Hola from the food systems track!
On Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of this past week, we began our Cooking as Resistance with seven-hour days of being immersed in the preparation of Oaxacan cuisine. Every morning before cooking, we visited the market to buy all of our ingredients and brought them to a kitchen at a local bed and breakfast. We learned a great deal about the concept of "mis en place", which is the organization of a cook used to create a more tranquil kitchen atmosphere. For example, we prepared all of our ingredients and utensils prior to beginning our recipes.
Warning: You might get ridiculously hungry after reading this next part and viewing the following pictures. There is a risk of profuse salivation.
Here is a sample of our menu for Day 2:
Appetizer - Molotes, Tamales de Amarillo
Soup - Caldo de Verduras
Salad - Ensalada de Verduras
Main - Chilies Verdes Rellenos, Pollo Relleno de Papas
Dessert - Platanos Asados
Drink - Agua Fresca
We were split into several groups and assigned the various recipes for the day. Here are a few pictures of our delectable food art creations...
Thursday, Friday, and Saturday were preparation days for the next section of class entitled Cuisine and Culture.
An exciting event occurred Sunday morning when four of our group members participated in the Benito Juarez Medio Marathon! Becky Frye, Katie Pierce, Zoe Hoffman, and Mara Mueller were the admirable participants in the twenty kilometer loop around the city. They took a perilous journey dodging buses, oncoming traffic, and running on cobblestones to the finish line. Here is a picture of the four lovely ladies...
Sunday was the first day of our Cuisine and Culture class, which included an excursion to the Tlaculula market. We made a quick stop at an artistic immigration exhibit on the way. The exhibit was a representation of the hardships that people have faced due to immigration issues. We were split into three groups at the market and assigned foods to search for containing corn, chilies, or herbs. We are using the gathered food to discuss food identification in class on Monday.
We would like to give a special thank you to Cynthia Belliveau for taking the time to share her knowledge of cooking and cuisine with us.
Buen provecho!
Steph y Becky Frye
Geology track: Treasure Hunt for a Fault
Barry has continued to share his contagious passion for rocks this past week as we searched for exposed parts of the Oaxacan fault, our goal was to touch the fault. By learning about plate tectonics and fault lines in general, we utilized our new knowledge in a scavenger hunt type search over the mountains on the edge of the central vall
ey. From the many samples of mylonite full of quartz and mica to the finer and softer volcanic ash, we discovered rock outcrops all around the valley and identified each one.
Appropriately, Barry’s go-to research method is summarized in one quote:
“Let’s hit it with a hammer and see what we get”
As we hiked the mountains in weather that seemed hotter than the Sahara (but with an interestingly high water table), Barry had us hit rocks and see the many layers and parts of these chunks of rock. On Thursday, the rocks we hit were some really old chunks of rock – they were Precambrian! The earth was sooo hot and the rocks were at such a high pressure below the land plates that they are intensely banded. Cool!
~Erin and Anna
SPANISH TRACK UPDATE!
We are deep into our History and Culture classes at UABJO (Universidad Autónoma "Benito Juárez" de Oaxaca) Although we have been pretty busy Mike, Danielle and Rachel were able to plan a trip to Hierve el Agua (translated:Boil the water!) when we had a day off from school.The water bubbles out of the rock's surface and looks as if it is boiling.
Hierve el agua is a site up in the mountains of Oaxaca that are cascadas petrificadas, petrified waterfalls. Water falls over the sides of the cliff and the water is over saturated with clacium carbonate which comes out of cracks on the mountainside. It was a hot day so after hiking around and learning about the area, we cooled down in the natural pools on top of the mountain
(one of the pools at Hierve el Agua, notice the calcium carbonate on the rock wall)
(some eager adventures: Rachel and Danielle)
Mike, Heidi, Rachel and Danielle!
Classes at UABJO are going great, and we just started the Music class at the beginning of the week. We are all excited for a trip to the Mixteca this coming weekend for Música y una Fiesta!!!
Until next time...
¡Esperamos que todos tengan una buen día!
