Post-Rainy Season Repairs

After getting pummeled by rains, the garden was in pretty bad shape.

The soil's been pounded into rectangle-shaped caked clay. 

The bamboo and wood were partially rotted and falling apart.

We decided we needed some new materials and a day of repairs to get the garden club kickstarted again after a dormant rainy season.  We purchased some slats of bamboo and also wood to replace a few of the rotted corner posts.  The men in the group - all two of them - pitched in with tools and muscles and set to work.

Once we fixed the beds (I helped by handing them tools, and by taking pictures), we addressed the issue of the soil.  After so much rain, it'd been pounded into a dense clay, which had then dried up and caked once the rains stopped.  Not the best for planting.  So we added some topsoil...

...and set to watering.

And watering, and watering.  We've been watering and turning soil all week.  And probably all next week.  And the week after that.  Until the seedlings have sprouted and soil in the beds is nice and soft and ready to provide them with a new home.

This has been your Garden Update,

jordan

Día del Niño 2012

Vanessa, one of the children enrolled in the INFA programs, introduces Children's Day at last weekend's party.  This is the day where we celebrate what it means to be a kid.  "Have a good celebration, and Happy Día del Niño."

This year, I was in charge of organizing games for the 100+ kids involved with INFA.  I arrived with a bagful of supplies and a list of about 15 different relay races we could do.

I think I was more excited than the kids were.

We started off with a balloon race:

This being the first competition, there was a certain tension in the air; it took awhile before the kids caught on and started rooting for their teams.  They did better at this in the next go-round...

...Baseball Bats.  The point of this race is to get real dizzy before trying to run back to your team. When done properly, it's pretty entertaining. The kids, however, were too eager to pay attention to the spin-around-three-times rule and resorted to giving one quick twirl before sprinting back. Also, some of the kids got a little mixed up with the logistics of when to pick up and drop the bats.  And whether or not they were supposed to hit each other with them.

It turned out to be pretty entertaining after all.  Off-camera, two of the kids collided in a high-speed slide-tackle kind of way, which was also pretty spectacular.  Considering no one got hurt, of course.

Next up: Spoons and Ping-Pong Balls

Despite the fact that there was no running involved, this race seemed to be the general favorite among participants.

This one also got really heated at the end, with all three teams contesting that they were the winners.  We had to hold a finalist rematch to appease the mob.  It looked a little something like this:

Yikes.  I can't remember how we decided who won.  But everyone survived, which is what really counts.

At big parties like these that are held for the kids, even the neediest families find a way to pitch in - with food, music, party supplies, etc.  The ladies always end up doling out candy and sweets to the kids, with the grand finale being the giant sheet cake.

Everybody gets a slice, even us non-kids, who divvy up whatever's left over in the end.  I inexplicably ended up with the largest chunk of icing-smothered corner.  Somebody help me.

I can't believe I ate the whole thing,
jordan

Insectorama

It's like the end of the rainy season heralds the Final Push for the bugs: they've infiltrated my house, all manner of crickets and spiders and flying/hopping things. 

Last night, a rather large insect flew in through the window.

Thus continues the tradition of finding weird animals in the kitchen.  After several unsuccessful attempts at capturing his portrait, during which the household felines kept interfering, we finally scooped the little guy up and set him free.

Tonight I whipped out the pictures for host brother Marcelo and marveled at how strange-looking this insect was.  Marcelo took a look and said, "It's a leaf bug."

me:  A leaf bug?

Marcelo:  You've never seen one of those before?

me:  Nope.

Marcelo [pretends to weep]:  You didn't have a fulfilling childhood.

me:  ...and you still need to study the past continuous tense in English.  (Apparently every time a strange animal pops up in the kitchen, Marcelo is studying English.)

Leaf Bugs Are Cool,
jordan

Tiny Growing Things

Seeds and seedlings have come up in my life a lot lately.

1) We planted seedlings for the garden a few weeks ago and divvied them up among the garden club members to care for until they are big and hardy enough to transplant.  Hopefully that will be within the next few weeks.

2) I planted my own seedlings - flowers, not veg - to adorn my much-neglected window boxes.  They sprouted in no time.

3) Remember how your mom always told you not to eat watermelon seeds because then you would grow a watermelon in your stomach?  I must have dozens of watermelons germinating in my stomach lining at the moment, because all I do these days is consume the seeds of whatever fruit I happen to be eating.  Watermelon.  Grapes.  Guavas.  Passionfruit.  Even papaya.  Papaya seeds look like this:

Like big peppercorns.  And they taste like pepper, too.  Supposedly they are good for getting rid of those pesky amoebas living in your stomach.  I can attest to the fact that they do help to quell digestive issues, though in my case I can't be 100% sure it was amoebas.  Just brace yourself, because they are a challenge to choke down.  You might want to reward yourself with ice cream afterward, gastrointestinal tract permitting.

"May your stomach never transform into a solution to the European Union's economic crisis and become a battlefield for an upcoming war to end all wars,"
jordan

More Crosswording

In my down time last week - of which there was a lot, and this week's comparative whirlwind of activity has left my head spinning like some cartoon character after the Tasmanian Devil rages by - I made a crossword puzzle.  If you're so inclined, please try your hand at it and then let me know if it makes sense or not.

Sorry there's nothing remotely related to Ecuador in this post,
(except perhaps in the puzzle, hint hint),
jordan

PS - The only way I know to make the clues bigger is to save the image to your computer and then open it in Microsoft Paint or another program...

Pan de yuca

Yuca, aka cassava or manioc, is a starchy tuber used in a variety of dishes here.  I believe it is more widely used in the Amazon region, where it's prepared fried, mashed, etc.; on the coast, it's mostly relegated to soups and stews and, happily, bread.  It's very easy to find sold on buses, at roadside stands, or at specialty shops where it's paired with yogurt.

It wasn't until I made it at home, however, that I realized "pan de yuca" is something of a misnomer.  Really, it should be called "Cheese Bread (with yucca)," as the recipe calls for twice the amount of cheese as it does yucca flour.  But if you're anything like me then that's just fine and dandy, because we really like cheese.

Step 1: Assemble your ingredients. 

Yucca flour (found in specialty grocery stores), baking powder, an egg, and a pound of cheese.  Here, we use queso fresco; a fresh cheese, such as mozzarella or ricotta, would be a good substitute.  Also have milk on hand.

Oh yeah - also you should probably turn your oven on.  To 400F.  Usually I forget to do this until I'm ready to use the oven; you, my friends, can be more efficient than I.

Step 2: Mix 'em all up.

Don't mind me, I'm just being a ditz--you have to crumble the cheese first.  Mixing everything together works best with your hands.  Add a bit of milk, just enough so everything sticks together - but be careful, a little goes a long way.

Step 3: Form into walnut-sized balls and place on unsprayed pan.

I don't have a picture for this part; my hands were real messy.  Then, stick 'em in the (by now pre-heated to 400F - see how easy that was?) oven.

Step 4: Remove after about 10-15 min, when the breads are golden brown.

Enjoy the aroma of pan de yuca wafting into your kitchen.

Step 5: Salivate while you wait for them to cool down.

Step 6:  This...

...i.e., chow down.

The final result should be a warm, chewy, cheesy, mouthful of yucca bread.  They are best eaten right out of the oven, and the fact that they are the perfect size to pop into your mouth facilitates rapidfire consumption.  Man, but these are good.  The cheesy flavor plus the yucca's chewy consistency makes for a perfect match.  These will keep in the fridge and are good when reheated.  I've been eating them since last week for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and whatever comes in between.

Now, go out into the world, find some yucca starch, and conquer.

For the love of Cheese & Yucca,
jordan

What can you hang a towel on that also says "moo?"

Besides a cow, obviously.

It's been a wacky week.  So, in an attempt to return to normalcy, here's a throwback to the very last day of May.  This was a milestone day, the day the women's group I've been helping out with celebrated the end of a 6-week course in handicrafts.

The story of how this course got started is pretty cool: last year, when Mike and I were just getting started with the garden project, we contacted the office of the provincial government, which we knew was working with various communities in the topic of organic gardening.  They ended up supporting the project in a big way, sending staff out to the barrio to train the group in the basics of building and maintaining an organic garden.  After those initial 6 weeks of training we were on our own, but we owe them a debt of gratitude, as they were an integral part of getting the project off the ground.

And then!  Lo and behold, a couple months ago, out of the blue, I got a phone call from our contact with their office.  "Hey," he said, "we've got a new program teaching women's groups how to make handicrafts, do you have a group we could work with?"  And I said, "Heck, yes!"  Only it was more professional than that.  And that's how we got started.  One of the ladies from the office came once a week to teach the women in the barrio.  What's so cool about this is that now there's this working relationship between the provincial government and the barrio community.  We plan to do another course in the fall, and I anticipate being able to take a step back and let the women handle the interactions with the office and take the reins in planning the course.  For them, the classes are not only a social event, but also a way to learn techniques that, should they choose, they can turn into a form of generating income.

Lots of patterns and felt and sewing were involved in each of the three items they learned to make.

Revelers outside decided they'd rather pick mandarinas than do crafts.

One thing about holding workshops and classes in Ecuador: there's a 99.9999999% chance that AT LEAST one person will show up with AT LEAST one child in tow.  Always be prepared with a backup plan to keep children entertained and happy.

The group consisted mainly of adults, but there were still a few mother-daughter pairs who attended.  It's always gratifying and interesting to have multiple generations working together.

Regardless of age differences, most everybody there were friends.

Cows were a reoccurring theme in the crafts the women learned...

Finally, after many weeks of cutting and pinning and sewing and stuffing, the big day arrived.

Decorations were called for.

The display with everyone's final products was arranged with care...

...and the fruits of their labor revealed:

(1) Cow towel hangers

(2) Chef key hanger

["Key hanger?"  There must be a better word for this. Am I forgetting English?]

(3) Plastic bag holder

The cow's dresses are cinched at the bottom with elastic, allowing you to stuff in or take out plastic bags as needed.

The completed crafts, and a final shot of the group:

The ladies were super excited to show off what they had made.  The original plan was to sell their products the same day we celebrated the completion of the course, but they decided they'd rather take them home.  Hopefully a portion of the women will continue to replicate and expand on what they've learned as a way to earn additional income for their households.

While every project has its glitches - including this one - I'm looking forward to taking advantage of the upcoming classes in the fall to remedy those aspects of the course that didn't run as efficiently or sustainably as they should have this time around.  Things like managing money and materials, and also encouraging trust and goodwill between individual participants, who were anxious to claim as many materials as possible in a situation where we were working with limited resources.  The ladies are already clamoring for more crafts to learn in the meantime, so for the moment I'm scrambling to come up with something else to teach them!

Arts & Crafts Rule,

me

Avoiding Malapropism

One thing about living in a foreign country and speaking a different language is that, over time, one seems to gradually lose confidence and glibness of speech in one's native tongue.  Nowadays, I liken my English to a slowly atrophying muscle. 

Looks like this is a case for Crossword Puzzles.

Once I attempted a crossword puzzle in Spanish.  I picked up a pen, read all the clues, and laughed at myself.  One's language skills may improve after living in and using that language every day, but when it comes to puns, idiomatic phrases, and culture-related trivia, the imperfect subjunctive is rendered irrelevant.  I mean, I can barely complete these things in English.  (This is the part where I wonder whether I can truly claim to speak any language at all with fluency.)

Do not be deceived by the part that says "easy." Will Shortz is a tricky guy. Did you know that he is the only person known to have earned a degree in enigmatology?  Yes.  Earlier today, it took the brainpower of myself plus two other people, a lot of time, and a little bit of cheating to complete one of these suckers.

But, far from making us despair, these puzzles inspire us to think, to learn, and yes - even to imitate:

I present to you the creation of my friend the Cake Baby: her very first crossword puzzle.  I think she shows great promise.  And it's always good to have an exercise buddy.

Pacino or Puccini's goodbye [4 letters],
me

Dirty Laundry

For the past few months, I have been saving my trash like a good little Peace Corps Volunteer.

Now I'm washing it and putting it out to dry.  Another type of airing one's dirty laundry in public, you might say.  But it's all for the good of mankind.  I am: Recycle Girl (girl-girl-girl-girl).

Just what these candy/soda/pasta/cat food wrappers will become I must keep you in suspense of for the time being.  Because without this suspense, what would you do with your lives?!?!?!

There's a lot you can tell about someone from looking at their trash.

For instance, if I were to analyze what's hanging on the line without knowing whose trash it was, I might draw the following conclusions:

                        - this person puts altogether too much sugar into their body

                        - this person has cats

                        - this person puts altogether too much sugar into their body

But wait!  Since I know this person, and this person is me, I can tell you the truth, which is:

                         - this person receives care packages from people who seek to endear
                           themselves to her by sending her things they know she will like, such as candy,
                           which she sometimes shares with other people, but other times she doesn't

                        - this person has cats

                        - this person puts altogether too much sugar into their body

Almost the same, but you can see that the first set of conclusions was lacking some key details.

Off to eat some ice cream,

me

Mr. Bagel

Bagels.

They're pretty scarce here in Ecuador.

So tomorrow, when I embark on my last-minute trip to Quito, I will be looking forward to waking up on Tuesday morning with the promise of a bagel or two in store.

One establishment in particular, Mr. Bagel, comprises the best there is in this life:

BAGELS.

BOOKS.

COFFEE.

Maybe not The Best that there is, but if not that, then pretty darn close.  Hasta luegito, friends.

I hereby declare the rainy season to be Over.

If a tree falls in the forest and nobody hears it, does it make a sound?

If I declare the rainy season to be over and nobody hears it, is it really over?

Well, hear this, world:

It is June the first, and I hereby declare the rainy season to be over.

I've had my fair share of thorough soakings this season.

Some of them were fun.

Some of them were frustrating.

Some of them were slightly life-threatening.

But now, it is no longer May.  The kids are back in school,

the nights are getting cooler, the days are less humid.  The rains are falling away.

So, here's to the memory of being thoroughly soaked and fancy-free:

...and now, we'll have no more of that, please.

Out of these wet clothes and into a dry martini!  Er, season.