Making Tortillas to Gain a Husband

So today was Monday, so for the BI it it was a Día de Trabajando--work day. Typically, on the work days I have watched the niños just as all the other days, but today was special. :)

For reasons unsure to me, Aunt Lila told the mom's to stay home with their babies today, so that meant that I would get to work with the other girls and maybe learn something new.

Here's how the Día de Trabajando works: All the students gather in the Chapel at 8 AM (after Devotionals and Breakfast, the same time of which they'd start there school day) for Uncle Kent and Aunt Lila to delegate the work to be done, typically, until 5 PM (today it was only until around 1ish for the ladies, and 2ish for the gents). The outside work is divided amongst the guys based on skills, and quite possibly ethic, or just luck of the draw: building fences, mixing concrete, repairs throughout the institute, gardening, etc (since it was raining, there were less outdoor jobs). For the ladies, indoor jobs are more often divided based on who would work well together: cleaning the kitchen, cooking snack & lunch for the day, organizing storage, cleaning bathrooms, making tortillas, etc.

So after the delegating jobs, everyone went to work. After holding Abril for a minute or two (just cause I love that little girl and was half-sad I wouldn't get to watch her), I went to Aunt Lila for direction as to where I could be of help. KITCHEN! :) I was going to learn how to make tortillas!

So every Monday, four girls are assigned to making the flour tortillas, so I was just and extra body. I wasn't to be taught, they had a job to do and didn't have time to stop and show me how for a few minutes and tortillas take all the way up until comida--not a moment to lose! They. Go. Fast! Holy Toledo! Especially Elda! She knocks 'em out, and they're always perfect circles when she does it--Mari-Chuy, tambien (not quite as fast as Elda, but pretty close).

Okay, so one girl rolls and flours (flour is arina) the doe balls, two (or three today) girls flatten the tortillas, and one girl heats them up on a big griddle on the stove. We had two rolling pins and PVC pipes to choose from. Elda was using a PVC pipe and Mari-Chuy was using a rolling pin--I started with a pipe, but could figure out how to get the doe to not stick to it, so Elda gave me a rolling pin instead, but then it was taking too long using the rolling pin, so I switched back to the pipe. Phew! Anyway, at first my tortillas were in the shape of disfigured Christmas trees, but by the end they were closer to ovals. I actually knocked-out about 4 perfect circles--it was awesome! Elda made sure I knew throughout the few hours how well I was doing and how fast I was learning--mentioning it to everyone who walked in. :) She's so nice.

A few blogs back I had mentioned how I look up to her mentally, but have to look down to her physically because she is much shorter than 5 ft. Well, today I was able to look up to her both mentally and physically because she stood on a stool to make her tortillas. :)

Haha

People throughout the day came into the kitchen and commented on my learning to make tortillas--I enjoyed the whole experience! Even the compliments and encouragement helped--I've been feeling detached from the whole group lately and semi-uncomfortable, so by them recognizing me, I felt more appreciated and accepted. It was quite nice.

Midway, we stopped to eat for antojitos (snack), and a few of the girls kept eating the disfigured ones and saying "Oh, Lynda, I'm eating this one cause it's yours!" Haha

Oh, and Aunt Lila said it's kind of a joke within the culture that a woman can't get a husband until she can make mole (Mexican sauce) and make perfectly round tortillas. My tortillas are oval, so I'm close--and mole I'll have to learn another day. Gloria, the cook, made mole today; it was pretty picante (spicy), though.

After the tortilla making, I helped Bella with making comida--mostly just stirred the rice and microwaved fat... yea... She didn't add water to the rice when she cooked it, which I thought was odd, so she ended up having to throw out the first batch because it never softened.
After helping Bella a bit, I helped Marbe and Dalila sort and separate the day-old corn tortillas that we get for free from the tortillaria. You have to sniff them to make sure their not bad, but I didn't know what smell I was looking for, but I sniffed them anyway.

Welp, I took a long nap and Uncle Kent made some delicious eggplant-marinara meal and a delectable fruit salad to follow for dinner. This will hopefully be my last dinner for a while--I'm going to try this new dietary strategy where you don't eat dinner--it's supposed to be good for your digestive system and weight loss. Don't really need the weight loss that bad, but I could really use the digestive aid.

I've been missing prayer in the mornings with the girls--don't know what times they're doing it now (it varies), but I'm gonna ask Chely tonight because I miss praying with them.

Ooh, I got to talk to my mom today! :) Always a good day when that happens.

Less than two months until I'll be home for the holiday! :)

Alright I'm gonna do the dishes and head to my dorm.