Things at Domodungu keep going well. The ladies in my healthy cooking workshop have all been pleased with what they are learning to cook and the other supplemental (nutrition related) info I provide during the workshops. We’ve had a few new participants in the workshop so that’s nice but the kitchen is getting more and more crowded as the number of participants increases! A few of the things we have made in the last month and a half include pizza with whole wheat crust, broccoli salad (made with yogurt of course, not mayo!), chop shuey with quinoa (instead of rice) and spinach crepes filled with a tuna and corn salad.
Crochet has gotten easier and I’m making progress on my sweater (see picture below, i'm twice as far as the picture shows). At the rate I’m going I’ll be lucky to finish in the next couple months… especially because I’m playing with the idea of making a short dress instead of a sweater… We shall see how motivated I am once I finish the sweater part and if I’m still motivated it may turn into a dress.
A couple weekends ago Sarah and I had a baking marathon. We met at her house around noon and baked all day long. In the evening we went over to a friend’s house where they had family gathered and shared our goodies as well as the delicious empanadas they had made. All in all Sarah and I made pumpkin bars, apple pie, caramel rolls, choc chip scones, chocolate revel bars, Oreo peanut butter cheesecake and a pesto pizza. It was lots of fun spending the whole day baking and later sharing all the goodness with friends :D (See pictures below)
About a month ago a big hydroelectric plant was approved for the south of Chile. Not only will they build a huge plant in Aysen which will flood a lot of land but they will put smaller stations in many other parts of the country. In order to transport the electricity generated by these hydroelectric plants there will be high tension towers running from Aysen to Santiago. The majority of the country appears to be against this new plan and there have been lots of protests all throughout Chile. In Santiago the protests can get pretty violent but the ones here in Talca have all been peaceful. Last weekend I went to a couple protests with Evelyn and Sarah. Pretty much we just marched through town screaming different chants. There is a period of time for the vote to be appealed but I’m not sure exactly when the final decision will be made. Additionally most of the energy generated will not go to the general population but to foreign owned mining companies.
In addition to working at Domodungu and spending time at the orphanage I’ve been playing a lot of tennis. Generally I go three times a week to play. Sometimes there are other kids there when I play but often I play alone (with the coach of course). I’ve been having a lot of fun and can tell I’m improving :D On Friday I went to a tennis “match” between different clubs. There were kids of all ages from kindergarten through high school playing and it was fun to watch everyone play. Unfortunately I lost my set 4-6. The worst part is that I was up 3-1 and then ended up losing :( I know I could have won but something went wrong during the second half of the set… oh well, at least I could tell I was playing much better than when I played in a tournament at the end of December.
Two weekends ago I went up to Vilches for Saturday and Sunday. I stayed at a friend’s cabin and had a great time. We collected chestnuts and apples, made chicha (well, I just watched), sat around the bonfire, ate lots of good food and endured a 3 hr power outage. Chicha an alcoholic beverage made by smashing up grapes, boiled and then fermented. During the weekend we ate rabbit, homemade bread (tortilla), empanadas and of course drank lots of wine. It was lots of fun to spend time with friends and their relatives and enjoy the outdoors.(see pictures below)
Lately it has been really, really foggy!! One night recently when we left Domodungu you could hardly see half a block! All week it has been foggy to varying degrees both in the morning and at night. It also depends on what sector of town you are in because last night we went over to Milton’s house for dinner and it was incredibly foggy where he lives but at our house it was just a little foggy.
In addition to making my crochet sweater I’ve started knitting teddy bears for the kiddos at the orphanage. My goal is to have then finished for Christmas. Since I’ve been working a lot on my crochet project I haven’t gotten too far on my 15 or so bears but they will be made… eventually.
