It was a day full of food, creativity(!), and cultural interchange. Karen´s Thrivent team (see "Tosagua, the Heart of Manabi"), habitat personnel, the house-recipient families, some neighbor kids, the hotel owner and workers all joined for a huge meal which included many familiar foods, and variations on traditional themes.
The preparations for the dinner required creative planning, beginning with the turkey! The hotel kitchen did not have an oven. My day started with Daniel (new Global Village Coordinator) and Maria (Tosagua Habitat Director). We wondered around town, seeking to borrow an oven!
We had been fairly certain that any of the friendly bakeries would be certain to accept us as temporary users of their ovens, since our hotel kitchen did not have an oven to lend us. It soon became apparent, however, that the bakery ovens were made specifically for... bread! All the ovens were specially designed so that flats of bread would efficiently fit in a multi-layer stack of drawer-like compartments. We ended up baking the turkey at Maria´s family house with the help of her mother (and nephew)!
We had been fairly certain that any of the friendly bakeries would be certain to accept us as temporary users of their ovens, since our hotel kitchen did not have an oven to lend us. It soon became apparent, however, that the bakery ovens were made specifically for... bread! All the ovens were specially designed so that flats of bread would efficiently fit in a multi-layer stack of drawer-like compartments. We ended up baking the turkey at Maria´s family house with the help of her mother (and nephew)!
After we got the turkey going, Daniel, Maria and I had a "ceviche date" with Hugo, our interim National director for Habitat for Humanity. Here I am below, enjoying my first crab-ceviche, which is now my favorite of the Ecuadorian ceviches.
Ceviche is usually seafood, "cooked" and marinated in lime juice. The Ecuadorian ceviche is served as a kind of soup, with tomato, onion, and limes and "chifle" (fried plantain chips) on the side. That was the second meal of the day (after breakfast.... and would be one of four!!... and I thought I ate too much in the US on Thanksgiving!).Daniel and I took a trip to the local outdoor market for the veggies for the big meal, and I picked up the apples for my pies;-).
The Global Village team took a half day at the work site and then helped to prepare for our big dinner. Karen made pumpkin pies; Tim and James helped me with the apple pies;
Kim, Colleen and Sharon helped with the fruit preparation; Jenny and John sought out cheese and bread; A bunch of people helped prepare green beans; Hugo brought the requisite white rice (no Ecuadorian meal is complete without it!) and Maria brought the finished turkey and stuffing that we had started that morning!
Our meal began with the "story of Thanksgiving" told by Ricci and Jane. It came complete with props and theatrical elements... and Daniel interpreted so that the Habitat families, staff, hotel staff and random children would understand this foreign holiday.Below is Rick in his "pilgrim hat."
After the story, Hugo said a prayer for the meal and much food was shared. The turkey stuffing had been prepared by a local woman, and was amazing! It included pecans, raisins, olives, wine, beer, local bread, and who knows what else.. Pies are not typical in Ecuador and the pumpkin and apple pies were a huge hit with our local guests.After dinner, the festivities continued with bubbles and story time for the neighborhood children.
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