Traditional Practices and Family Secrets

I spent a decent amount of time with Jorge’s mother today. We began the morning with breakfast and coffee and she showed me her traditional methods of brewing and preparing the “bebidas.” The coffee Jorge’s family uses is sourced both from the town and from the neighbors coffee farm. Jorge’s father likes the coffee from the town better due to its higher acidity whereas his mother prefers the opposite. The process either involves a stovetop espresso maker or a simple kettle of boiling water. What is interesting is the lack of precise measurement. Jorge’s mother explained to me how, over many years, she has learned how she and her family prefer the taste of their coffee and she has refined her brewing methods accordingly. As we would later discuss, the same applies to her cooking and the use of instinctual habits to make fine adjustments to taste as she sees fit. She further elaborated on how her methods of cooking and brewing coffee are unique to her family and each family has its own practices and customs. Sharing these customs really does bring people together. After the morning coffee lesson, I enjoyed my bebida looking at the town of Choachi with “Chaskey” the cat chilling next to me.

I will say, I am struggling with the amount of bugs here. I am not a fan of bugs (as my family knows all too well). Yesterday morning after working with the tobacco leaves, I realized that I had over 20 bites along my legs due to the lack of proper clothing. Definitely going to pay for that one. Jorge has reassured me that I do not have cause to be concerned, yet it still takes some getting used to. As well, living in an Earth hut, there are a fair number of ants and insects in the room and in my bed. I remember waking up a few times in the night feeling a bite on my back and one on my lip. Tonight, I sprayed the bed and corners with bug spray so hopefully that will help. Even though this is not my favorite part of the trip, I keep reminding myself that it is part of the experience on a farm in rural Colombia.

What’s even more funny is that sometimes, the city shuts off Jorge’s water. Around late afternoon, we no longer had water to shower or use the bathroom. Jorge has been working on a remedy for this issue for a while now. He plans to construct a water collection and cleaning device to ensure that he will always have water even if the city wants to screw him over. I sure hope the water comes back tomorrow though.

On a more positive note, I love the diet of vegetables, complex carbs, and high protein that I have been eating. Not only are the meals delicious, they have been healthy. Jorge and his mother do not eat carbs or sugar – pretty much at all. They make rice and arepas and potatoes mostly for me to go along with meat and veggies. It is a very healthy lifestyle that I somehow have managed to mess up when I ask for an extra 2 tablespoons of sugar in my morning coffee. At least the sugar they have here is pure cane sugar. The day starts with a lighter breakfast, then a large meal at lunch, and a lighter meal in the evening. Jorge and his family don’t each fruits very often either. The freshly blended fruit juices provide those nutrients.

Before heading in for the night, Jorge’s mother and I talked for about 45 minutes (all in Spanish) while Jorge played the guitar in the background. We started out talking about the moon as we watched it rise above the mountains on this clear night. Turns out, Jorge’s mother is quite the science buff. We talked about the moon’s cycles and about astrophysics and constellations. Then we discussed the forthcoming Artemis missions and other facts about space. She even brought up the topic of quantum physics and nuclear reactors. She then talked about her fascination with biochemistry and how her understanding of people’s taste pallets allows her to cook such good food. It was a fun conversation that blended both the study of scientific topics and the study of people and patterns. By the time we parted, the moon was high in the sky.