Inclement weather calls for FOOD!

Note the pilon on top of the pan. 

I have great memories of childhood when school would be cancelled due to the threat of snow. It doesn't even matter that not a drop of the white stuff had fallen, we were already making a beeline for the grocery store and surely either chili or vegetable beef soup would be on the menu for dinner that day. There is something about inclement weather that brings out the need for comfort foods.











Today I sampled one of the Dominican comfort foods, Sancocho. Well, I more than sampled... I consumed quite a large quantity!!  Of course, here in the caribbean it was not a threat of snow, but rather Hurricane Sandy that generated the craving for Sancocho. After braving the storm for a half day of school I arrived home to an impromptu gathering of faces, some known and some brand new, hanging out and having a good time.  (See my previous post on dropping by down below). One of the women was in the kitchen stirring a big pot and everyone else was milling around waiting eagerly for the pronouncement that LUNCH was ready!

Note the wool caps for the "cold"
-- a temp of 72 degrees is cold here.

Everyone was quite amused when they found out it was my first time eating Sancocho! It was also quite hilarious listening to the animated descriptions of Sancocho. I made the mistake of asking is it basically rice and beans? NO, emphatically, NO!!! Then the animated responses began.... Sancocho has delicious meat, chicken, beef, pork  and plaintains, and yuca another person yelled, and potatoes.... ay, si, they were pretty hyped
 about this meal. The avocadoes were sliced, and even fought over as everyone wanted the largest chunk, the rice was ready and lunch was served.

Yum-O! Sancocho is pretty good stuff....

Dropping by...

Sometimes my brain is overloaded by all of the cultural nuances and differences that I observe on any given day. I imagine at some point these things will become more common place and my overworked brain will not be on overdrive. Until then... every day there is something new that makes me say, hmmm.

Most recently, it was the way people just 'drop by' to say hi. It's actually kind of cool, but coming from the States, where you call or email, or even make multiple calls and emails with all of the phone tag just to arrange a day and time to meet, place to meet, etc, etc it's quite a bit of culture shock. At any random moment, someone will walk up to the gate and just holler to get your attention that they are stopping by. The ones who are really good friends don't even stop at the gate, but just come on in. 

Last night, it was the nuns who run the school and church a couple of houses down. "Vecina" they hollered out.... we went to the door to be greeted by two sweet older ladies who were wrapping up their evening at 8:45pm by making housecalls on their neighbors. Being good Christian folks, we invited them in and had a really lovely chat. The sister shared a scripture with us before leaving. It was actually exactly what we were planning for our kids chapel this week, from Ephesians 6 about honoring your parents. Last week we started the conversation using the verse in Exodus 20:12 but we felt the need to continue the dialogue for another week. The sisters confirmed the plan when she opened up the discussion with the Ephesians 6:1 verse. Plus it was a great discussion to have with the 2 little ones who were excited to be up a little later than usual!

This weekend, around the same time, maybe 9pm, a couple stops by. No call ahead, just the gate sliding open as they came in with their 2 kids in tow. I'm always sort of startled by these surprise visits, while everyone around me seems completely chill.  They come in and take a seat as if it's 3pm in the afternoon. Hmmm, my western sensibilities are obviously annoyed, which I later feel very convicted about. The 'wife' is 17yrs old and just had baby #2 six weeks ago. Her 29 yr old 'husband' can't understand why she is so sad all the time and crying even though she spends all day at home with 2 little ones under age 2. They came over because she finally told him that she had to get out of the house or she was going to lose her mind. Postpartum depression is definitely real, but not very understood here at all. The husband takes it all as a personal assault and meanwhile she just looks completely sad and blank. It's hard to believe that she is the same, smiling happy young adult I met when I first arrived.   I had fun playing with baby, while Melanie stepped into role of counselor, but even more so of friend. 

These random, or not so random, visits are pretty much the norm here. More and more I'm appreciating the way that people build community and always make time for one another. It's a lesson I'm learning for sure as I am learning how to re-focus and re-prioritize my life.  In the meantime, if I can drop in to your busy schedule and ask that you would maybe whisper a prayer for our friend, Lila, as she adjusts to being a mom of 2 little ones, I know she would really appreciate it. 

Day of the Races

A week ago the DR celebrated the Dia de Los Razas, translated into English, Day of the Races. This is a uniquely Dominican holiday in place of Columbus Day that is celebrated in much of North America. Dia de Los Razas celebrates the heritage of the Dominican people, a mixed race of Indigenous Indian, African and Spanish descendants. Most teachers are sure to make a special project for the class to do to focus on the Day of the Races, but from my limited observation, most of the celebration focused on the Spanish and Indian heritage with a casual mention of the African ancestry.  This holiday brings me mixed feelings..... you see race here is a funny thing. There are Dominicans who are 5 shades darker than me who will swear that their color comes from the "Indio" in the family. There are also women who are in desperate poverty who will 'find' the money to go to the salon weekly to make sure their kinky hair texture is never visible. People are often referred to by their complexion, such as La Morena - the brown one, or La Prieta if the complexion is darker. The person with the lightest complexion in the family is usually referred to as La Rubia even if they are no where near blond.

I'm probably particularly more attuned to this just because of my own experience here as an African American. It's actually somewhat comical as folks will try to figure out "what I am". My complexion usually suggests Dominican, but then they take the double glance at the kinky hair and they give me a questioning "Tu estas haitiana?." I smile, and reply I am American. Humph. The puzzled looks always persist for at least another 10-15 seconds. I actually find it pretty comical that God has landed me here in this country with my brown skin and kinky hair. I have been able to ease into Dominican circles at school, but also flow into Haitian circles and fit in well there too with my African features.

 Recently I had a conversation with 2 girls in my kindergarten class. The one asks, "porque tu no vas al salon".... why do you not go to the hair salon? The question alone shocked me but even more her 5 yr old tone of disapproval caught me off guard. I smiled. Crismal, I really like the way God made my hair, I think it's pretty just as it is. She gave me a true Dominican non-verbal, umph, coupled with a certain wrinkling of the nose, that suggests she disagreed. I laughed.  The next Monday one of my students, a different one, shows up with her hair in cornrows with beads. I noticed right away as this 'Afrocentric' hair do is SO NOT typical. Of course I thought it was amazing, but even more so when her mom told me she asked to have her hair done like the teacher's. I've often heard that imitation is the most sincerest form of flattery and I definitely would have to agree.  However, my goal is not to create mini me's, but it does make me smile that these precious little girls are learning that they are created beautifully by God just as they are. If they learn their value and worth in the eyes of God at this tender age, I pray it will help them to navigate the challenging years ahead as a female growing up in a developing country.

FOOD... need I say more...

Food glorious food! The Dominican cuisine is yummy, flavorful, but not spicy or as bold as other Carribbean or Latin American flavors. There are about 4 or 5 staples that are eaten pretty much every day or every other day. I'm really thankful that these happen to be foods that I like, otherwise this could be really, really tough!

Rice... white rice, rice and pigeon peas or beans cooked together, sometimes corn is added. This dish is also called a locrio when it contains a little meat, salami or sausage mixed in.

Platanos and Yuca -- Yuca are like a super starchy potato with an extra thick skin. Plaintains are larger than bananas, with a thicker skin and if mature are super sweet. Plaintains and yuca are often boiled and served with a boiled or fried egg. Plantains are also commonly served  sliced and double fried (oh yeah, my LDL cholesterol just went UP!) and seasoned with a pinch of salt. Basically this is what my Puerto Rican friends call tostones minus the yummy garlicky stuff on the side.

Peeling plaintains are a lot more work than peeling bananas.

Slice plaintains not too thin, not too thick. 

Frying #1 (s/n - eggs are not refrigerated here)

Smash the plaintains, then fry AGAIN!!

Avocado -- we have an avocado tree in the back yard which is a huge plus.  Plus I just happened to arrive at the height of avocado season-- YAY!! I learned the other day that avocado season is almost over which makes me really, really sad. I may have to adjust my food budget to allow for the purchase of several avocados weekly. It's amazing how they can brighten up the most boring meal, ie think yuca and boiled egg, boring.... add avocado, some lime or vinegar and salt... YUM!

Coffee -- I almost forgot the ubiquitous coffee... I remember my first cup of Dominican coffee... so yummy and SWEET!! No milk usually, but occasionally someone offers you milk. If the coffee is prepared and offered to you be prepared for a really sweet coffee. At least 3 if not 4 or 5 teaspoons of sugar. A recent trip to the Campo netted like 4 cups of coffee in a 6 hour period. There was coffee when we arrived at 9am, coffee after the morning soup,  coffee before lunch at 12, coffee after lunch, and at least another 1 or 2 offerings of coffee that I politely declined. The funny thing is I don't feel like the coffee here gives me any energy boost. It just like a yummy sweet treat at the end of a meal, or to tie you over until another meal.


Kibbe or Quipe -- my first trial of Dominican street food. Sorry, but I'm not so sure on the spelling. Honestly, Dominicans are quite creative when it comes to spelling, so I don't feel too bad about making this one up. These are Middle Eastern in origin and remind me of the Kefta skewers or sandwiches at Middle Eastern places, like Grapeleaves in Oak Park, IL. The Kibbe or Quipe are the size of a mini football, and also oval shaped. The outer core is a fried grain, maybe bulgur, with a center of seasoned ground meat. I've only had this once, just 5 days ago, and it was really good... but isn't everything that is fried really good??

I'm sure this is rich in fiber!
 Does that make up for the frying?

OK, I confess to sneaking a bite before grabbing the camera!
 Hence, one end is flat!