The following post features student writing.
During our time here in Bonanza we work on independent projects in addition to our community service project. Independent projects are chosen by each student. The goal is to further your understanding of life in Bonanza, and immerse yourself briefly into the daily work of the people who live here. I worked on my project with Caroline. We decided to shadow a farmer and learn how to milk cows, and then use that milk to make arroz con leche, a traditional Costa Rican dessert.
Caroline and Edie posing with the cows named after them!
Guillermo owns the farm and Alfonso taught us how to milk the cows. We milked three cows. The first was a more mellow cow named Chiqui. The second and third cows did not have names, so they named them after us, Caroline and Edie! Caroline and I learned quickly that milking is NOT easy. There is a specific technique that allows for the milk to come out of the udder. You hold your thumb and pointer finger around the top in order to trap the milk inside, then using your other fingers, you squeeze down. The milk went pretty much everywhere but the bucket. When Alfonso tried, he did it so fast that Caroline and I wondered where that milk was even coming from. Before we left, he picked us mamon chinos, a locally grown fruit, which taste so good. They are a relative of the lychee.
Caroline and Edie learning from Alfonso!
We ended up receiving a whole Coca Cola bottle full of the fresh milk from the cow. Sadly, the fridge died so we couldn’t make our dessert. Maria Elsie was very nice and prepared it before the milk went bad. The dessert is called arroz con leche, and it is like a type of rice pudding. It was prepared with rice, milk, cinnamon, and vanilla. Luckily everyone liked our meal and had fun trying out the milking technique.
Caroline and Edie posing proudly with the arroz con leche!
The second farm adventure we had was last night when Caroline, Sam, Juliana, and I joined Carlos to collect some fruits for another independent project. The fruits were so fresh and ranged from super sour to sweet to bitter (there were even some spicy peppers!). There was guayaba (guava), mimbres, yuca, maracuya (passion fruit), cacao, bananas, mangos, sugar cane, coffee, pineapples, and much more. We fed Carlos’ pig, pet the cows, and got to see the sun setting over the yuca field. The colors of the flora, fruits, and sky made for an excellent night and some beautiful immersion into a fascinating culture. Who knew there were so many fruits?! My favorites were passion fruit and the cacao bean.
Overall, being on such amazing farms where each owner put lots of work into what they grew was awesome. Carlos expressed to us how important it is to the people who live here to leave something for their children to enjoy. It was a beautiful moment. Alfonso milks his cows twice a day EVERY day and Carlos has to tend to all of his animals and vast amounts of plants. Although there are many other independent projects being worked on here in Bonanza, I thank you for taking time to hear about mine!
Pura Vida! Hasta la proxima!
– Edie R.