Wishes (Carrie at Aldea Infantil)

So my birthday was Monday but I didn’t get back to the Aldea until Tuesday night due to a hospital check up for my stomach (I'll spoil the ending and say that I'm all better now).

Cakes are different here so I wanted to learn how to make a traditional Peruvian cake, and what better opportunity than my own birthday cake? This week I’ve been eating in the adolescent boy casa and making a cake with 10 hovering, hungry vulchers (I mean, boys) was definitely difficult. We put the cake in the oven pretty late at night with most of the boys asleep and it was going to take 2 hours to bake so Luis, the oldest boy and my head chef, told me he’d take it out and I could come eat it in the morning. I showed up to the casa the next morning excited to have a breakfast of something other than bread and milk but ALL of the cake had been eaten except for 2 tiny pieces—one for me, the other for Rebecca, Clare, and Jason to share—and no one left in the house. Haha, I should have known better than to leave a perfectly good cake in a house full of teenage boys. At least later the boys said they enjoyed it and I enjoyed it too, the thievery and all.

I wasn’t the only one with a birthday this week though. Ana Quesada turned 15 on Thursday and we all had a huge fiesta for her quincenera. In Hispanic culture, turning 15 is a huge turning point in a girl’s life—it’s when she closes the door of adolescence and enters into womanhood. Quinceneras are full of cake (the boys waited patiently), speeches, and waltzes with the audience clapping off beat (ever tried clapping to a waltz?). The decorations were beautiful, Ana was dolled up by the tias, and everyone had a great time.

My favorite part of the night was 7 year old Jenifer leaning into me and asking, “Will I look just as pretty as Ana when I turn 15?”

Though I won't be here to see Jenifer or the other little girls turn 15, it was still adorable to see them watch Ana waltz with her older brother and dream of when they too can wear lipstick, pretty dresses, and dance a special dance on a day just for them. “Yes, you most definitely will,” I said.

Actually, I lied, that's a party I won't want to miss.

Photo Captions:

Ana is normally pretty shy but she really lit up when everyone sang her birthday song and then she got to cut that gorgeous, glorious cake.

It's tradition that the birthday girl dance with every man in the room. Yeah, it takes a long time and some "men" are still just awkward boys.

Our directora, Blanca, giving a wonderful speech about Ana to everyone.

Ana being escorted by her brother, Walter.