Last Sunday I went with my host family to harvest "habas", a large bean with a distinctive flavor. We left the house at 7am with big blankets for harvesting and carrying down the habas, and some popcorn and beans packed for lunch. We ended up with several large sacks called quintales, which will be a major part of our diet for the next few months. Toasted habas, haba soup, mote de habas--you name it, we'll eat it. I think they're pretty tasty and full of protein.
On our way up, we met this friendly guy having a snack (from what I can tell that's all they do all day). The Ecuadorian news has been telling people to watch out for the swine flu by keeping their pigs far away, which doesn't make much sense since only the first case would have passed from pig to human. My family isn't worried about the swine flu, because they say that if you're afraid of an illness, you're more likely to get it.
After walking uphill for about half an hour, we arrived at the family's property where they had grown corn and habas. Papa Santos had already been up there working for an hour when we arrived, a work ethic that is very characteristic of him. If everyone in the family didn't contibute and work hard, it would be impossible for them to make ends meet. We spent about 4 hours winding our way up and down the rows plucking the habas off of knee-high plants, trying to keep time with each other so we could finish whole sections together before moving on to the next. At first I kept getting told to hurry up, or that I was leaving some on the bush (lose-lose situation) but then I got the hang of it and could hold my own.
The walk down went by faster than the walk up, even with the harvest on our backs. The same pig was still doing the same thing.
Once we got home, we sorted out the tender ones from the dry ones, then relaxed and played monopoly for a few hours. It was a fun day, and I really like the fact that my family grows and harvests most of the food they eat, even if it sometimes means lack of variety. I'm also glad they're so willing to let me participate and help them with daily activities, because that's how I begin to understand what life is really like here.
Last Sunday I went with my host family to harvest "habas", a large bean with a distinctive flavor. We left the house at 7am with big blankets for harvesting and carrying down the habas, and some popcorn and beans packed for lunch. We ended up with several large sacks called quintales, which will be a major part of our diet for the next few months. Toasted habas, haba soup, mote de habas--you name it, we'll eat it. I think they're pretty tasty and full of protein.
On our way up, we met this friendly guy having a snack (from what I can tell that's all they do all day). The Ecuadorian news has been telling people to watch out for the swine flu by keeping their pigs far away, which doesn't make much sense since only the first case would have passed from pig to human. My family isn't worried about the swine flu, because they say that if you're afraid of an illness, you're more likely to get it.
After walking uphill for about half an hour, we arrived at the family's property where they had grown corn and habas. Papa Santos had already been up there working for an hour when we arrived, a work ethic that is very characteristic of him. If everyone in the family didn't contibute and work hard, it would be impossible for them to make ends meet. We spent about 4 hours winding our way up and down the rows plucking the habas off of knee-high plants, trying to keep time with each other so we could finish whole sections together before moving on to the next. At first I kept getting told to hurry up, or that I was leaving some on the bush (lose-lose situation) but then I got the hang of it and could hold my own.
The walk down went by faster than the walk up, even with the harvest on our backs. The same pig was still doing the same thing.
Once we got home, we sorted out the tender ones from the dry ones, then relaxed and played monopoly for a few hours. It was a fun day, and I really like the fact that my family grows and harvests most of the food they eat, even if it sometimes means lack of variety. I'm also glad they're so willing to let me participate and help them with daily activities, because that's how I begin to understand what life is really like here.
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