Halloween festivities started off unexpectedly, in the middle of trivia night. “And this week, the physical challenge is to wrap one of your team mates as a zombie using an entire roll of toilet paper”. My face may have lit up like a jack-o-lantern with the surprising silliness of the task. Cheap toilet paper and a damp night worked against us, as we tried every method we could think of to wrap our “mummy”. When speed didn’t seem to work for us, we decided to go for the “best looking” bonus points. Carefully folding torn pieces back into the wrappings, and draping the remaining bits over her head, we stood back in triumph as our mummy was declared the best.
Now I was all geared up for Halloween, with one tiny problem- I had a costume ready to go, but nowhere to wear it to. But turned out Jamie was more or less in the same boat, so Friday night I booked a hostel in Antigua for the next day and went to bed, my inner child happy to finally have a costume party (and some other fun) to look forward to.
Saturday night, I slipped into my skirt, pulled on stockings, carefully pulled my hair back in a bun…each step in my transformation tugging me closer and closer to song. By the time I picked up my carpet bag and had a trial run with my unfurled umbrella, I couldn’t help it anymore. “It’s a jolly holiday with Mary, Mary makes your heart grow bright! . . .” We headed out into the streets, the skeleton and Mary Poppins, headed off to find dinner. Zombie brides, Mario and Luigi, assorted Minnie Mouses and a giant baby bobbed past in a thick stream of people. Everyone in Antigua seemed to be out, and ¾ of them were in costume. Scratch that. Everyone in all of Guatemala seemed to be out in Antigua. I’d never seen the streets so crowded here. We stood in line to get into a club as I came to terms with an undercurrent of disappointment- there were no Reese’s Peanut butter cups, or snickers bars for that matter, anywhere in my near future. Seriously, who wants beer on Halloween? They should have a bowl of candy out at the bar. But, since adults trick-or-treating seems to be frowned upon, I people watched from the balcony of the crowded club instead. Two girls came up to me. “Excuse me, can we take a picture with you? Your costume is great!” Ok, even if they didn’t give me candy, my evening was made. I felt like a minor celebrity. As we moved back outside where the people watching was better, my feeling of celebrity status continued “Mommy, mommy, is that Mary Poppins?” a little girl asked insistently. I couldn’t help but sing snatches of Mary Poppin’s songs when I heard people mention Mary Poppins as I passed. After a few more rounds of photos in the park (we’d joined up with some friends of Jamie’s, one of whom, Aladdin himself, on his flying carpet, had big-time celebrity status) I headed back to the hostel, singing as I went “Oh a spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down!”
The next day we headed to Sumpango, a small town known for its giant kite festival. Every year on November 1st, people in Guatemala fly kites in memory of loved ones who have died and to frighten evil spirits away. In Sumpango, we were bombarded with color. Each kite takes hundreds of hours to create. Their intricate designs are made out of a mosaic of tissue paper, with some of the finer details painted by hand.
We stopped to watch as one team glued their kite to its frame and another got ready to use pulleys to lever their's into position. We were coated in a fine layer of dust as we walked through the field, the sun glaring down from a perfect blue sky. Ice cream vendors strolled through the rows of kites (exactly what I needed on such a warm, sunny day), and stalls selling grilled meat with sides of tortillas and guacamole surrounded the field (exactly what I didn't need on a slightly upset stomach). Families were picnicking on the lawn, sprawled in the shade under the bleachers, clustered on plastic chairs under food tent pavilions. And over it all, smaller kites dotted the sky.
Eventually we headed back home, where I happily collapsed into my own bed and felt extremely happy that the next day was a holiday and I didn't have to leave the house.
I’m thankful for silliness
I’m thankful for weekend plans
I’m thankful for excuses to wear costumes and sing in the street
I’m thankful for living in a country that has rich, unique traditions
I’m thankful for rest
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