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Our day started out seeing a bowl of large catsos beetles on the kitchen counter. Rosa had gotten up at 5:30 a.m. to collect them. They were MUCH bigger than the ones we had eaten the other day. They seemed macabre and perfect for Halloween. Rosa dewinged them and their abdomens were pulsing in the bowl. Thank goodness we wouldn't need to eat them raw! After a delicious breakfast of crepes filled wih homemade raspberry jam, we helped Rosa with household chores (dishes, sweeping up the kitchen, and doing laundry). Craig fixed the kids' foosball game, which had a broken rod. The kids were so happy, but playing led to arguments and rough play caused it to break again. The baby chick who had seemed so sick on Thursday now seems just as healthy as all the others, if a little smaller. Sisa and Yupanqui helped Rosa to prepare lunch by peeling potatoes with knives. We had the beetles as an appetizer. Sisa and Rosa fried them up in a pan on the stove. They were more intimidating than the previous batch due to their size, but they tasted fine once you got past the mental aspect. I put one into my soup and joked to the kids that he was swimming. During lunch, it started to rain and thunder. How perfect for Halloween! So much for our laundry drying on the line, though. Then the power went out for around 2 hours. We tidied up and swept out the casita. Dust gets on everything, so sweeping regularly is essential. Antonio went up the community center for a meeting about the upcoming sewer system in Morochos. Pipes would be laid soon for the sewer system, and for a pretty reasonable rate, residents could hook up to it. The whole thing was supposed to be complete in three months. It stopped raining. The power came back on just as Rosa and the kids and I started baking some bread in preparation for Dia de los Muertos celebrations. Rosa put a big bowl of dough on the kitchen counter. The kids stood on small plastic buckets to be able to reach. Rosa and I cut segments of dough off with a knife and distributed them to the kids. The kids then rolled them into a ball, flattened them a bit, and put them onto a buttered cookie sheet. Sisa then helped Rosa to put them into the oven. Sisa and Yupanqui put dough on their upper lips as mustaches. Maybe they were dressing as Achi Taita for Halloween? We sampled some of the bread when it was done and it was so hot and delicious! It reminded me of the brick-oven fresh rolls from Bertucci's. We gave the kids some small Halloween presents - light up jack-o-lantern bracelets and Halloween pencils. They were very excited, and quickly figured out how to turn the bracelets on and off, set whether they blink or not, etc. We went outside to capture some more beetles (the smaller kind). Rosa and the kids walked up and down the cornfield to the side of their house. Rosa used a flashlight to attract the beetles and the kids used their illuminated bracelets. It was difficult to walk in the dirt in the dark, so Craig stayed close to the casita. There were plenty of catsos attracted to the outside light. Chipi the cat tag-teamed with Craig. Sometimes Craig would knock a flying beetle onto the ground, and she would promptly eat it. There were certainly enough to go around. When we had filled up a container with catsos, Rosa fried the beetles up to serve with dinner. We had soup, plantains, salad, rice, peas, and juice. Antonio played some English language videos for the kids, and the kids repeated the English words as they watched. It was a great Halloween, and we are really looking forward to Dia de Los Muertos festivities! What a nice cultural exchange. |
 Giant catsos are on the Halloween menu  Yupanqui and Sisa wear mustaches made of dough to resemble Achi Taita  Sisa prepares to put the bread in the oven  Yupanqui 
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