Giving Thanks from Guate

Thanksgiving Dinner was a HUGE success. 28 people in total, the perfect amount of food (one extra plate is sitting in my fridge now), and everyone had a great time. The food turned out great, even the gas oven and stovetop were a little shaky. The turkey was moist and delicious, the stuffing tasty, the broccoli had just the right amount of garlic and butter, and the carrots had just the right texture. This isn’t even mentioning the mashed potatoes, green beans and onions, bread, and fruit salad. And it did not hurt to have a seemingly endless amount of mojitos for everyone, children included. I had three mojitos, a liter of beer, and ¾ a bottle of wine myself. I felt incredibly proud as the all the food was served onto the plates, seeing smiling faces, and having many people come up to me saying that they did not expect to have any sort of Thanksgiving this year. In many ways, it was the first time I felt like a leader, a true organizer, since my arrival in Guatemala and it felt great. It was also the first time I have ever cooked this much food! 

For many of the teachers, it was their first time experiencing a traditional Thanksgiving meal, or their first El Día de Acción del Gracias. As the dinner wound down, I stood up to give a small speech and started the group off by giving my personal thank yous. Then we went round the table, one by one, and each person gave their thanks in their preferred language. It was an incredibly sweet moment and one that I wish I could have frozen in time forever. Now, if I had an unlimited amount of time for my thank yous, this is what it would have gone like, of course with a Guatemalan theme…..

I am thankful for (the list gets more light-hearted as it goes down):

• My family. As the years go on, I love you all more and more each day. I truly understand how lucky and fortunate I am to have such a special family and this is only reiterated as I meet more people who were not as fortunate.   
• My friends, almost ditto. I have so many incredible friends in my life, many that I have known since childhood, and most feel like part of my extended family. Open invitation to any of you to come visit Guatemala!  
• My education. I still do not think I fully comprehend how valuable my education has been up to this point but I know I appreciate it. I am only beginning to realize how much education separates people apart in this world. Almost more than money, ethnicity, or any other factor.
• Being healthy. I can afford checkups, shots, and medicine. I understand the importance of a balanced diet and am able to afford all of the foods, even organic. I am not forced to eat corn, beans, rice, and eggs the majority of time. The amount of malnutrition and sickness here is just unfair. As much as the health industry in the States is an overspending, underperforming disaster, be thankful if you can afford to use it.  
• Living in a developed country. There really is no comparison. Not that there aren’t pros and cons but I will take developed over developing any day.  
• My intelligence and my emotions. Fortunately, I have both a good brain and caring heart.
• Having hot water. I have it here but I just know how much taking a cold shower sucks!
• Having water and electricity all the time. As I have mentioned before, Xela’s water and electrical system isn’t so reliable.
• Having the opportunity to travel. Experiencing different cultures and seeing new places allows me to learn about my own culture, community, and myself; in my opinion, more so than any other experience could provide.
• Dona Leti. She cleans my school in Guatemala and is also the world’s foremost expert of the Guatemalan marketplace. I went with her yesterday morning to buy all the fruits/veggies for the Thanksgiving meal and it was like watching Picasso at the easel. She haggled, knew which people had the best crops and who had the best prices, was able to determine freshness within .1 seconds of touching the crop, and was able to help me buy 25 potatoes, 4 lbs of green beans, 4 heads of broccoli, 7 large onions, 6 HUGE carrots (probably seven times the size of those in the supermarket), a stalk of celery, a watermelon, a couple lbs. of bananas, and a pineapple for around $8.50!!!
• Brian and Lois. This really cool 60 year old Canadian couple who live on a farm, kill their own chickens, and basically took over the preparation of the turkey and dressing.
• Sleeping in a bed free of bed bugs. Normally I do; I currently have about 64 little bites on my body.
• Being a native English speaker. Definitely the best language in the world right now.
• Sports. I really just love them.
• The Jaguars. Please don’t leave to LA! Make the playoffs and win a Super Bowl!
• The Bake Shop. This Menonite run bakery in Xela is effing amazing. Donuts, bagels, carrot and banana cakes, croissants, cupcakes, and the best cookies in Guatemala!
• Being born Jewish. I still think being Jewish is pretty cool and fun.
• My curly hair. The ladies love it, yeeashh.
• My impeccable sense of style. Umm, I mean having good friends who can help me.
• Having a sense of humor. Haha.
• My life. It really has been an amazing one so far and it figures to only get better. I am currently loving it. I walk around enjoying life at every moment. Something about this place, the chaos, the dirt, the stray dogs, the pimped out school buses, the clothes, the people, the beauty, the fact that the city is named Quetzaltenango, just cracks me up and makes me smile.