...short for "Crispeta"

I love going abroad because I always learn new skills: People skills, language skills, navigational skills, skills to keep your intestines functional, and other practical things. The first skill I always try to learn when I go abroad, though, is how to cook like the people who live there.  This is usually somewhat embarrassing, given that you stumble through motions that every native person mastered by the age of 5 or 6.  It is also really important, because you see how people use the seemingly unusual things you find in the grocery store or on the streets.  Most importantly, though, I like cooking with people because it is great way to get to know the women of a household.

I have been cooking a lot with the mother of the family I am staying with. In just three days she has taught me how prepare all kinds of things— arepas, the staple of the Venezuelan diet (a think, corn, tortilla-like food that they slice open and fill with different things), chicken, beef, beans, potato salad, juices, plantains, different sauces, and other foods. The food here is delicious, lots of rich, fried foods, fresh fruits, whole grains, and interesting meats. 

In the US, we cook with knives, spoons, tongs, whisks, slotted spoons, spatulas, and all sorts of other tools.   Here, people cook with their hands.  You knead doughs, scrub meat, chop vegetables cradled in your hands, and you taste everything with your finger-- including sauces that you rubbed all over raw meat (I don’t participate in this part, just observe).

This morning we started cooking lunch at around 9 AM.  But there are lots of chores that also need to be done in the morning, like watering the plants, sweeping, mopping, dusting, laundry, etc.  So, Susana told me in fast Spanish that while she went to mop up the water that sprayed everywhere when watering the plants, I should prepare the chicken.  At first I didn’t understand, so she tried to explain, which consisted of motions indicating peeling and stabbing the chicken.  Most of you know that I have been a vegetarian for the last 4 years or so, so I’m a little out of practice with preparing meat.  But I have been eating it for the last couple of months in anticipation of this trip.  So I went to town, tearing off skin, gathering organs as they slipped out of the split chicken, peeling off layers of fat and tissue, and stabbing holes in the chicken, as I had interpreted from Susana’s motions.  I rubbed several sauces into the chicken, and she looked on approvingly, saying that the chicken would have a good “sabor,” or flavor.  Needless to say, if anyone finds him-or-herself presented with a situation where they have an entire animal to prepare, or at least a large hunk of one, I am now prepared to deal with lots of types of meat hunks.  You can call me and I will give you a demonstration.

I am still not clear on how many people live in this house, and who they are.  Quite a few people have come in and out, so they must have keys, but they usually only stay for a few minutes, and I’m never really sure whether they live here.  Today a man came in, said good afternoon, put a bunch of clothes in a plastic bag, and left with them.  I keep discovering new bedrooms as well, so it is all very unclear.  Two of my favorite new roommates, though, are two tiny white dogs, named “Crispy” (short for Crispeta, I am told) and “Stacy.”  Stacy is old, very calm, and they keep her fur short because apparently she is balding (? --That’s what I got from the explanation in Spanish).  Crispy, however, is borderline psychotic, with thick white curls all over her body.  She can jump at least 2-3 feet in the air, despite her tiny size, and will leap up at you or a piece of food in your hand at any moment, and is not afraid to bite or gnaw on you (but never hard).  Today she came in my room, soaking wet, sliding all over the tile floors as she spastically attempted to run in and out.  Both dogs are also avid lickers—they lick your legs until you lock them out of the room.  It’s really nice, though, to have little friends with no language expectations… the friendship feels very natural, and yet, occasionally painful.

We also got the internet working on my computer, so anyone who wants to Skype, I would love to chat and show you the new digs.  My Skype name is annarsanto.

I start teaching tomorrow.  I’m not really sure what to expect, but I have decided that I want to be the teacher they remember as being really difficult.  This will be the second week of class for them, but the first day with me teaching (another teacher taught class last week).  Class is Monday through Thursday from 2-4 PM for 6 weeks.  There is a book for the class, but I have free reign to teach however I want.  The challenge: they want me to teach conversation without grammar… This sounds difficult to me, seeing as grammar is somewhat essential to conversation, but I will do my best.  I guess “conversation without grammar” means I should teach them all the best slang.   Instead, I will start with telling time…