Day 6 Joaquin Pliego

Hi all, Joaquin here! Today was a tiring but interesting day. We started off by waking up at 6:00 to help prepare breakfast at 6:30. Today's breakfast was gallo pinto, a traditional Costa Rican breakfast that consists of white rice, black beans, eggs, and cheese. It was fun to help prepare it, and the end result was delicious. I love beans and rice and I will definitely be preparing this when I get home! 

After breakfast, we got ready for the day and headed out. Our first stop was at the Mano de Tigre cultural center, where we met with Isabel and Aidè. They taught us about art, and about their efforts to recover traditional art forms that had nearly been lost. They showed us some of this art, which is made using cotton from local cotton trees. We then helped to pick out seeds from the cotton while conversing and learning more about them and their art. They also prepared a delicious juice, and fresh snacks.

After we were done, we walked down the road to the construction site of the community center, where we continued working. We mixed concrete, and used it help support the corners of the building where we had previously tied rebar. After working for a few hours, we walked back and had lunch. 

After a short break and lunch, we walked back to the Mano de Tigre community center, to watch them prepare a rice and milk based dessert, called bien mesabe. It was a long process, full of stirring and patience. The caramelized sugar added to the pot full of milk and blended rice created a thick light brown mixture. After it was chilled we were allowed to try some, and we all enjoyed it. Although this dessert is usually prepared on Christmas and Holy Week, this recipe is very popular and the dessert is well known locally. 

After this experience, we walked back down the street to do a little more work on the construction site. We tied rebar and began to build more support for the building. After a little bit of work we were all exhausted, so we headed back to camp where we rested before eating dinner, which was pasta. Overall, the day was fun and tiring. Thank you all for reading!

-Joaquin