One of the highlights of my time in Panama City was my interactions with the locals. There are many refugees from Latin America in Panama City, and one of the women who was part of the hotel restaurant staff brought me a traditional Venezuelan Christmas dinner from her home. Here you see a hallaca, chicken salad, and ham bread. Hallacas are traditional, meat-filled Venezuelan tamales. The chicken salad is very traditional, with potato, carrots, and boiled eggs. My favorite was the ham bread, sort of a pinwheel of bread and ham with olives and raisins. It is a great mix of sweet and savory flavors. It was really lovely to have a homemade Christmas dinner while out of the country and is definitely something I didn't take for granted. All of these foods were amazing, and even better because they were made with love.
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