Thanksgiving in Mexico
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For five years in a row, I’ve repeated the delicious tradition of spending Thanksgiving week in Mexico. With the free days my kids and husband get, it’s the perfect opportunity to spend a whole week in my country. And each time I go, I get more convinced of the importance of raising my kids to be not only bilingual persons, but truly bicultural ones. It’s amazing to see them grow immersed in two equally important cultures in their lives. A perfect example of this, is celebrating a tradition that’s 100% American, in Mexico.
One of my favorite moments when I arrive at my country, is when the plane lands and I’m able to see the excitement in my kid´s faces as they want to see their family and to spend time in a place they feel is their own, even though they were not born there. I also love watching them having conversations in Spanish with everyone, from casual chats with waiters at restaurants or attendants from different stores, to longer and deeper conversations with their Uncles, Grandparents and Great-grandparents. And watching my four-year-old son playing with his cousin as they communicate in perfect Spanish between them, knowing that in Mexico instead of playing “Tag” you play “Las traes” is incredible.
Now the amazing part of this story is that you might think that since we were in Mexico, we couldn’t have Turkey with cranberry sauce on Thursday. But you would be wrong! My kids since they were little have asked me to celebrate Thanksgiving no matter where we are. And I have agreed to gladly comply, because it’s one of the American traditions that I truly enjoy. So if we go out on vacation around that week, just as we pack our swimsuits and our pajamas, we also pack Thanksgiving. It’s impossible to leave it in Houston.
Thanks to their grandma who found and cooked a Turkey even though we were in Puerto Vallarta, that Thursday night we had the typical Pilgrim dishes, but in Mexico, surrounded by our Mexican family and giving thanks in Spanish for each and every one of our blessings. So no matter the country you are from, we have to enjoy, value and adopt new and old traditions that we find throughout our life journey.
On a curious note, after coming back to Houston from our trip, I had the chance to watch a movie called “The Hundred Foot Journey”. And it shows another example of how when you open your heart to welcome new cultures and lifestyles, you can get amazing results in return. Yo Mariana really recommend you to watch it.
I have to confess that in this occasion, I had planned to talk about how we returned baby turtles to the sea during our trip, but this post took a whole different twist. Even so, I here share my pictures from this unforgettable experience. Hope you like them.
I also leave you the trailer for the movie. It’s really worth seeing!
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