The Vulnerable Baker

Good news! I made cookies!

Remember how I was afraid of the oven? I learned how to light it and now I'm a pro. Well, probably not. But I have a working knowledge of our oven.

I have been thinking about making these cookies for a while now. But it has taken me some time to translate the ingredients, find them in the crowded supermarkets, and eventually put them all together and build up the courage to light the oven. Additionally, if I were in the states, I would use my hand mixer to at least cream the butter and sugar, if not mix the whole recipe together. I would preheat my oven using automatic temperature settings, and it would tell me when the oven was ready. Without these gadgets, I was feeling a little vulnerable. On top of that, measurements here are different. Obviously, they use the metric system. So when I converted the measurements for one stick of butter, I found out that a metric cup is different from an imperial cup. I figured the difference was small (and it is) but with baking, precision is important.

I made them anyway. Without a thermometer on our oven, I had to just wing it. I checked the cookies every few minutes and trusted my sense of smell to tell me if they were burning. I never expected a batch of cookies to be a lesson in presence. But I was so present with those cookies. None of them burned.

I've gained a lot of confidence from helping out with the cooking class for the kids at Compartiendo Un Sueño. We have made bread, cakes, cookie bars, and more! It has helped me feel more relaxed in the kitchen because I have a better idea of how Argentines cook: what ingredients they use, measuring spoons, mixers, techniques, etc. So that has been really helpful and really fun.

Cookies in the oven.

I've been acquiring the ingredients for some lemon cookies this week. So I'll try again soon.

Nuevacita

Today at the verduleria, the cashier asked me if I had any smaller bills. I had no idea what he was asking because the whole concept is kind of vague to me in English, so I definitely was not understanding his castellano. He made a joke about British pounds and then asked me where I'm from. I told him and he said, "Nuevacita?" Are you pretty new?

Yeah. It's been a month since I left home, three weeks since I left the States, and a little over two weeks since I left my traveling community. I still feel pretty nuevacita. But I would like to highlight a few little moments in the last couple weeks that have made me feel a little more at home.

I've done laundry twice. Almost half of my clothes smell different now! We have a washing machine so it's pretty easy. Once the clothes are washed, you have to put them in a little spinner thing that basically does a really intense spin cycle and gets most of the water out. Then it's straight to the clothesline! Thankfully we have had more sunny days than rainy days.

I have figured out my bus route to work! It is about 40 minutes once I get on the correct bus. But it is only one bus the whole way, so that's nice. Eventually I will probably read a book on the bus, but for now I'm okay with memorizing what is outside the windows.

I've been mistaken for an Argentine a few times already. Always before I speak and usually when I'm wearing my hip new glasses. The other day when I was walking home from the grocery store, a woman stopped me to ask for directions. As soon as I opened my mouth and said I did not know where the bus terminal was, she said, "Sos una turista!" and laughed a lot. I did not explain to her that I am a little more than a tourist and that's why I had this loaf of bread and backpack full of groceries. It was just nice to blend in.

A few of the older people from my church gave me a ride home from church last night. It was a little rainy and dark, so they told me to ride with them. It seems kind of insignificant, but it meant a lot to me. It's nice to be taken care of and I think I just missed riding in a car.

I'm getting the hang of using a gas stove. It was scary at first to light the burner, but I'm kind of a pro now. I haven't lit the oven yet. That one really scares me. But I bought ingredients for chocolate chip cookies, so I'm going to have to get over that fear soon. I'm learning about cooking with mostly all raw ingredients. It seemed daunting at first, but I've had small victories. I bought a butternut squash last week and made squash pancakes all week. They were delicious and I felt like a chef.

Obviously I've had less graceful moments, like eating all the chocolate I bought for the week in one night, and tripping over the cobblestone sidewalk literally every time I leave the house. But right now I feel like I'm going to be okay. Every day I learn a little bit more. Eventually I might even feel pretty comfortable.

Tadpoles

by Andrea Gibson

A tadpole doesn't know

it's gonna grow bigger.

It just swims,

and figures limbs

are for frogs.

People don't know

the power they hold.

They just sing hymns,

and figure saving

is for god.

¡Acompáñame!

I spent some time with, Juli, one of my housemates today. We walked through a shopping area and then she showed me Plaza Moreno, which is the center of the city. There is a giant cathedral there and it is unbelievably detailed. So beautiful.

When we got back we were tired from all of the walking. She suggested that we drink some mate because that is just what you do here, so we sat down at the dining room table with our computers and started sipping away.

Juli offered me some of the little cookies she bought at the corner on our way home. I ate one because I want to try everything, but then I stopped because I didn't want to eat them all. Juli noticed and said, "Amanda, ¡acompáñame! ¡Coma!" So I did. I accompanied her while we ate cookies and drank mate.

This is what accompaniment looked like for me today. Juli accompanied me in figuring out where the heck I am in this little city and I accompanied her in eating cookies.

Bienvenida

I arrived in La Plata on Saturday! I am very excited to be here and to unpack my bags, literally and figuratively. My housemates had a party for my arrival, complete with pizza and music. I ducked out early to sleep, but they sounded like they had a pretty good time.

Sunday evening I went to my first culto, or worship service, at my church placement. They are small in numbers but great in welcoming hugs and smiles. They have received volunteers before, so they all kind of understand what I'm going through right now. Maybe even better than I do.

I've been kind of struggling with what it actually means for me to be here at all. The fact that I have a blue passport is kind of a big deal, in that it gives me the freedom to travel pretty much anywhere I want to go. Sometimes I feel like being here is just showing off these things that I have, simply by being born in a certain place, that people in most parts of the world do not.

And then I remember that I didn't just decide one day that I wanted to leave my friends and family for a year and move across the world. I was called here. And I believe that the God who called me here will make something good out of it. I have to.

Sometimes that still feels selfish and silly, and I think those times are when a welcome banner or a reminder from my housemates to eat dinner mean the most. Being welcomed by a community in some ways makes God a little more tangible.

Welcome Amanda