First Day of School - 2012

Today school started here in Patzun at Alfa y Omega. Here are a few pictures of the students.

Opening exercise

Some of the younger students

In computer class

P.E. class

Making tamalitos

Friday we had a visiting church come to Patzun to be with us in our Friday night service. Earlier that day, the women of the church made a supper to be served afterwards. I helped with the preparations. They are quite different than what we would fix in the States. Here I am making tamalitos. (Masa [corn dough that is used to make tortillas] wrapped in tusa [corn husk].) I personally would like it better if they had some salt mixed in. Chuchitos are similar, but they have some tomato sauce and a piece of meat/fat/bone included in the center.

A couple of the ladies making tamalitos

First you start with a ball of masa shaped a little elongated.
(Notice the girl talking on the cell phone!)

Next, position it in a corn husk.

Wrap the husk around the sides,

then fold the top and bottom of the husk over the masa.
(I'm sitting on a bucket.)

And there you have your tamalito -
ready to be steamed for about an hour to an hour and a half.
(Cell phone conversation still going!)

I wish I had taken a picture of the big pot of tamalitos over the open fire. Since their BIG pots don't have lids, and to steam something effectively requires a lid, the women tear open plastic bags, (to make them flat). They wet the plastic and then place it over the food, tucking it around the sides of the pot.

I also helped cut up tomatoes - without the use of a utensil. The ladies just started using their fingers to tear the tomatoes apart. So....I joined in. It was a first for me.

Radio Mushroom Project

The board of Radio Cultural y Educativo in Patzun has been thinking of ways to help the radio be more financially stable. Last fall they built two rooms to house a new mushroom project. Then in October, they started their first crop of Oyster mushrooms. They are now growing the second crop. So far, all of the mushrooms have been sold here in Patzun.

One of the two rooms for growing the mushrooms

Bags of growing medium with mushroom seed in the dark room

Mushrooms growing out of the bag - in the light room.
They are almost ready to cut.