Playing with your Food....

Some people ask us questions about what we eat in Venezuela.  We have many of the same things that you all do in the states, except the stuff that comes in cans, boxes, or frozen... wait, what's left? (ha ha)  Most of the fun kinds of things we don't have or I have to try & make from scratch.  I am thankful daily for the internet & the millions of recipes I can find to make a variety of things. 

      The most asked question is... "What kind of meat do you eat?"  That's where it gets a bit nuts.  Our meat most always smells, always comes un-drained, & is gross to cut apart.  That just makes you want a hamburger doesn't it?  The other night, Chris bought a whole chicken because he wanted to put it in a pressure cooker & see what happened.  Sounds like a crazy science experience or something!  He washed it first & realized that the insides were completely intact & so he had the "thrill" of removing them... so nasty!  I was especially grossed out by the neck.  When have you ever bought chicken that still had the esophagus attached for you?  For fun he put it on his hand like a puppet.  I guess that was better than the Friends episode where Joey had a turkey on his head! (ha ha) Imanuel screamed when he entered the room & saw the chicken attached to his Daddy!  Needless to say, we did pressure cook it & used the meat to make chicken fajitas, with seasoning that I made from a recipe of course.  I thought I would give you a glimpse inside of our world at dinner time.  This gives a whole new meaning to "playing with your food!"

Explosions & their Consequences....

Life outside of the USA is a daily adventure.  Not that living in the states doesn't make for an adventure in & of itself... but sometimes when you are outside of your home, you see & experience things in a way that you would have never ever known by staying "at home".  Daily we have moments of "why?", "How?", and "You would think that......" or my new favorite, "Never have I ever!"  It is easy to impose these questions & expressions when something seems strange or simply different than what you are used to.

                                                        Today, I was sitting at home watching my favorite online T.V show (QVC... home shopping for people that can't go to stores) It simply fills my feminine need to shop.  I hardly ever order anything because getting things here can be a mess, but I enjoy seeing the new things & simply knowing that they exist! (ha ha)  The 2 younger kids were playing, Isaiah was at a friends a few doors down, & Chris was cleaning up the remaining mess that was left after our plumbers replaced our hot water heater.  I noticed an explosion but honestly, we hear crazy noises, gunshots, explosions, & fireworks so often that I disregarded it.  A few moments later, Chris went to the car & started yelling to come to the door.  To our surprise, just 2 houses down there was a car engulfed in flames.  Since we live in a gated community for our safety, we were almost completely sure that it wasn't a protest.  We listened to neighbors & were able to find out the reason for these black clouds of smoke as they billowed from the car.  The owner of the car was simply backing out, but the catch was that he has had a gas leak for quite sometime.  Gas leaks here are very common because since gas is SOOOO cheap, no one really sees it as something worth fixing.  As he backed up the car backfired & in seconds was completely engulfed in flames.  Fortunately, the man quickly got out & no one was injured.

                                                                  The fire continued for about 30 minutes until the firemen arrived to put it out.  The manner in which the accident was handled definitely qualified the statement... "Never have I ever!"  But none the less, the flames were silenced & the smoke disappeared.  There are 2 interesting dynamics to this story.  The first, is that it sparked a thought in my mind... How often do we as Christians ignore the small sins in our lives thinking that they won't really effect anyone, just to find ourselves completely engulfed in a mess???  If we would simply fix the problems when they are small (like the gas leak) we could avoid such pain & hardship in the end.

                                                          The second thought is this... How often do we think that the problems only really effect us?  I mean, after all... they are OUR problems!  The part of this story that was the most difficult for us was that our oldest son, Isaiah, was also 2 doors from the fire... but on the other side.  He heard the explosions, saw black clouds rolling over his head, felt the heat from the billowing flames, saw masses of people & could not pass to see if his family was okay.  Isaiah has a fear of protests, riots, robbers, & groups of police.  This might sound strange for a 9 year old boy, but protests & riots are a daily part of life, robbers & violence are on a rise, & police are unfortunately, not always your friend... and to a kid, anyone carrying an AK-47 would be a bit scary, much less groups of them.  These fears in Isaiah are very real & unfortunately, justified.  Because of the negligence of someone simply not fixing a gas leak, a child was completely mortified & most likely will be dealing with this for weeks to come.  The things we do in life do in fact effect others whether they be good or bad!   May we always think about the things we do, not only to help us have a happier & more fulfilling life.... But also because we are a daily example to others.

Monkey-ing around in Pavia

We work a lot in the pueblo of Pavia.  Many of you are becoming quite familiar with this place from my stories, our photos, & The Pavia Project.  We always enjoy our time there & it seems that every time we are there we always see something interesting.  On a recent trip there, we were walking down the street & when we looked up we saw a lady & her pet monkey.  It caught us by surprise that this lady had a baby monkey for a pet.  We asked if we could get a quick photo.  I just couldn't resist sharing this experience with all of you!

Is This Normal?

What everyone wants to wake up to early in the morning is the sound of machines similar to a loud leaf blower blowing noxious fumes all over your neighborhood.  There has recently been an outbreak of dengue in our neighborhood & to combat the mosquitoes, out came the big guns!  We had to wake everyone up very early (NOT a good thing!) Stacey asked us if this sort of thing happens here often?  We just laughed because there is always something crazy happening it seems.  After evacuating the man had left to spray other houses.  We waited about 45 minutes & just as Chris was motioning us all back inside the man came back.  We loaded in the car since several of us have problems with asthma.  He went in & in moments smoke was pouring from our house.  The kids thought it was on fire.  Chris went in & opened windows & turned on fans to get the smoke out.  He is such the hero man!  We left & upon arrival noticed the lovely greasy residue that rested on pretty much EVERYTHING!  So needless to say... we packed up & left again!  After several days our house smelled tolerable again.  I am glad the mosquitoes were scared away, but even more glad that my house doesn't get smoked frequently!

I can't Believe I am Doing This!

I just thought it would be nice to let you all share in the experience of trying new foods.  The following are a few photos of things that my Mom &Stacey have had a chance to "Enjoy".  The first is a Guanabana.  Months back we did a video of us cutting a Chinese Guanabana but this one is the regular kind.  Stacey was NOT quite sure at first what to think but being the good missionary that she is... she tried it!  I love the reaction on her face.  It is quite comical!

Round 2 came shortly after with trying Parchita fruit or what we affectionately call... "Booger Fruit."  This slimy substance grossed her out completely but once again she tried it... but just a little!

  The next thing we let her try was a "Mamón".  These are little fruits about the size of a big gum ball.  You crack them open and chew the fruit part off of the seed.  Whatever is left after the trip inside your mouth, you spit back in the shell & throw it away.  This one wasn't appealing to Stacey at all!  As a result... it went straight to the trash!

Finally, the ladies were treated to lunch at our office.  The meals were picked up from a nearby restaurant.  The following is a picture of my Mom's plate.  These ladies have indeed had an adventure!

Not What I Had Planned!

Just this week I was reading the blogs of 2 dear friends.  One friend in El Salvador wrote of her unexpected experience with lice that attacked her 2 small children & the cleaning mess that soon followed.  Another in Africa wrote of her child getting sick in public & how she quickly grabbed her head scarf, that she must always wear, just in time to catch the mess that came from her child's mouth.  I read these stories & thought, wow... these women rock!  Melissa is such a super mom as she washed the hair of her kids & meticulously combed out all of those pesky little bugs from her kids' hair!  And how awesome is Natalie as she ran to the aid of her sick child, grabbed her scarf, caught the mess, and ran from the store.  I don't think any sport has anything on mothers in action!  Obviously these were unplanned events but they each handled them with grace.  I was relieved that I had no story to of my own to add to the mix.......

Then today happened!  Many of you have read before that we were stalking a mouse that we never caught.  Personally, I think he left out of fear.... my children can be quite scary! (ha)  So far this week we have had 6 unplanned guest stay in our home.  We have enjoyed each visit but there hasn't been a lot of time for washing laundry or heavy cleaning.

      I noticed a few days ago that there were these little black bugs in the kitchen.  When I got home yesterday I noticed LOTS of them in my cabinets.... but how was I going to get rid of them with a house full of people?  I tried to act like they weren't there.  Hopefully, nobody noticed or maybe they were just being kind & saying nothing.  When they left this morning I decided to tackle the inevitable & clean out ever kitchen cabinet!!!  Isaiah helped me with the huge task.  The bugs we had were weevils.  They look like this lovely creature in the photo but of course are quite small.  They come in with dried goods like pasta, popcorn, flour, beans, or any other kind of similar product.  Unfortunately, they were EVERYWHERE!  First we vacuumed the shelves.  Then we used disinfectant cleaning everything including the cans & containers.  I put all of the above mentioned products in my freezer to kill any creatures that remained alive & to keep the rest bug free.  Finally I added cupcake holders with cloves to all of the shelves.  My highly scientific google search assured me that weevils hate cloves!  I love the smell of cloves so this part actually made my cabinets smell good which I considered to be a bonus.
      Now I sit writing, completely exhausted from my cleaning spree but relieved the bugs are gone.  Our house might always be filled with unexpected visitors, but from now on I hope they are always the human kind!

It's a Bat... It's a Moth!

Often times we encounter interesting "critters" as we say in the south.  Insects, rodents, & scaly creatures of all kinds scurry around Venezuela & sometimes, even into our house.  A month ago Chris was in Panama & a giant creature flew in my back door.  I saw a glimpse & was afraid it was a bat.  Knowing that bats are highly dangerous because they carry diseases, I began to panic a bit.  But when it landed, I saw it a huge black moth!   After about an hour of drama in my house, the moth was outside.  Ian & Imanuel screamed hysterically & hid under the bed downstairs.  Isaiah was the hero since Dad was gone & he helped me stalk the moth & release it outside.  This kind of drama always happens when Chris is away!
     Several days ago, I was closing the bathroom window & once again, over my head flew a critter.  This time I had learned from my past experience & realized that it was another moth.  I quickly ran out of the room & shut the door.  For the entire day, the moth ruled in the bathroom & the kids went upstairs to potty.  When Chris returned home he went in to be the hero & being the man that he is, decided to take a few photos before he removed it from its temporary space.  Here is a photo of our "new friend."  Now, every time the bathroom door is closed, Imanuel always ask if their is a moth inside before he enters.... just to be on the safe side!
  

CrAzY hApPeNInGs!!!

Every once in awhile we see things along the way that make us sit back & go..Hmmmmmm?????? Not always to we have our camera around, but this one day we were returning from a church service & we were prepared. What you see is a family of 4 on one small sized motorcycle with diaper bag in tow. Chris & I were astounded at the baby in the mom's arms. It is just another time that we thanked God for his provision in our lives. I am truly thankful that at no point in my time as a mom have I had to ride a motorcycle with all of my family on board. We won't even talk about the lack of helmets! (ha ha) Oh, the things we take for granted!

¡Que Guanabana!

Recently I posted a blog about us receiving a Chinese Guanabana from a man in one of the churches we visited.  Well, tonight was the night to cut it open & check out this massive fruit.  It was such an experience that we vidoed it so that Chris could upload it to youtube & facebook just for fun!  I will simply say that when Chris sliced this thing open... it was like nothing I had ever seen before.  It reminded me of what it would look like to dissect a small animal in biology class (if that could ever happen but way worse than the fetal pigs for those of you that have that memory!)  The texture was slimy & very sticky.  Inside of each hunk of fruit was a large seed.  When we finished cleaning out all the seeds, we had collected 58 of these speckled colored seeds.  If you were to see them lying on the ground alone you might would think they were snake eggs because of their size & color.  Chris said the taste was similar to a banana but much slimier.  Sometime tomorrow you will be able to check out the video clip so keep a check on our youtube page (chrisbngonzalez) or on facebook.  Until then I have included a photo.  One is of the fruit when it was first opened.  The other is of the seeds that we retrieved.

New Experiences

Chris & I recently visited a sector in the city of Chivacoa in the state of Yaracuy called Campo Elías.  The service was in a small concrete church.  The church is pastored by a woman & is small in number but is in a much needed area.  Chris preached & after the service the Pastor & some of the people took us behind the church to show us their trees.  They had a huge tree filled with avacados & even a banana tree both of which were full of fruit.  While we were admiring their trees a man from the church invited us to his house before lunch to show us some of his produce as well.  He lived just a block or 2 away so we loaded up in our car & drove him home.  Behind his house was a garden of many different types of fruits.  There were oranges, cacao (cocoa) , bananas which in Venezuela are called "Cambures" and MANY other things as well.  The most fascinating was a fruit called a "Chinese Guanabana".  These fruits grow to be very large.  The man pulled one to send home with us to try but said we had to wait a few weeks before it would be ripe.  I will post later about that experience once it happens.  It is so interesting how everyday is filled with such new & different experiences!

Booger Fruit

While my mom was here visiting we tried to give her as many new experiences as possible.  One of our favorite was when we introduced her to "Booger Fruit."  The name of the fruit here in Venezuela is actually "Parchita."  When we were in Costa Rica, the fruit was much slimier & sweeter.  But here we have found it to be much tangier.  Most people here use it in juices.  They put it in a blender without blending up the seeds.  Then they use a strainer to separate the liquid from the seeds.  Water is added to dilute it & most people add sugar so that it is sweet enough to drink.  Chris loves this juice!  And for those of you that know me & my "picky preferences" where food is concerned, I will admit that the juice is pretty good.  Because of the sliminess of the fruit mixed with the seeds, many people affectionately refer to this fruit as "Booger Fruit" or "Sweet Snot".  Neither sounds very appetizing though!  It was quite fun to watch my Mom's face as we opened up the fruit.  We let her have a little taste of the slime first & then proceeded to make some juice.  I am quite sure it is an experience she will never forget!