[After a long break to negotiate, sell, and pack up apartment - picking up where left off! Look for future posts on Grand Canyon hike...]
The morning was playing 'Simon Says' with the kids, in English and Spanish, and several other activities including songs, until snack time, and preparing the space for lunch.
Then, I was whisked away to 'make tamales' without much warning... I was excited, it sounded like fun, but really wasn't sure what to expect. (At this point, I had learned enough to know to just roll with it - and Kim, who was going and had asked if I wanted to join her, was someone I thought it would be fun to get to know. She was obviously very involved in the camp and enthusiastic and affectionate with the kids). My sense was that although this would take me away from the kids and the camp, it would be a special thing to do, and a chance to spend some time getting to know people. I was not disappointed...!
Tamales, it turns out, are a very traditional and meaningful food in the Costa Rican culture - and this opportunity was very special indeed. For the entire enterprise - that ended up lasting the whole rest of the day! - we went to the sustainable farm of the 'abuelos' (grandparents - in particular, those of Donald, the coordinator of the volunteers - but they obviously were considered 'abuelos' by everyone, that is to say, people of importance and standing in the community). I didn't understand half of what was being said (that included many moments of not understanding ANYthing, and some times when I understood pretty much everything - but usually I got the gist of what people were talking about). Kim helped a lot, acting as my sometimes translator. But I was brought right into the whole process, all the action (and the laughter!, and good humor, that was obviously an important aspect of it), which began with the roasting of the banana leaves (taller than most of us!) - and that began with lighting the wood fire in a drum.
I was surprised to see plastic bags and small bottles put into the fire. My initial reaction was - oh, no! That's not healthy! But... maybe it's better than putting them in a landfill, never to decompose? I'm not sure - I had just never considered burning plastic an option - but I was able to put my assumptions aside, accept that it was okay there, and continue to take part. I got a
turn taking the big banana leaves, and slowly moving them over the fire, once we got it going (not entirely easy, since it's the rainy season and the wood was damp - there was a lot of smoke!). The leaves turned from a matte green to a shiny green, as they were heated.
Next, we cut them and cleaned them, into smaller and larger sizes (and piles). This took up most of the afternoon, and gave us a chance to get to know each other a little better. In between helping with this, there were interludes of: coffee break!
(homemade cheese from the finca!, homemade cakes, and milk from their cows, too!), motorcycle riding, helping the abuela (grandmother) make the 'masa' (corn meal filling for the tamales - cooked in a giant round iron bowl, with some potato, garlic, cheese, and broth), an international cast (us) singing 'Turn Around Bright Eyes' (80's pop song), and testing the
sugar cane juice extractor (after cutting some cane and eating it raw, too!). Also picture-taking of the 'hormigas' - fire-ants nearby - and lots and lots of laughter and chatting. Topics covered included - getting-to-know-you conversations in Spanglish and English about our families and what we are hoping to accomplish (etc), who-likes-who, racy jokes (didn't understand these precisely, but got the gist :), to name a few.
Kim told me that she was interested in learning the traditional ways, knew a lot about the rainforest birds (including already recognizing some 500! and knowing their calls) and animals, and wants to share with others what is so GREAT about her country, working as a nature guide. She already speaks English very well, and is learning German and Italian - at an age when many people here in the U.S. are still in college (only know one language), and women her age in her hometown were already getting married, and having children. She felt very passionate about teaching the children at the camp to know and appreciate the rich culture they're a part of.
I felt really fortunate to have a chance to be there, and to be taking part in such a special time of being together, and making something that was such an expression of who they were. I just basked in the glow of that occasion, and tried to add mine to it, too.
Later in the afternoon, and beginning of evening, we started to assemble the tamales. I could see the practical way that they can make a little go a long way. There was a table set up with all of the ingredients, and all the banana leaf pieces piled high. Included in each tamale: a scoop of masa on two leaves, then - rice (seasoned), one each of cooked potato and carrot pieces (seasoned in sauce), a thin slice of red pepper and celery, fresh cilantro, peas, and a piece of cooked seasoned meat. Then, they were wrapped up in the leaves and stacked in preparation for boiling the next day. I was told that tamales are a very traditional, very Costa Rican food, usually prepared for special occasions - like weddings. We were making them for the kids, who would visit the finca the next day, so that they could eat real tamales, made the traditional way. By the abuelos and the community.
It took us hours of going around (and around) the table, each with our own part of the tamale to add - young and old, male and female, telling stories and laughing. At one point, they let me go and lie down in a hammock for a bit (they could probably see that I was losing a little steam!). Finally, after it had gotten dark, and after hours of work, we were all done. Someone told me we made 250 tamales! We got to eat them then...
I don't know if I ever remember food tasting so good. In each bite was the satisfaction and preparation of an entire day... the nourishment of all the conversations, the jokes and teasing and laughs, all the ties between us that had been created, nurtured and supported. It felt like a blessing... I don't know how else to explain it. I had no words for how grateful I was to be included in such a special occasion, making food that was so much more than mere nourishment, the sum of its parts - it was an expression of who they are, and how they live. Good food for the body, heart, and soul.
¡Muchas gracias, todos! Muchisimas gracias...
