of cooking lessons and watches

mmm I got so much sleep last night... I needed it! I woke up this morning, early enough to brush my teeth and wash my face before breakfast! I wish I could say this is the norm but usually both those activities have to wait until breakfast is done because I'm pulling myself out of bed in order to just make it to breakfast in time :)

I taught a new way of adding numbers today. The kids had never seen dominos before but after I explained the game they caught on quickly and finished their math assignments really quickly. I also taught the letter W today. lol Nothing too exciting to say about that... After they were done practicing their letters and colouring the corresponding pictures, I read them a couple stories.

[Funny story: I have a little girl in my class named Hannah. Naturally, I call her Hannah Banana. Now if you've known me for a long time, you know I used to be called Jehanna Banana all the time while I was growing up and I HATED it with a fiery passion that exudes from my very soul. Nonetheless, I passed it on with love to little Hannah. She always gives me a weird look when I call her that (cola, the Bangla word for banana, doesn't really rhyme) so I had Papri explain it to her. I told her that I used to be called that as a kid and now I'm sharing it with her. When Hannah heard that I was called that too, she broke into a bright smile and was so excited. Just seeing her reaction has made me lighten up and ALMOST see Jehanna Banana as a cute and endearing name... ALMOST. lol]

After class, Elliot, Ryan, Brittni, and I headed back to the village near the village school we did Sabbath School at last weekend. One of the women, Kakoli is her name, had invited us over to her house to teach us how to cook. So we came armed with a half bottle of oil, rice, potatoes, onions, tomatoes, cilantro, salt, and a jar of bright yellow tumeric. She first had us toss the rice to get rid of small rocks and pieces of whole rice. LOL Elliot accidentally tossed some on the ground at one point but everyone laughed and she tried again :)

She took the rice into a small room, about 5ft by 5ft with two sunken in fire pits. The pits had dirt/clay built up around them so the cooking pots perfectly fit in. It's a little incredible actually. She got the rice boiling (using those sticks covered in cow dung and bamboo for fuel) and we headed back into the courtyard to get the vegetables prepared.

She brought out those round sickle-shaped knives and we squatted on the ground eager to learn the Bengali way. We sliced eggplant, peeled potatoes, and cut onions and tomatoes with that little knife. It's incredible actually. I'm thinking about bringing one back home, though I can't imagine sitting on the floor cutting up vegetables :) About that time, the rice was done cooking and she took it off the fire and put a small wok on instead. We made a potatoe curry, sweet tomatoe curry, cilantro and potatoe curry, and cilantro bora. It was incredible.

At one point, she put whole chili's on a stone block and took another square block and started grinding it into a smooth paste. She also did this with pieces of cinnamon bark and other spices. I asked to try and suddenly was squatting near the block, grinding up spices for the curries. I sat with her for the rest of the time, doing my best to talk to her and her small daughter, while also observing and helping in the cooking process. It was such an amazing experience. We took a lot of video but I didn't have my camera with me so I couldn't take any pictures--I think Elle has some though.

We were there for almost 3hrs. I know the food was cooked really well--like bubbling and steaming but I really didn't want to eat any food considering I haven't been sick since I've been here. Plus Shati was making food back at Bangla Hope for us to eat. But in the end, I just HAD to try some of the food. And OHMIGOODNESS!! It was absolutely delicious! Not too spicy but so full of flavour. I was eating with my fingers, mashing the potatoes between my fingers, and taking in the full Bengali experience of it all. I feel like there are no words to express how amazing those three hours were...

I've been praying ever since my first bite that I won't get sick from what I ate. When I got back, I made myself a cocktail of charcoal and liquid silver so hopefully that will kill off anything the scorching hot fire didn't... Plus prayer. I should be covered--fingers crossed!

The sad part of my day came on the way back when someone asked me what time it was. I told them 4pm but Elliot said "No, it's 4:15"... Thus I think my watch battery has died. Sad day in the neighbourhood! This watch hasn't left my wrist since I got it back in June of 2006 but I'm not sure I trust the Hili watchsmiths to fix it properly. Sad, sad day in the neighbourhood. It's going to stay on my wrist for the time being nonetheless because I really don't want to take the chance of misplacing it.

ahhh what a good day though. Just incredible really. When you see pictures of what I was working with maybe you'll understand :) I just keep thinking how Kakoli would respond to coming to America, not having to perch over a hot fire or worry about using cow dung as fuel--how different our kitchens look compared to her mud painted 5x5 room. In other words, count your blessings and never, ever take even the simplest things for granted--I really hope I won't ever again!

ami tomake bhalobashi