Lunch was delicious. Once again, the salad made an appearance, except it was separated into a bowl of lettuce leaves and a bowl of thick tomato slices. Fortunately, it combined well with the main course, a combination of fried fish, shrimp, potatoes, and plantains. It was fish and chips with a Central American flair.
Apparently, this dish is from a restaurant in Panama that the workers like to go to, and it incorporates several aspects of their cuisine. The plantains are cut into slices about 1-inch thick and fried quickly, then smashed with the bottom of a coffee mug and fried again. Ken explained that they were entirely bad for you, but I reminded him that it started with a fruit, so it has to be good for you.
It’s hard to have the complete culinary experience when I’m surrounded by workers, since everyone is trying to please everyone else by making dishes they like, not necessarily dishes that are native to this area. Also, I’m never entirely sure how I’m supposed to eat anything, since I’m usually sitting between Ken, who dips most things in either ketchup or mustard, and Alan, who covers everything in salt. It seems that everyone has a different way of consuming the food on the table, even down to cutting food with a knife or digging in with your hands. Regardless of how it gets into my stomach, the end result is usually a pleasant feeling, so I don’t have much to complain about.
Hey, I see a gecko on my wall! I’m going to take a picture.
After lunch was a much appreciated nap time. I haven’t yet had enough pre-7 a.m. mornings (more like pre 11 a.m. mornings), so I didn’t quite fall asleep, but I did enjoy the rest.
After I was again fully cognizant and Ken had yet another cup of coffee, we walked to the wired community to use the internet. I figured the world deserved to hear from me, so I let myself use the internet for 20 minutes, enough time to reply to the personal emails I had received.
On the way back, I saw a very large and very flat frog in the road. Ken told me that that species is very common in Central America.
Back at the house I helped set up and wipe down the 35 or so chairs for tomorrow, then figured out how the whisper mic situation will work. There should be several friends coming from both the north and south parts of the country, and I’m excited to meet them. I’m particularly excited to see little kids, since I would feel more comfortable conversing at their level.
When we were at the store, one of the items we had to pick up were packets of powder used to make a fruit drink. The fruit, called guanabana (apparently “soursop”), is a strange spiny fruit that has a sort of sour flavor. It turns out there are a few of the trees in the backyard, so we found a ripe (read: rotting on the ground) one to open and try. The small piece of correctly colored flesh I ate tasted almost exactly like raw bread dough. I’m curious to see how this drink will turn out. Daniel found a smaller, unripe guanabana for me to keep until it´s ripe and try then. I’m not convinced it will be much better.
Aside from a few simple conversations learning ironing vocabulary, that’s been pretty much it. Dinner soon, and it’s been smelling pretty good!
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