On Friday we were invited to eat dinner with a co-worker of one of our tutors. The co-worker is a mother of 7. Three of her children are married and all but one still live at home. We ate traditional food and made many new friends. The family themselves own a boat and took us straight to the beach after dinner, inviting us on board for a quick boat ride. Apparently this was an invitation for Caedmon and Whitman only, but my mother hen instincts kicked in and I immediately followed them into the water. Everyone on shore (and we had quite the following) was yelling to be careful where I stepped so as to watch out for sharp objects. This was only after they had told me to take off my sandals on the shore.
Both the mother and John joined us, which was very fortunate as they both insisted we should not leave the small inlet. The waves during the evening are quite large. Thanks to her and John's persistence we didn't leave the inlet!
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| The eldest daughter, Caedmon, our tutor, and Whitman at dinner. |
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| The mother of the family in the middle. |
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| Dinner: from the left, tortilla like things made of cassava flour and coconut, grilled fish with spicy sauce, fried bananas which we dipped in palm sugar (mmmm), and tuna cooked in a broth. |
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| At the beach, first just looking at the boats. Notice our following behind us, they mostly just watched us without much talking. |
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| One of the daughters is currently pregnant. It is a common belief that having a westerner rub your pregnant belly might give your baby our white skin and big noses, which are highly desirable! |
The next day, Saturday, I, Erin, was invited to join the mother to roast coffee. As I had never done this before and I thoroughly enjoy drinking coffee, I was quick to accept.
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| They all said fire roasted coffee tastes much better. So using a traditional clay burner, they lit the fire and placed a traditional clay pot on top |
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| The raw coffee beans, bought at the market, where then washed. The mother on the left and her oldest child on the far right. |
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| The beans where then added to the pot. |
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| We stirred and stirred, maybe for 20minutes or so. This all took place behind their house, somewhat under the neighbor's house (most houses there are stilt houses). |
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| When they all appeared roasted, one bean was broken open to check that the inside was dark as well. They said you want brown, not black. |
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| While we roasted the bean I was served a traditional dessert, 'green banana.' It is a banana wrapped in a thick crepe like thing, then served in sweet flavored syrup with ice. |
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| Finished and cooling. |
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| Then we used a very large mortar and pestle to grind the coffee. This took awhile and a great deal of arm endurance. |
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| They where going for 'very fine.' |
That evening they invited us to a pre-wedding event at the groom's house. I unsuccessfully tried to decline. After the boys where in bed the family showed up at our house to pick us up. John thankfully was willing to attend alone.
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| At the groom's house family and friends gather to eat and drink tea or coffee. Traditional drums are played as well. |
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| After many attempts, they finally succeeded in getting John to join in on the drumming. |
The following day, Sunday, we all attended the wedding. The event begins at the groom's house, with a meal. This usually is attended by the groom's family and friends. The bride does not take part.
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| Groom's house with drummers on the balcony. |
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| The groom and his mother. |
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| Then all the guests and family caravan to the bride's house for the actual wedding. This was about a 30 minute drive. |
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| We parked about 200 yards from the house and walked the rest of the way. The family carries all the gifts the groom's family gives to the couple to be. This included fabric, a wardrobe, pots and pans, and clothing. |
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| The bride's house. Close friends and family (of which we were included) go inside. |
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| The marriage ceremony, between the groom and bride's father. |
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| The bride and groom. The bride waits in her room until the ceremony is finished, then is greeted by her now husband and brought out as his wife. |
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| Cooking outside for all the guests. |
