Sisters!

Argentina... Mexico... Honduras... Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador... And now to be added to the list of countries that my sister Emily and I have visited together - Chile and Paraguay.
Emily has always loved traveling. It fits her very well - she's adventurous, social, confident. I, on the other hand, was always a bit more sensitive and unsure, a homebody and a scaredy cat. But as younger sisters are, I was inspired by Emily and her exciting travel experiences. By the people she met, the places she saw and fell in love with, and the person that was awakened inside of her. In the end, seeing this in her was what pushed me to take my first trips, and I am so thankful she turned me on to the beauty of travel.

Although we both desperately love to travel, we're not necessarily the best travelers. We tend to just show up somewhere, without having done any research or made any plans. And that is exactly what happened for our trip to Chile. We booked a random hotel the day before we arrived and planned to meet there. After a long day of travel, I was so happy and relieved to open our hotel door and find myself reunited with my sister after a year and a half!
For the next 4 days, we spent getting to know Santiago and its surroundings. Since we did not come in any way prepared, each day we had to begin by asking, "What are we going to do today?" and each night with "Where are we going to sleep?" Due to our limited time and budget in combination with Chile's long, skinny shape, we were unable to travel very far out of Santiago, but we enjoyed what we could. We explored the city, visited the coast, did some hiking, toured a winery, went to Starbucks and saw Harry Potter 7! Ya know, the important things...


After Chile, I was anxious to introduce my sister to Paraguay. As my travel buddy and someone who also knows and loves todo lo que es Latin America, I knew she would enjoy and appreciate it. She was able to converse with the people in my community, giving her and them a deeper exchange. We spent Sunday with asado, cerveza, and futbol at Benito's house. The next night Benito and his sister, Zulema came over to make pizza. In the following days, we toured the town, stopped by the school, visited Ceferina. Oh and became Glee and True Blood addicts.


One evening we were invited to eat mbeju, my favorite Paraguayan food, at a family's house. The family has 6 kids, 2 older teenage boys, 3 girls (Tati 14, Tiara 7, Yamila 5), and a 2 year old "terror" named Kevin. The girls and I are pretty close, and it was fun to spend time with them and my sister. We ate, talked, and laughed at the constant entertainment of Kevin. They gave us presents for the Dia de la Amistad (July 30), and they performed for us their dances from the Escuela de Danza. They wrote letters and made flowers for Emily to take to Mom. It was a really special night. Since I met them, I've had a soft spot for the sisters, and I realized that night watching them play and dance, it's probably because they remind me of Emily and I when we were little.




Between Chile and travel time in Paraguay, it felt like Emily's visit flew by. Before we knew it, I was putting her on a plane with a bunch of Brazilians and Americans, and I was missing her again. For some reason for us, like clockwork, right before we go on a trip, we get this feeling that we don't want to go, and then by the end, we don't want to leave. I was very devastated when Emily left; I had loved being with her, talking and arguing and sharing and giggling as sisters do. Because when you're apart from someone, not only do you miss out on going out and laughing and spending time together, but you miss out on being there for each other, giving advice, giving hugs, wiping away tears. I wish my sister and I could have done all of those things together in the past year and a half, but I guess advice in forms of email, hugs through a computer screen, 2 weeks of traveling, and a sisters' bond and love that transcends oceans, mountains, and miles will have to do for now.
I looove you Sister!!