Making memories sugar

Our group started the day meeting in our usual spot outside the hotel for breakfast at 8am. We enjoyed some rice, chicken, lentils, and guava while our vegetarian amigos had fries in place of chicken. Prior to our trip, we created a playlist with a few songs from everyone and now try to guess who picked each song on our drives. We took a bumping travel to Nido de Vida to prepare for the days service projects. We were greeted by the family with hugs. We hiked to the schoolhouse and we continued our project from the day before by painting. Two men from the community came to help with the project. Everyone had the chance to try their Spanish skills to the best of their abilities by talking with the men. We all had a good chuckle at everyone trying to learn and speak Spanish through trial and error. There were also some few short spurts of dancing and singing as well while working.

                Nido de Vida refurbished our energy with some great home cooking of vegetable soup which you could add popcorn to, which was a fan favorite, along with rice and lentils. After lunch, we had a half hour of free time where half of the students observed the new guest house at Nido de Vida that the family just finished building – which we will officially be staying on Thursday night! The freshman students took a hike with Fernando (Lenin’s son) along a steep and muddy trail to see a small waterfall. Lenin then let us try cocoa harvested from a tree right in their backyard. Cocoa is what is used to make chocolate but when eaten raw the seeds have a sweet covering that has to be sucked off. Lenin explained how cocoa seeds are dried in the sun, grinded up, then sugar and milk are added to make chocolate.

                Our next adventure took us to Don Roman’s farm to learn about the process of making sugar cane. We arrived during the boiling process which takes four and a half hours to cook with constant stirring. The whole process created twelve blocks of two pounds of sugar which Don Roman would sell and receive $25. The students got to take turns stirring which was difficult for the few stirs we tried let alone the 4 hours it takes to make. Using banana stocks, each group member got to cool a piece of sugar cane for themselves to eat called sweets. We then saw how the juice that was boiling in the pot comes from the sugar cane. The cane is feed into a grinder, which is powered by physical movements of humans or donkeys. We all took turns spinning the sugar cane press which then squeezes the juice out of the sugar cane. We then got to drink the juice we squeezed out, which was very sweet and enjoyable. To make a batch of sugar cane it takes 320 sugar canes to make enough juice. After getting enough juice it moves to the boiling process.  Don Roman said he can make up to two full batches of sugar blocks in a day.

                Returning to Nido de Vida we had some time to ourselves. Fernando along with Claudia’s translating assistance taught Gita, Amy, Tristin, and Sripada an Ecuadorian card game called “quarenta” (forty). The girls in return taught him their new favorite card game called “golf”. The rest of the group volunteered to assist Lucia in making the beds in the guest house to prepare for our stay there on Thursday night.

                To top off the night, we enjoyed a hefty serving of rice with vegetables and a chicken option. While Amy and Aubree were cleaning dishes, Amy accidently broke a handle of a mug. The family then played a prank on them by telling them it was their great, great, great, great, grandma’s mug. However, the mug holds no significant value and everyone had a good laugh about it. We decided to do our reflection at Nido de Vida and focused on how much work goes into the food we eat that we do not realize. It had rained heavily the entire afternoon. While returning to the van, Amy said to Tristen, “It’s not that wet.” Amy then proceeded to slipped and fall in the mud. She brought a change of clothes, so she was able to clean up before the ride back – but we all had a good laugh about it. In the car, we had a jam session with our playlist that we sing off key and guess whose song is whose. Today has been filled with many experiences and most have considered today their favorite day so far.