Brigade One: a week of adventure

Hello folks! Sorry we have been absent for such a long time. This past week the Brigade from Vermont came, and so we were really busy just accompanying them and helping with whatever needed help. So, an update is in order.

Before the brigade came we had a very special Ash Wednesday lunch. Apparently, it is traditional. It consisted of Sopa de Queso, and Buñuelos. Now, Sopa de Queso (Cheese Soup), had buñuelos in it, but they were less crispy on the outside. The buñuelos consist of potato, yucca, cuajada, and some other things we forget. They are generally agreeable. The soup part of the soup, was less agreeable. To me it tasted like Cilantro water, with a touch of tomato. As some of you may know, I don't love cilantro, but Dylan managed to eat all of his soup (I tried, I really did). The other buñuelos which were crispy and soaked in the vibrant pink sweet stuff, were more tasty, and I managed to consume all of those... Here are some pictures to give you an idea of the meal.


As a short funny story, we bought these corn pops that were like candied (all caramelled brown on the outside). They were fairly tasty (ok, really tasty) but as a weird side affect made our tongues super pink. Just look at Dylan's tongue.


On to the brigade. They were super fun to have around here, and we got to do a lot of fun stuff with them. There were the adults who had good stories to share and experience to lead our way, and the youth. The youth mostly consisted of mid-teen young women. Luckily, they were of a more mature lot than some mid-teens I can think of. There were also a couple of youngsters, the youngest at 8, who let their uncritical eyes be a refreshing view for us. I like to think they all enjoyed their time with us, and having come away with a fun bracelet made from colorful cotton, and an equally cool hair wrap I know I did. I also like to think I am a pretty cool woman, and a good influence to boot. Well, let's give it a few years before I make my assessments...
One of our trips with the Brigade was to Pueblo Viejo, which is a rural community about an hour away from San Ramón. There we played games and did crafts with some eager young children, and later (after a delicious lunch) learned how to make cuajada, saw a sloth, and went swimming in the river. To top it all off, we had our first monkey spotting on the way back. They're less creepy when they are in the trees away from me.
Another of our trips was to El Chile, another rural community where we played with young children. Dylan and I led a craft with some shy preschoolers. We cut out felt shapes and stuck them onto a larger piece of felt. It was fun, and cute. They made things like houses, forks, stools, chickens, a chicken house, cows, a sun, a moon, and clouds, all in traditional preschooler fashion. We then ate our packed lunches at the El Chile weaving coop. After lunch we enjoyed a demonstration of all the processes it takes to make one of their products. Then everyone got to buy things, and it was crazy. They have some very beautiful stuff, so it is hard not to buy everything yourself. I also gave a custom project to Aly, the Costa Rican who is sort of interning with the weavers. We shall see how it turns out, I am excited!

Now for some more pictures!

This photo is of the cuajada process. You put this pill/chemical in the milk to make it turn and it began to become glutinous like you see here.


The sloth! Or Oso Perezoso in Spanish (lazy bear). In was in a bamboo stand right outside where we ate lunch in Pueblo Viejo.


Part of the weaving demo. One of the first processes of the cycle is to separate the cotton string. They buy it from the Masaya market, but it comes with three threads together, and they just want one, so they must unravel the three from each other.


A video of our monkey spotting. You can hear some of them hollering, along with the truck engine, and some Spanish being spoken.


A sped up video of some of our ride. Dylan, Mercedes, and I rode in a camión, which is like a big truck with bars on the sides in the back. It was breezy, a little dusty, and also provided a wonderful view of everything.


p.s. If any of you Brigade members are now following us here on the blog-o-sphere we would love to hear from you! Represent!