This month, we are spending our time at an orphanage in La Libertad, El Salvador. We are literally blocks from the beach, which is home to gorgeous black sand and some of the best waves in the world. It’s incredibly vast and utterly breathtaking.
We’ve only been here a few days, but I’ve already fallen in love. And not just with the beach.
I’ve spent most of my time working in the kitchen with two women in particular. Every morning I start off in the kitchen at 4:30am (yes, that time is correct). I help Cecilia cut up cucumbers, watermelon, cantaloupe, and tons and tons of tiny green mangos (mangos on mangos, lol!). This seriously takes about two hours. After we finish with the fruit, we take a break to eat our breakfast. Next come the pork rinds. They start off in these tiny, curly, pasta-looking things and then we toss them in the hot oil and they expand really fast. I was basically fascinated the first day. Now Cecelia always asks me to help. After all of this is finished, Cece heads up to the nearby school to sell the snacks to the kids.
Irene, the head kitchen lady, has us help around in the kitchen, cooking food for them to sell on the streets. We’ve made all different kinds of foods over the past few days, including yucca cakes (kinda like potato cakes, but they taste more like pancakes!), sandwiches, quesadillas, and popsicles. Finally, we serve lunch and do dishes and then are done for the day around 4.
My favorite part has been chatting with the women and laughing with them. They are incredible and work so hard for the orphanage here. It has also been hilarious as Kelsey and I attempt to use our minimal Spanish to translate what they are trying to tell us. I’m pretty sure I’ve spent more time laughing than I have actually cooking. Here are some of my favorite “translations” and backhanded compliments….
What we think they said: We have to cook our own lunch on Fridays because the grandpas from the church are in the street.
What they actually said: We have to cook our own lunch on Fridays because the food that is normally donated to the orphanage is re-gifted to a nursing home in town.
What we think they said: (when talking about movies like High School Musical and Jo Bros) Cucumber Sisters
What they actually said: Tinkerbell
What we think they said: The people at Remar in Africa eat the missionaries in prison.
What they actually said: The people who work at Remar in Africa (the missionaries) bring food to the people in prison to share the gospel.
What we think they said: (After them guessing our ages) Well I’m 50, she’s 100, and she’s 125. *pointing to one of our teammates* and she’s 1000.
What I think I said: She’s like dead.
What we think they said: Yes, we raised her to life.
What they said: Do you wear makeup?
What I thought I said: No, looking nice is not important to me here.
What I actually said: I don’t care about this conversation.
Our list of “compliments” we have received so far:
~you have nails like a cat
~you must run a lot because you have big thighs
~you don’t have big hips, but you have big arms (as they squeeze them)
~you are Barbie
~your hair is pretty, but her hair is full of sand
~you must like chocolate because you have a lot of pimples
~you are skinny now, but soon you will get fat
I hope you’ve enjoyed laughing with me! Take heart, if someone says something mean to you this week, just consider it a backhanded compliment in a different language!
