Peru Day 14: Hookah bars and becoming the kitchen help

Wednesday was a little stressful in the kitchen at the clinic, as the cook's 2 helpers weren't there. So a few of us stepped away from the kids a little early and jumped in to help en la cocina. Now you know I loved this. Cooking on a massive scale is not something I'm used to, so this was a totally new experience for me. We peeled, chopped, stirred and poured. The fruits and vegetables are all local (possibly some are grown on the premises?) and every last unrotten bit is used.



When most of the food was ready, we lined up the trays assembly-style and got everything out the door only a little later than normal. Excellente!



Now I bet you can guess where I spent the majority of my last 2 days at the clinic...

On Thursday, I asked the cook to tell me what items she needed most for the kitchen. She showed me the run-down blender and the one rusty vegetable peeler, plus a dozen other items that were either in need of a brother or sister or just simply needed to be trashed. I made a plan with a student teacher here in Peru to go to Molino on Friday and get these things.

Lunch on Thursday was awesome. Cream of mushroom soup and a pasta dish with beef and fried bananas. Yes, it sounds a little odd, but it's a damn good combination. I finished the plate (much to Laura's surprise).





Thursday night I met up with some friends from the clinic and we went to a bar/restaurant called Indigo. They serve Thai food and curries (I really don't recommend them -- stick to the papas fritas) and other bar food. This was my second time here and I really like it. The music is enjoyable -- oldies, newies, etc.-- and all singable. Happy hour specials appeal to the rest of the group and I hoard the Hookah. Various games stack the back wall and Scrabble is the popular one. Normally I kick ass at this game, but unfortunately when I play with people from other countries, they throw out words in Spanish, German, Italian, etc. It's the United Nations of Scrabble and you need translation books instead of a dictionary. I didn't win. Crap.