Fiambre Day

Today is November 1st which is much more important in Latin America than October 31st. Though I had a blast trying to calm down my suger-high students all day and then dressing up in as a shower for the staff Halloween party (okay, that really was awesome... no sarcasm), today was definitely one of the best days of my Guatemalan life. Period.

"I'm a shower"

"La vida de la naturaleza
esta en nuestras manos"

I'm not sure if I have mentioned enough about my "Guatemalan Family" that consists of one of my students from last year and her mother. They are the most humble, kind-hearted people I have ever met. People who are not afraid to love others though life has handed them some very difficult cards time and time again. I have learned more from them than almost anyone else in my life. Basically, they are incredibly special to me. Well, my students mother called me last week with a whole day planned for us on the 1st of November. First, we would drive to a town called Sumpango to admire gigantic kites made my community members. The kites symbolize not only their attempts to communicate with loved ones in the sky but also many hopes and dreams they have for not only their country, but for the whole world. Second, we would go to her parents house for "Fiambre," a traditional Guatemalan dish with her entire family. This day, as explained to me by my Guatemalan friends, is comparable to Thanksgiving for North Americans.

Mi familia de Guatemala

So, the kites. Amazing. Beautiful. Inspiring. Dangerous. Hysterical. Large. These kites were made by families and friends out of tissue paper, bamboo, paint, glue made from tree sap, rope, and clear packaging tape. Some of them were up to 15 meters in height and could not even fly. Others were an average kite size and could fly for hours at a time. Still others were about the size of a kitchen table and could sometimes come fly straight towards a crowd of spectators. It was awesome, nonetheless.

kite construction

After we admired the beauty of this Guatemalan tradition, we headed home and I took the heat from the sweet 9-year-olds that sandwiched me in the back seat as I fell asleep with my mouth gaping open. We met at the grandparents house only to be greeted by ten other incredible members of their family and snacks that I literally had to turn down after awhile. My student's mother's GRANDfather was there, clocking in at 103 years old. Besides the fact that his hearing was almost gone, he was in perfectly good health and physical condition. A student who is in my Earthkeepers club was in attendance as well as he is the cousin of my student from last year. He clocked in at age 5. Our age range was from 5 to 103 but the kindness and wisdom these people all possessed made me this they were all old, wise owls.

Vegetarian Fiambre 

We ate Fiambre, which is like the turkey part of Thanksgiving but much more intense. Its specific to Guatemala and is made differently depending on the family recipes carried down from generation to generation. To top off the compassion I was surrounded by today, my student's grandmother made me my very own vegetarian version of the famous dish. Here is a sample recipe for fiambre so you can see just how thoughtful it was of them to make me my own. I have heard horror stories of how odd and unappealing this food is but I assume the recipe I tasted today must be an exception because I genuinely enjoyed eating every bite. It was also a lovely dinner conversation as we switched back and forth between English and Spanish. Many Guatemalans are so interested in a new person that they want to learn as much about them as possible so they instantly speak in English to get more info out of them. This family though knew that I need to take advantage of all the Spanish speaking opportunities I am handed and all yelled in unison, "Español!" to whomever was trying to speak to me in English :)

Ages 5-103 

After dinner we headed out to the back yard and flew some kites. This was probably the most beautiful part of the day. Dia de los Muertos is a way for Latin American's to celebrate the lives of their loved ones by flying kites in their honor. My student lost her father almost 3 years ago (another connection between us and another reason she and her mother inspire me more and more with each meeting we have) and when we went out to fly those kites, I swear he was there with them. We had 3 kites and 6 flyers but only one was able to reach the heights of the tree tops. Only one soared past the 10th story of the apartment building so the family members that stayed inside could see it too. Only one got loose and freely flew off into the sunset. And that kite was theirs. My whole body was overcome by something bigger than me as I watched this mother-daughter duo laughing and running around with their kite flying wilding around in a strangely clear sky on a perfectly windy day. I don't know much about life after death, and some days I have no idea if there is even such a thing, but today I was pretty convinced that that kite was either being blown by the breath of my student's father, or it was flying crazily in order to send messages to him, wherever he may be.

:D

Today, I was "here now." Today I lived. Today I was loved. And today, I will never forget :)