Courtesy of the author
Instead of spending Thanksgiving at home, our family takes advantage of the school break to go abroad for unique experiences.
Swapping turkey for traditional dishes like empanadas in Buenos Aires, street food in Hong Kong, ceviche in Peru, and other dishes around the world has only reinforced our sense of gratitude.
Exposing our kids to different cultures and expanding their global perspective through travel is one of the biggest gifts we think we can give our children, and these are some of our favorite trips.
When one of our friends, a chef, was based in Hong Kong, we jumped at the chance to visit.
For Thanksgiving, he took us to Temple Street Night Market, where he perused buckets of fresh fish, explained the differences to our kids, and ordered a feast. We pulled up plastic stools and got our chopsticks ready, and as soon as the food was served, our 5-year-old made the instant connection and yelled, "We're eating REAL fish!"
The rest of the trip included a traditional tea tasting and a visit to Big Buddha and Po Lin Monastery on Lantau Island.
From there, we spent a few dreamy days in the Maldives, swam with sea turtles, and played tag on picture-perfect beaches.
Hong Kong taught our kids to make connections about where their food comes from, and the Maldives introduced them to the beauty of life under the sea.
Thanksgiving in Buenos Aires meant empanadas, choripan, and Bonarda wine. Our apartment overlooked the Recoleta cemetery, and we spent days exploring the colorful streets of La Boca, admiring street art in Palermo, and experiencing a polo match.
When we saw a poster for a Bruno Mars concert, we scrambled to get tickets, enjoyed the show, and afterward found ourselves immersed in a world of makeshift front yard parrillas in the streets surrounding the stadium venue.
In Mendoza, we went wine tasting, horseback riding in the vineyards, and enjoying a beautiful lunch at the foot of the snow-capped Andes.
Argentina taught us to drop expectations (cemeteries can be interesting) and embrace spontaneity.
A sojourn through Peru started in Cusco, accompanied by good friends. We stayed in a former monastery where incense and Gregorian chants filled the hallways, stocked up on textiles from the local market, discovered chicha and made chocolate from raw cacao.
In Ollantaytambo, we enjoyed a traditional Pachamanca feast where everything was baked underground and rode the Inca Rail to Aguas Calientes where our hotel was nestled on the Urubamba river. There, we learned how to make the country's specialty (and our Thanksgiving meal), ceviche.
Machu Picchu, the crown jewel, is a mystical, magical place that everyone should experience once, if possible. Our local guide did a great job providing history and entertainment for the kids as they were given magnifying glasses and tasks to complete while exploring.
Peru brought Indigenous history alive and out of the textbooks and introduced us to new flavors and cooking methods, sparking some culinary interest in my kids.
My brother-in-law studied in Australia, making lifelong friendships that have, in turn, become ours as well.
From visiting friends in Sydney's Bondi Beach (where their boys introduced our kids to their favorite ice cream shop) to staying with friends further south, where we had a fish and chips dinner on the beach for Thanksgiving, Australia remains high in our core memory bank.
How can you ever forget the first time you fed a kangaroo, cuddled a koala, and went glamping in a zoo with views of the Sydney Opera House?
Australia reinforced how friendships are timeless and know no boundaries.
Ecuador was our first trip abroad post-COVID, and while masks and COVID tests played a prominent role, so did nature and endangered species.
We went high above Quito in the TeleferiQo to glimpse the surrounding volcanoes while enjoying decadent hot chocolates from the cafe in the clouds.
We chased waterfalls near the Otavalo Market, planted our feet on both sides of the equator, received a spiritual cleanse in the Cuenca market, searched for the elusive blue-footed booby, and had a Thanksgiving dinner guided by Raymis, the Indigenous agricultural cycles.
In the Galápagos, we swam in crevasses cut between towering lava cliffs and shared secluded, white-sand beaches with marine iguanas, manta rays, and sea turtles.
Ecuador reminded us not only how lucky we are to be able to travel but also why we must continue to protect biodiversity and wildlife.
Regardless of the destination, our journeys give more than they take, and we are always grateful for that.
Michelle Arellano Martin is the founder of Travara. She splits her time between California and Spain's Basque Country, where she lives with her family.
