Puffy Tortillas
Day 8 - October 19, 2021
Let me tell you about this incredible guy who let’s me bother the mess out of him and who is responsible for feeding me. He makes me coffee every morning, he caters to me because I don’t eat spicy things, he smiles all day long, and he let’s me hover over his shoulder and take pictures while he works. Today for breakfast he made me a curry with “no spicy” which had potatoes, carrots, onion, tomato, fennel, curry leaves, and lentils in it. Then he made what is easiest to describe as a fried tortilla. (It could also be a donut if you put sugar on it beause the cooking process is the same. Maybe we will experiment with that later.) Anyway, he rolls these things out until they are flat and somehow all exactly the same size and thickness and then he drops them in oil and pushes them around as they inflate. It’s fun to watch!
The norm here is to eat with your hands. You take all five fingers of your right hand (very important) and do a push/shove movement around your plate until you make whatever it is you’re eating into a little ball. Then you scoop it into your mouth. Again, this is super messy but a lot of fun! The puffy tortilla has a name that I can’t remember but it helps you clean the plate and your hand as you eat. They also have towels on the back of the chairs that you use to wipe your hand after you wash it in the sink by the table. I can’t make this up. If I ever snag a video of this whole process I will show you.
As a snack, I had pickled “alma” today and it was so good! Basically it is a gooseberry and it has nutrients in it to increase hair strength, color growth, and nail growth. They pickle it in chili and salt so it is spicy and tangy at the same time. I was all about it.
We went shopping again today for a wedding “frock” and found one that the bride liked. I tried to talk her into getting a longer veil because veil float, veil toss, veil swoop, veil anything photos are amazing, but I think she is going with a short veil instead. RIP. It’s not about me though so it’s okay. It’s about her! And it will be about her for the next month or so because of all the shopping, the invitation delivering, the spa days, and the five wedding parties. Speaking of this topic, the wedding invitations are HAND DELIVERED to each guest. It’s also a hardback, folded, boxed, embossed, 8 1/2 x 11, invitation with all the information about who you are and what family you come from. It’s a short biography, if you will. I was given one and asked to not only be their photographer but be a guest as well! Basically this means that I will stay with the family, I will be given wedding wear, I will go to the spa with the bride, I will eat with the family, and I will also be their photographer throughout the wedding events. It’s a huge honor! I was so giddy, I didn’t know what to do.
On another note, I’m finding some limits within myself. Not speaking the same language is mentally exhausting because I don’t know enough words to keep up with the conversations around me. Today I made it from about 10 AM to 3 PM before my brain could no longer make an effort to communicate. Five hours was all I had. My desire to speak English was gone and so was my attempt at understanding anything else. It was that weird tired where you don’t need a nap, you just need silence or calm English for a few moments to recharge before trying again.
In my effort to communicate I learned some new words so it was a good and productive day.
- Maja = Afternoon
- Annaya = Older Brother
- Pada = Let’s Go
- Ra = Come
- Chelli = Younger Sister
They do not have a word for cousin in this language so everyone related to you is either called sister or brother. I am the youngest family member in the house so they call me “chelli.” They also call me “Alex” instead of “Alexis.” I don’t know why. I assume my name is too difficult to pronounce and that is what they have decided to go with. To be blunt…that is not my name. However, I am working through it since apparently I will “Alex” for the unforeseen future.
I am such an interesting case study. I have no clue why some things bother me and other things don’t; however, it is intriguing to find those things and think through them. Like driving straight into oncoming traffic? Completely unbothered. Being called “Alex”? Earth shattering.
I’m being dramatic but you get the idea.
The rest of the day was spent at the host home studying the language and eating leftovers for dinner. I did go get ice cream with my host and then I played with the baby…OH! This is going to be way too long if I keep going with this…but there is a…bizarre…unique may be a better word…bath process for the baby. I was massively confused.
You know what, let’s leave this one as a cliff hanger. If you made it to the end of this one I’m proud of you because this was a lot. Tomorrow, I’ll pick back up where I left off.
