Thanksgiving is a time for turkeys and families or since my Grandpa used to call me a turkey maybe it’s just a time for turkeys. For the first time in two years, I was able to spend my Thanksgiving with a turkey . . . I mean family member. Emmy, my little sister, traveled down to visit me and my students (I think she spent more time with them than she did with me).
Having family visiting me was a delectable, no wait that’s just how good the Thanksgiving feast was at my school. Emmy and I went zip lining, hiked up La Muela (my favorite hike), and went to Antigua so we could summit a volcano and spend an exorbitant amount of time shopping. Emmy is a shopaholic and I just wanted to spend time with her, so I obliged. We weaved in and out of the artisan market as if we were skilled lab rats sniffing out the cheese. Emmy filled her entire second suitcase with gifts, and not all of them were for herself!
Before I list all of the gifts that Emmy bought, let’s back up to our time in Xela. Emmy stayed with the Figeuroa’s. They have a beautiful house and Dani, my student who’s just a year younger than Emmy, graciously shared her room. The Figeuroa’s have been great to me over the last two years, so it was nice for Emmy to meet them. Upon her arrival they invited us over for dinner. I’d forgotten to tell them Emmy doesn’t eat meat, I guess I’m the turkey, but she ate it anyway. Later that night I baked a pizza and we played games. It was a real blessing to have Emmy here and for her to have a beautiful place to stay.
While staying in Xela was nice, it couldn’t top our trip down to the coast where we zip lined. Zip lining with Emmy was amazing. Two years ago when she came down with my parents, the only thing she’d wanted to do was zip line, but the course we’d picked left us both unsatisfied. So, I made sure we tried it again. Emmy and Dani started off the day terrified for their lives. I had to reassure Dani several times that she wasn’t going to die. Dani’s a turkey because she assured me she was going to die while we hiked up to the top of the mountain before we zipped down. I think she thought the hike was going to kill her. However, by the end of the trip they were so excited that the girls were trying to spit on cars as they cruised over the top of the highway.
Taking Emmy up La Muela was a blast, literally. La Muela used to be an active volcano and what is left now is everything the blast left behind. When she’d visited before, her hip wasn’t strong enough to do the hike. I guess that’s what happens when you dislocated it twice. Dislocated hips sure are turkeys. Yet this time Emmy made it up to the top like a champ. The view at the summit of La Muela is beautiful. You can see all of mountainous Xela. Sharom, another one of my students who hiked with us, kept saying, “I can see my house!!” She also said stuff like, “I can’t make it. I’m done. No, really, I’m done.” What a turkey. Fortunately she made it all the way up to the top. Even though she said she’d never do the hike again, I’m pretty sure she’s proud of herself. Seeing my little sister in one of my favorite places in Guatemala was a real blessing.
I think Emmy enjoyed the hike almost as much as she enjoyed playing turkey tag with my kindergarten class. All of the little kids were hamming it up, or should I say turkeying it up while Emmy was around. They love to show off how cute they are to new people. And you can’t get much cuter than the kindergarten class.
When Emmy and I finally made it to Antigua I was ready for some brother and sister bonding time. She was ready to shop. She also wanted to see lava so I took her up Pacaya, the evil volcano that delayed my fight home last May. The hike was easy, but the guide decided to take us to where the lava wasn’t flowing. What a turkey! We did get to roast marsh mellows but, it wasn’t over flowing lava. I guess nothing is perfect. Even though we didn’t get to see lava, my time with Emmy was perfect. I’m glad my turkey season was graced by my turkey of a little sister.
Adventure With Brendan 