4

Bolivia in a Child’s eyes

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What makes me smile is people that have visited Bolivia and loved it. Some loved it so much that decided to live there. Others loved it and still remember it today. Others, like my husband, loved it so much that he married a Bolivianita.

My son takes so much pride in being a Bolivian!  Last week he had a presentation in his Geography class and he chose to talk about Bolivia. We baked some Bolivian goodies for the class to try. He did not miss the opportunity to talk about his time down there. He talked about the altitude, talked about the flag, talked about the cities, the currency and the people. Somehow children’s eyes see life with a different perspective. They do not see the inconveniences presented, instead they see opportunities.

A clear example of what I say was written beautifully by Mary Anne from Mamasmiles.com. She experience life in Bolivia as a child. When I read her post, it brought joy to my soul, because I could see my country through kid’s artistic eyes.

I lived in La Paz, Bolivia with my family from the summer of 1992 to the summer of 1994. We arrived when I was 12, and left the day after my 14th birthday. The 9,840-13,450 ft elevation of this city (depending where you are; our home was a little over 12,000 ft above sea level) makes for very few trees and bleak mountains that reminded my family of photographs of the moon.
My mother brought a bunch of Sculpey Polymer Clay with us, and my 7-8-year-old sister R and I spent hours trying to capture images of the local Aymara and Quechua people, who we greatly admired. I found these pieces at my grandma’s house in Utah last week, and thought it would be fun to share them here. They are quite tiny – that’s my grandmother’s carpet they are sitting on!
Two Bolivians watch over their alpacas
 
To read more …..

Next time I visit my country I will do what Mary Anne’s mommy did. I will bring some clay and see what their perception of my country is. I think it is a wonderful way to keep memories alive!

 

1

Al fin en casa, knock on the door.

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Al fin en casa, is a very common saying in Spanish. Home at last!  What is it home to an immigrant?  I always refer to home when I talked about Bolivia. Perhaps because I feel more secure there?  Or, perhaps because my parents and siblings are still there?.

This is an anecdote it happened to us two months ago, and as always I used it as a teaching opportunity.

Very early in the morning, a completely unknown Latino knock on the door. He knew we speak Spanish and wanted us to talk to his boss about a work issue. My husband went with him and helped him with the translation, he took our eldest son with him.  Father and son felt bad for the man, because he was not able to communicate his needs.

The VERY SAME DAY, I was going about my normal Spanish routine. I asked for the Library books en Español and my son brought me a book called “Al fin en casa”. (Home at last).

“Al fin en casa”, is a very cute story that narrates the struggles than a Mexican lady goes through in the States, for not speaking English.  It is a book that makes you aware of the need for any immigrant to speak the language that is spoken in their new country. Finally, after taking English lessons and able to communicate her needs, she sighs with a smile “Al fin en Casa”.

Was it a coincidence that the man came the very same day we read the book?  I don’t think so. It felt like a field trip brought to our doors. Another perfect opportunity for teaching!

The kids were able to see,

  • The opportunity we have to help others if we speak more than one language.
  • The struggles the man was going through because of his lack  of English knowledge.
  • Mommy is not so crazy after all, she has a gift and wants to pass it on.

Since that day I don’t have to nag for my Spanish lesson as much. And like I said before, even  though I call Bolivia home, the reality is that home will be where ever I have to be, that is next to my esposito.  In English o en Español mi hogar está con ese gringuito :)

This is home for me, not where we are but what we are.

5

Cecy’s restaurant, Oatmeal Waffles (Gluten Free)

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This is one of my best breakfast recipes. I found this recipe 7 years ago, when I thought my son had gluten allergies, the symptoms just happened to be a teething issue.

Since then, we enjoyed them on the weekends or when we celebrate Birthdays. They make unique Breakfast Cakes!.

They taste yummy with home made Jelly, dulce de leche, leche condensada, plane yogurt and maple syrup. Always with some fruit and a good cup of Bolivian coffee. .

 

Here is the recipe,

 

Blender Oatmeal Pancakes

  • 1-3/4 cups buttermilk or plain yogurt (sometimes I use regular milk)
  • 3 eggs
  • 2 tbs oil (olive oil preferred)
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 cups rolled oats, uncooked
  • 2 tbsp regular white or brown sugar
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 2 tsp baking powder

Place the first 5 ingredients in a blender container and blend at high speed for 2 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and mix in thoroughly, but briefly, using blender or rubber spatula.

Bake on moderately hot griddle or in hot waffle iron for waffles. Makes about 16 4″ cakes.
This recipe  is correct as written.  It really doesn’t call for any flour.

Note:

With my family growing I had to double up the recipe and the mix does not fit in a blender. So I grind the oatmeal in my food processor and mix the ingredients in the same order and use a hand blender to mix it.

The Mixture will be thin but will thicken considerably upon standing, so be aware if you make it ahead of time or want to store batter in fridge for later use. When my mixture is too thin, specially when making pancakes and since we do not have any allergies, I add extra regular flour for more consistency.

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2

An interview to my children about me. It was Fun!

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To celebrate mother’s day week and my own debut as a mother I interviewed my soon to become 9 year old and 5 year old children.

I did not do it at the same time and both did not know what was all about. My questions were in Spanish and their answers in English. I have to remember that it is OK, I know that their brains are bilingual, a few months in Bolivia and they will be speaking Spanish.

It was fun to listen to their answers, they made me think, laugh and reflect as a mother.

I could not help it but to think in what my mom used to tell me, “One day you will become a mother and  you will understand”.   For now, I am content, that they know that Mommy loves them.

Question

Answer from a 5 year Old

Answer from a 8 year Old
¿Cómo se llama tu mamá?  (What is your mommy’s name?)  Mommy (and she hugs me)  Mamá, just  kidding Cecy Fencer
¿Cuántos años tiene tu mamá? (How old is she?) A lot (she shows me her 10 fingers)  A million, just kidding 37
 ¿Qué hace tu mamá todo el día?  (Do you know what your mom does all day?) Swims in the tub, counts, studies school,  she goes to the attic. (Did she mean I take baths, homeschool my children and work in the office?) Juega (plays), canta(sings), works, gives me hugs, kisses, tucks me in bed, have to deal with everybody, takes pictures, she plays Bolivian games.
¿Tu mami trabaja? (Does your mami work?)  No, she plays Yes, she teaches me and works in the attic.
¿Qué cosa juega? (What does she play?) Ring around the roses, Lobo Lobito. Bolivian games and gymnastics. (I do not do gymnastics, I think he wants me to do it though).
¿Es tu mami buena cocinera? (Is your mom a good cook?) No, she cooks too much oatmeal.  (She does not like oatmeal) Yes
¿Cómo puedes hacerle feliz a tu mama? (How can you make mami happy?)  Giving her a hug and a kiss.  Giving her gifts and sorpresas.
¿Cómo puedes hacerle infeliz? By doing wrong, picking on sister. Being disobedient, scaring her, making big messes.
Tu mami te ama? (Does your mama love  you?)  Yes!  Si!
¿Cómo sabes que te ama? (How do you know it?) Because I have seen her loving me.  Because I know it!
5

Play with your children while practicing your Spanish verbs – Lobo lobito ¿Qué estas haciendo?

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Everybody has heard the story of the bad wolf and the three little pigs. There is a children playground game in Bolivia called, Lobo, lobito ¿qué estás haciendo? (Wolf, little wolf what are you doing?). The story narrates the dialogue of a sleepy wolf and roaming sheep.

I played it  when I was a little girl, I play it with my kids today. It is amazing how their action verbs start coming out when it is time for playing. The best of all is that they do not even know that they are learning.

The lyrics are in a dialogue between a wolf (lobo) and the roaming sheep:

Lobo, lobito ¿Qué estás haciendo? 
Children around the wolf chant chant:
Hay qué lindo es pasear por aquí  (Oh how wonderful is strolling over here)
Cuando el lobo está durmiendo,  (while the wolf is still sleeping)
¿Lobo, lobito qué estás haciendo?  (wolf, little wolf what are you doing?)
Lobito in the middle answers
Poniéndome mis zapatos.  (I am putting my shoes on)
Children continue singing
Ay qué lindo es pasear por aquí
Cuando el lobo está durmiendo,
¿Lobo, lobo qué estás haciendo?
Lobito:
Estoy poniéndome mi camisa.  (I am putting my shirt on)
Children:
Ay qué lindo es pasear por aquí
Cuando el lobo está durmiendo,
¿Lobo, lobo qué estás haciendo?
Lobito:
Estoy afilando mi cuchillito.  (I am sharpening my knife)
Children:
¿Para qué? (For what?)
Lobito:
Para matar a mis ovejitas (To kill my sheep)
Children:
¿Quiénes son tus ovejitas? (Who are  your sheep?)
Lobito:
¡Ustedes! (You!!)

Once the wolf has said ustedes, all the children escape from the wolf and the wolf needs to tag one child, the one who will be the next wolf.

Changes I did to the game.

I keep adding action verbs for the wolf to do, like I am brushing my teeth (me estoy cepillando los dientes), or I am tying my shoe (me amarro los zapatos), and instead of sharpening the knife I just say I am getting the keys to go out (estoy buscando mis llaves para salir) and then I say I am opening the door and I can see you! (Estoy abriendo la puerta y puedo verte!). By then, my kids are so nervous than they just run from me,

The best of all is that this game can be used to practice action verbs in different languages!

Try this: After you play the game, ask your kid, ¿Qué estás haciendo? And I am sure he will know what you mean. My little daughter comes to me and tells me, “¿mamalita, qué estás haciendo? as part of our routine now. And sometimes she likes to pick on me and says. ”¿Abuelita que estás haciendo?

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Quinua El grano Sagrado de los Andes,

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Did you know that 2013 is the International Year of the Quinoa?

Do you know what Quinua or Quinoa is?

Quinua in Spanish or Quinoa,  come from the Quechua kinwa. It is a grain, a pseudocereal rather than a true cereal

Beautiful, isn’t it?  Quinoa was important to the diet of pre-Columbian Andean civilizations, around 3000 years ago. Quinoa has been an important staple in the Andes.  The Incas, who held the crop to be sacred, referred to quinoa as chisaya mama or “mother of all grains”, and it was the Inca emperor who would traditionally sow the first seeds of the season using “golden implements”.

During the Spanish conquest, the Spanish colonists scorned quinoa as “food for Indians”, and prohibited its cultivation, due to its status within indigenous religious ceremonies. In fact, the conquistadores forbade quinoa cultivation for a time and the Incas were forced to grow wheat instead.

It is interesting that more than 500 years ago, Spanish treated Quinoa as “food for Indians”, forbidding the cultivation, well they really did not know much about the Super Food they were missing.

Some facts that  you may like to know about Quinoa,

  • Quinoa is a source of complete protein
  • Today, people appreciate quinoa for its nutritional value. 
  • Quinoa is considered a superfood.
  • It is a good source of fiber, phosphorus, magnesium, iron and calcium. 
  • Quinoa is used in vegetarian and vegan diets.
  • Quinoa is gluten free and considered easy to digest. 
  • Because of all these characteristics, quinoa is being considered a possible crop in NASA’s Controlled Ecological Life Support System for long-duration human occupied spaceflights.
  • There is many ways to prepare quinoa, you can have it as cereal for breakfast. Cooked like rice or perhaps in a salad, a casserole or soup?  
  • Baking with Quinoa? Yes indeed, Quinoa flour is great for baking. 
  • I brought from  home, pito de quinoa that is like allready cooked, dryed and milled quinoa. It is good in shakes.
  • My mom sends the kids chocolate bars with quinoa. too bad we ate them all to even share pictures.
  • And the favorite one is Quinoa Coa that is a mix of cocoa and quinoa

  • In Bolivia, Quinoa is subsidize food for pregnant and nursing mothers. Cool isn’t it?

 

Last week I cooked it as rice, here is a picture of how good our dish looked. It is Salmon, with Quinoa, Asparagus, Carrots. 

 It was healthy and very yummy!