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| The view from my house of the sister-in-law's kitchen. It is entirely outdoors, but part of the area is covered in case of rain. |
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| The view of my house from the kitchen, which is the base of our U. The red building at the end is the neighbor's house. Our courtyard is usually full of people, but when I took this picture, nearly everyone had left for a social event elsewhere. |
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| The neighbor girl and her mom heading out to sell tapioca dessert in town. Please note that they are each balancing their loads on their heads and not using hands to help balance it. That's standard here, but still, what a feat! |
I wonder how these woman learn to do that balancing act. I would think it would be hard on ones head to carry heavy things like that. So they have tapioca there--one of my favorites. Did you get to try it? If so, was it anything like our tapioca pudding? I'm glad you got the assignment you wanted and that you will be close to elephants rather than lions. That would be my choice too. Sounds as though you have bonded pretty quickly with your host family. They must like you as well. I hope you are keeping a journal to write your first book when you get back. :) Jean Ralley
ReplyDeleteThe biggest challenge must be distributing the weight evenly. The women help balance their load by folding up a cloth into a roll and placing it on their head under what they are carrying. However, the cloth isn't always necessary. Carrying items on the head is so second-nature here that it is very rare to carry something in your arms.
ReplyDeleteI have tried balancing light items on my head (ie, empty water tubs). It is not too difficult as long as the object is centered and there is the cloth to help support it.
I have had the tapioca dessert many times. My family feeds me well. Yesterday, my host sister told me that she wants to fatten me up so that when I go back to the US, everyone will be able to see that she took good care of me here.
Having never had tapioca pudding in the US, I do not know if it is the same. Here, you can choose to have sweetened condensed milk, peanuts, and/or alcohol mixed in with the tapioca dessert.
ALex thank for the pictures, you are opening up a whole new world for us back in the States. It doesn't look too different from what I have seen in El Salvador. Is your host family able to garden at all? Perhaps the soil is too poor, water too scarce? I'll bet you don't eat lot of meat over there.
ReplyDeleteMy host family doesn't have a garden, but they do have a few fields where they grow palm trees, corn, beans, manioc, etc. It's not rich Iowa soil, but they do grow quite a bit during the rainy season. I don't eat meat in general, but my host family is quite fond of fish.
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