A Peruvian Thanksgiving

11.28.2015 Saturday

Feliz dia de la accion de gracias! 

Even if it was already two days ago, I still have so much to be thankful for, especially in this last year. 

Last year, on the eve of my 20th birthday, I made a Birthday Bucket List. It was the first one I'd ever made, but this year I continued the tradition. As I wrote my new BBL, I looked back at the old one for the first time in many months. Without my knowledge, I (at least halfway) fulfilled a majority of my wishes:

• eat healthy
• exercise
• read God's Word
• step out of my comfort zone
• make a difference in someone's life
• be the type of person I admire
• meet new people
• travel
• take lots of photos (that aren't selfies)
• put others first
• study hard
• journal

Granted, some of them I didn't complete in ways I imagined or in the time frame I wanted to, but that's the funny thing about life - it runs on it's own schedule. 

Heck, nearly all of my goals are things I still strive to achieve and complete every single day.

Still, looking back, it was cool to see how ginormous of a difference a year can make. 

This summer, I worked out nearly every day with my mom and, even in Peru, Kelsey and I have been fairly good about keeping up a workout routine. As for healthy eating, let's be honest, sometimes I ate healthier. Nonetheless, traveling has taught me to stomach and even like foods I didn't used to like (I'm talking about you, tomatoes). 

I knew I would be traveling to Chile this year, but I never even joked that I would take a year off of school to live in Peru. In doing so I didn't step but rather leaped out of my comfort zone, captured amazing photos of my hurdle (including a few top-notch selfies - get the "halfway fulfilled" remark now?), and met beautiful people with hearts of gold. 

Since I started living in Peru, I've been prioritizing my time so that I read daily devotions and meditate on God's Word. I know it's making a difference in me, in my heart, and pouring out in my actions. 

Volunteering as an English teacher in Lima and tutoring a young girl in Colorado before that certainly has helped me to put others first and, I hope, made a difference in my students' lives. 

In countless ways apart from my silly little list I've grown significantly as an individual and am closer to being the woman I want to be. 

And, finally, I've journaled by keeping this blog. 

So, no, my life is far from what I imagined: I am beyond appreciative for that. 

It's incredible the difference a year can make.

Apart from a year and a lifetime of blessings, these last few weeks have been filled with buckets of fun, memories, laughs, and mini adventures. 

Apart from birthday celebrations for Kelsey and myself which I have already mentioned (see last week's post: A Very Merry Unbirthday), our Peruvian family hosted American visitors. Peter and Caroline are an older couple (Peter turned 80 during the cruise that brought them to South America) that housed our Peruvian family a few years ago when they visited the U.S.A. In November, they embarked on a cruise through South America that included a day stop in Peru. Caroline's sister Joan was able to voyage with them as well. On Monday November 16, the day before my birthday, they docked in Lima.

We had a lovely morning and afternoon getting to know our new American friends. Our family had planned the day weeks in advance, trying to fit as much of Lima as possible into about eight hours. Kelsey and I also were able to practice being translators which was a very fun experience. 

We ate a large and tasty Peruvian breakfast (prepared by Chavela, our maid), went to downtown Lima to walk through the Cathedral and watch the changing of the guard in front of the Palacio del Gobierno, returned to the Larco Museum (Kelsey's and my second time - read more about our first visit here) to admire ancient pottery, jewelry, and tools, and ate lunch at La Lena (undoubtedly the family's favorite Peruvian restaurant) before we had to take Peter, Caroline, and Joan back to the ship. It was a lovely day and awesome to walk the line between tourist and Peruvian.  

"Is this what Alice felt like in Wonderland?" I thought as I spun around looking for cookies with Eat Me written in curvy black icing.

But really though, how adorable are Betty and Caroline? Though neither of them knows much of the other's native tongue, I mean next to nothing, they were darling together. Always laughing, smiling, and holding hands, harmlessly teasing one another, like when Caroline snapped candid shots of Betty chuckling only to make Betty laugh harder. It was apparent that they both care deeply for the other. Even though their verbal communication is practically non-existent, they have a beautiful relationship and convey their emotions masterfully in silence. 

To add to the blessings of visitors and birthdays, this Thursday we celebrated Thanksgiving. Our family has made it tradition to celebrate Thanksgiving with their American guests every year, as they know it is an important day to us. Now, it has become very special to them as well, a day they look forward to.

Of course, it was still very different from the traditional American holiday - much more of a Peruvian Thanksgiving.  

It may be Spring in Peru but that doesn't mean I couldn't wear autumn colors on Thanksgiving Day!

When we finished teaching on Thursday afternoon, Kelsey and I walked to the family's house. Before we ate, we had a small devotion with the family. As an intro, Kelsey and I each played a hymn on a small keyboard while the family sang. Then, Daniel said a few words and read some passages to remind us of why we are thankful and to whom we are grateful. After, we continued with one more hymn each. I played the closing hymn and, naturally, made it memorable. 

I realized as the family was singing the last verse that I did not know what verse we were on. As I came to the close of the verse I held the final note and quickly scanned the first words of the last verse so that I would know which words to listen for as my cue. Thinking we surely had at least one more verse, I began playing the verse from the beginning only to hear the family singing "A-men!" I busted out giggling and apologizing, explaining that I had lost my place. Everyone laughed and I had them sing "A-men!" one last time, with the correct notes.

We followed our make shift service with a huge meal of chicken and vegetable stir-fry, beef, BBQ-like turkey, french fries, mashed potatoes, black beans, rice, pico de gallo, cake, and surely many other dishes that I can't even remember. Of course, it was delicious, but it was far from a traditional Thanksgiving meal. I couldn't help but be a bit disappointed to be missing out on my family's home-cooked Thanksgiving as well as all of their shenanigans. So glad I FaceTimed my sister and was able to talk to everyone. I miss them all so much.

Abroad or at home, I have so much to be thankful for. I hope I wake up every day and remember that, whether it's Thanksgiving or not.

Ciao!

"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend."

- Melody Beattie

Gracias a Dios por las bendiciones cada dia en cada lugar en cada situacion.