Blogs :: Thanksgiving in Xela
So this is me Madre in Xela. Flory runs the school in which we studied for four weeks. From what I know she loves her job and as with any good educator makes sure that her students enjoy/learn the most from their time in her school. Thanksgiving was no different for us. It was an odd request in Guatemala: we wanted to throw a Thanksgiving dinner (i.e. party) in the school. Apparently, it was the first Thanksgiving meal that was cooked in the school and I have to say that it was an incredibly good time.
Everybody pitched in to buy the food and do the subsequent cooking. I have to say that even though the turkey had to have felt quite molested by the time that Carlos and Anthony were done with it, it turned out wonderfully. Yours truly made the gravy of the gods and everybody else pitched in with all the fixings. It was a day of cooking, slacking in classes, and eating until our eye balls were full.
When dinner actually came around, the crowd leveled somewhere around thirty people. There were English, American, Scottish, Guatemalan, Finnish, and Canadians present. My father used to tell me every Thanksgiving and Christmas that having the knowledge to carve a turkey was essential to being an adult because some day I would meet a girl for a holiday with her family. He is way smarter than I am 'cause I never believed him, but I learned the skill anyway. And as usual, he was right. It wasn't at the home of some girl that I was interested in however that the skill came in essential, rather a small school in Zone 3 of Quetzaltenango with six different cultures standing on while I carved a turkey and speeches were given concerning the origins of the holiday.
First went the American (no not Brendon) in two languages. He spoke of the history of the holiday and the importance of the holiday in current context. A time to welcome and thank friends and family from anywhere the speeches continued. Our new friends spoke in English (proper English), Spanish, Finnish, Scottish, and I even think there was a little French thrown in there.
Then we ate.
And ate.
And ate some more.
Did I mention we ate?
Coming from a good sized family with an even larger Thanksgiving tradition, I get a little homesick every time I miss a Thanksgiving. For me, the joy is always being able to see the people that you hardly ever get to see and catch up on a years worth of activities. This year was no different in that I started the day a little homesick when I called the family, but without the opportunity to spend it with my entire family, it was nice to share it with all our friends in Xela. Obviously never replacing the real thing this night came in a close second. Thank you all for a wonderful night, wonderful food, and letting me show off those skills that father thought so important (and rightly so).
holidays, Guatemala, Xela
Posted By:
Roads Unknown
12/6/2008