Thanksgiving

Originally, for Thanksgiving, I was planning on going to Santa Lucia (where Erin lives) and helping the cooks in the kitchen make a Thanksgiving dinner for all of the gringos who live at the clinic.  Then, a couple of weeks ago, after previously being told that the bilingual school would be closes for Thanksgiving, was told that there would indeed be school, and that the kids would be celebrating Thanksgiving.  BUT....none of the Honduran's knew what to cook or how to cook for Thanksgiving...so, naturally Jami (who also works for the school) and I were nominated to make Thanksgiving for the kids...and nothing was discussed about how to get the food for the event, or what would be made...but it was discussed in detail who would bring the tamales...the most traditional and most important dish of thanksgiving...

The making of the feast quickly went from 27 small children plus a few adults to 55 people total...and still no plan as to how to get food.  Living in the Frontera of Honduras, getting anything is a task.  It takes 4 hours (minimum) to get to the nearest grocery store...luckily Jami took a trip to La Esperanza and got all of the items needed.

While Jami was away gathering groceries, I took the bus trip to Santa Lucia and did this. Please note that Erin said "I" made pie...that is a lie. WE made pie...from scratch...and it was literally an all day effort...

We even took the pies on the bus the next morning to Camasca to the feast, luckily they were covered in foil, because we have reached the dry season here in Honduras, and they were DUSTY!

Meanwhile, as the Gringas took over my host mom's kitchen, life did not stop for the Hondurans who lived there, so I helped grind some corn for fresh tamales:

this actually takes a of work--the woman who
cooks for my host family makes 90 fresh tortillas a day...which means she
does this 30 tortillas worth, 3 times a day...clearly, I make
it look easy...

And then we had to transport all of the food from the cooking house to the school:

a truck full a food--trying not to spill it

The feast was a success, although the children didn't enjoy it properly. They liked the rice (that the Honduran's provided) and the pavo (turkey). They "took the rest home" to eat later...we should have just given them the tamales, which actually never even got touched.

I will forgive the kids for not enjoying the food though, because they were very cute!

Elkin...look at those eyes!

Walter---who has the best mullet in Honduras

Diego, pretending that he in enjoying his food...

Laura

Edilson--this is the only time I have ever seen him sit still...
he was waiting for his piece of pumpkin pie!

All of the kids, the bilingual school committee, and a few Gringas
(and other people who found out there was free food)

It was really a fantastic Thanksgiving, and gave me a new appreciation for living in the US and having the luxury to drive down the street to a grocery store that has everything you need, and having a mom and grandma who know exactly how to cook everything, and do it for me every year....