Water Balloons

Last week I was walking to work when I rounded the corner and was faced with two little kids, a cooler, and a bunch of water balloons! I froze for a moment like a deer in the headlights, as one of the kids had a balloon in the “fire” position and looked ready to launch it! I think they were just as confused as I was, only they were puzzled simply from the sighting of the elusive tall white gringa roaming the neighborhood. I used this to my advantage and quickly dashed across the road, narrowly missing a bus (and the water balloon attack)!

I thought it was an isolated freak incident, until a few days later I was walking with my friend Cathleen (an even taller gringa) and out of nowhere, we were attacked by water balloons thrown from a moving vehicle! I was further away from the car… but poor Cathleen wasn’t so lucky!

As it turns out, the entire month of February in Perú is Carnaval. From what I’ve gathered, the big celebration is at the end of the month/early March up in the town of Cajamarca, but there are hints of the festivities all month long - and all over the country.

Customs for the entire month of February: Children throw water balloons at the women (strangers included). Women throw water balloons at the men (strangers included). People throw water balloons into open windows of public transportation. People dump flour onto strangers’ heads. People smear shoe-shine all over strangers’ faces. Some sort of a tradition with a (live?) chicken dangling from a pole. Other tradition where you hang gifts from a tree, dance around it, and then axe it down. And I’m sure there’s much more I’m bound to find out!

I’ll be sure to take photos…