We have known for a long time that the Argentine's are a fun loving people, but as I lay awake last night at 4:44am listening to Michael Jackson's "Man in the Mirror" blaring from the speakers of a DJ in some apartment building on our block, I realized just how serious they are about parties. This isn't the first time we've been kept awake all night due to a late-night soiree, they can start as late as 11:00 or 12:00 at night and go until 5/6/7:00am. Surely, it's a great event for those invited, but for the family with a little girl that wakes up on her own time each morning, a 7:00am end time to the music is horribly annoying. The best part, this party, as many of the others, was probably for a 15th birthday party - a very different custom than in the US.
On to our actual experience with birthday parties.
We have been invited to quite a few birthday parties for Gretchen's friends and classmates. It is a nice custom here that if there is a birthday party, everyone in the class is invited - something that was always a difficult subject to manage in the US. I finally got around to taking pictures at one of these parties, and it was a funny capture of events. This is like no party that I have attended in the US for a child, there is entertainment, it is held at a party salon, and there are lots and lots of people invited. Gretchen was a little out of her element with all of the littles ones at the party, the entertainment was a little advanced for her, and the dancing was fun but involved lights, music and singing so she was a bit overwhelmed.
The greatest part of this particular party room was the side room that had a small kitchen, sink area, washer and dryer for the kids to play with. Gretchen loved it, and I enjoyed watching her play.
She still enjoyed parts of the party, for example, her favorite song "El Sapo Pepe" was a crowd pleaser, and she liked jumping around in the lights. I'll admit, these parties are a little piece of chaos, but fun nonetheless.
She also loved the fact that the chips, soda, cookies and Jello were at arm's reach to all of the kids (Mom was not loving this as much...). Though, I believe her favorite part of the day was the side room kitchen and laundry room. She even showed this little girl how the machines worked:
If this is a birthday party for a two-year-old, I can only imagine why the party for a 15-year-old goes until 5 in the morning!
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