Domatila is an amazing Guatemalan woman who I have grown to love a lot in a very short period of time! She is our landlord, lives in the house below us, runs a small shop that we buy most of our food from, and we pay cleans our appartment and washes our clothes (so worth it! I hate washing clothes by hand). Seriously, she is incredible and I love her like crazy!
For anyone who knows me, food is a big part of who I am. I love to cook. I love to eat. I love to try foods of different cultures. It has been a blessing for me because it allows me to connect with people, even when I don´t speak their language. Sweet Domatila offered to give me cooking lessons once a week so that I can learn how to cook traditional Guatemalan cousine. I eagerly accepted her offer!
Last Wednesday we had our first lesson. Domatila taught me how to make a traditional meat in a tomato sauce, rice, and a warm fruit drink that they usually make at Christmastime.
Joseph, Domatila´s son (and one of my favorite people here!) played photographer. I gave him my camera, and he excitedly went at it! I think he did an awsome job!
Domatila put my right to work and showed me exactly what to do. The nice thing is that we used very normal ingredients that I have back home, just in a way that I have never put them together before. Within minutes the whole kitchen smelled divine!
One of the best parts of the whole night was waiting for the food to cook. We had put everything together, cleaned up, and just had to wait for the food to cook. We sat for about an hour and just talked. Domatila speaks no English, and my spanish is still pretty shaky, but she is the kindest and most patient woman ever! So not only did I get a cooking lesson, but I got Spanish pracice as well! She doesn´t make me feel silly at all when I try to speak and it comes out all wrong!
Finally the food was ready and we all ate. It was so yummy!
It was one of the best experiences I have had since coming to Guatemala (and I have had a lot, so that is saying something!) I can´t wait for more cooking lessons so I can learn how to make even more guatemalan food, and have more opportunities to sit and talk to Domatila!
2 comments:
Now you better be taking notes on all these recipes... I am expecting some reenactment dinners when you get home. :)
What an awesome opportunity, to have such an authentic Guatemalan experience. Domatila sounds wonderful, and the food looks great. And I'm glad you're getting opportunities to practice Spanish. :) (And YOU look extremely skinny in that last picture... are you losing weight? I hope you at a lot!)
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