Spit on a Stranger

I`ve been working with a local organization for the last few weeks to give cooking classes in a couple of the communities that I live near. We are very lucky here to have access to a plethora of fresh fruits and veggies, yet most of the meals that women cook here are made up of corn, beans, eggs, tomatoes, and salt- not very diverse or nutritious. Part of this can be blamed on poverty or lack of resources, but really, it seems to have a lot more to do with habit: women cook what their mothers taught them to cook and unless the pattern changes, this is what their daughters will also cook. So, these cooking classes serve two purposes, 1) teaching the women how to make healthy, good tasting food from what they have locally, and 2) giving the women a place to socialize and have some fun. These classes really are the highlight of my week. I get to practice speaking Mam, learn how to cook new things, and hang out with some seriously cool ladies.

On Tuesday of this week we had a cooking class in a little village in the mountains that surround my town. About 30 women came, their many children in tow. Doña Cristina is one of my favorites in the group- she`s young, chatty, and loves to help me learn new phrases in her language. She wanted to participate in the preparation of the meal yesterday so I offered to play with her 5 month old baby while she peeled and cut veggies. We got on swimmingly, baby and I, which is a shock since most kids take one look at me and run in the other direction (parents love to say "better behave or the white girl will take you away with her" when kids are naughty).

As the cooking class was finishing, Doña Cristina grabbed me, mumbled something to me and pulled me over to the pila (outdoor sink). She then handed me a small bucket of water and instructed me to take a sip and then spit it on her baby. In my head I`m thinking "is that water really green or is it the bucket? did this water come from the river where I just saw a dog peeing? DID SHE REALLY JUST INSTRUCT ME TO SPIT ON HER BABY!?" And yet, I found myself lifting the likely giardia infested water to my lips and spitting it all over the baby, as instructed. Doña Cristina, delighted, hugged me and then went back to the meeting to recieve her portion of the meal, leaving me bewildered and wondering if rinsing my mouth out would keep me from getting giardia...

Here she is with her older brother


Post Script: I later learned that if a respected person spits water or spices on you it is considered a blessing and helps to ward off the evil eye. Guess I`ll take that as a compliment.