February 4, 2011
Recipes from a Peace Corps Volunteer
For the second day I just used eggnog to make my macaroni and cheese. Why, you ask? Because there are only a few stores that sell milk in my town. They all close at 5 pm. So, if I haven’t decided what I’m going to make for dinner by then and don’t have all the ingredients in my house I’m SOL. The current list of ingredients in my fridge is as follows:
Brown sugar
One apple
Butter
Hot chocolate
Peanut butter
Water
Mayonnaise
Green curry
Fish sauce
Egg nog/peppermint schnapps and menthe de cocoa left over from Christmas
On the dry side of things I have lots of spices, some oatmeal and macaroni and cheese
So, last night after I came home from a long day of work, followed by a long run, my thoughts turned to what I would eat. I knew I had used the last of my milk earlier in the morning but it’s not like I have a “supermarket” to stop by on my way home. I have “pulperias” and lots of them. What’s a pulperia you ask? It’s a little 7-11 type thing that most everyone has running out of their house. They sell things like Coca-Cola, chips, toilet paper, but only 1 out of 5 sells milk. And almost everyone closes at 5 pm. So, after walking around for 30 minutes last night (which in itself proves I live in a larger town than most PCV), I gave up and headed home. Debating what I could pull together with peanut butter and mayonnaise, I decided to give the eggnog a whirl, seeing as how it’s a “milk” product and all. After mixing it up, it turned out just like the directions called for, and no one was the wiser. And to think I used to pay good money for fine dining.
Mail Call
I love, love, love going to the post office here. Receiving letters and packages from home keeps my spirits super high! So, the other day when I walked into the post office and the supervisor said “Jenifer, Jenifer, Jenifer, everything is for Jenifer” it made me feel really good. I love all my friends and family all over the world and really appreciate the time they take to send me a card, photo, package, or shout out from wherever they are. I like to open the mail with the postal workers and share my life with them. They love to look at the photos from all over the world and hear about your lives.
The months of December and January were really fun at the Choluteca post office. Almost everyday new items were arriving and I would get a text that I had stuff waiting for me. Here is a little example of how mail gets from you to me:
1. You pop a letter/postcard/chocolate bar or People magazine in the mail to me from your local USPS. It gets tossed into a big ol’ truck and taken to the largest USPS station, where it is scanned and thrown onto a big ol’ airplane to Miami, Houston, or San Diego, the three main stations heading south to Central America.
2. After clearing customs and they make sure you’re not sending me anything you’re not supposed to, it makes it onto an airplane to Tegucigalpa and arrives at the airport. Again, it is passed off to customs where they sometimes go through it, sometimes not, and then decide to keep stuff they really like or give it all to me (sometimes stuff just “disappears” you know?!?). This is why I advise you to not write what is really in my package on the outside.
3. After clearing customs in Teguz and maybe sitting out on the runway for a few days, it is loaded onto a truck bound for Choluteca. They make these truck routes twice a week, and always on Friday. So, I usually always go to the post office on a Friday to see if anything fun and amazing has come in and to send out all of my love to you guys as well.
4. On average it takes about 2 weeks for a letter or package to get here. I don’t actually LIVE in Choluteca, I have to take a 45 minute bus there and then walk another 15 minutes to the post office. Some weeks I don’t make it there unless I know something is coming, which is why a bunch of my Christmas cards were there for a while.
Thank you to everyone for all the amazing cards, letters and care packages. They mean so much and keep my spirits high and house decorated!
Recipes from a Peace Corps Volunteer
For the second day I just used eggnog to make my macaroni and cheese. Why, you ask? Because there are only a few stores that sell milk in my town. They all close at 5 pm. So, if I haven’t decided what I’m going to make for dinner by then and don’t have all the ingredients in my house I’m SOL. The current list of ingredients in my fridge is as follows:
Brown sugar
One apple
Butter
Hot chocolate
Peanut butter
Water
Mayonnaise
Green curry
Fish sauce
Egg nog/peppermint schnapps and menthe de cocoa left over from Christmas
On the dry side of things I have lots of spices, some oatmeal and macaroni and cheese
So, last night after I came home from a long day of work, followed by a long run, my thoughts turned to what I would eat. I knew I had used the last of my milk earlier in the morning but it’s not like I have a “supermarket” to stop by on my way home. I have “pulperias” and lots of them. What’s a pulperia you ask? It’s a little 7-11 type thing that most everyone has running out of their house. They sell things like Coca-Cola, chips, toilet paper, but only 1 out of 5 sells milk. And almost everyone closes at 5 pm. So, after walking around for 30 minutes last night (which in itself proves I live in a larger town than most PCV), I gave up and headed home. Debating what I could pull together with peanut butter and mayonnaise, I decided to give the eggnog a whirl, seeing as how it’s a “milk” product and all. After mixing it up, it turned out just like the directions called for, and no one was the wiser. And to think I used to pay good money for fine dining.
Mail Call
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| Fun stocking from Liz, Spencer & Jonah |
1. You pop a letter/postcard/chocolate bar or People magazine in the mail to me from your local USPS. It gets tossed into a big ol’ truck and taken to the largest USPS station, where it is scanned and thrown onto a big ol’ airplane to Miami, Houston, or San Diego, the three main stations heading south to Central America.
2. After clearing customs and they make sure you’re not sending me anything you’re not supposed to, it makes it onto an airplane to Tegucigalpa and arrives at the airport. Again, it is passed off to customs where they sometimes go through it, sometimes not, and then decide to keep stuff they really like or give it all to me (sometimes stuff just “disappears” you know?!?). This is why I advise you to not write what is really in my package on the outside.
3. After clearing customs in Teguz and maybe sitting out on the runway for a few days, it is loaded onto a truck bound for Choluteca. They make these truck routes twice a week, and always on Friday. So, I usually always go to the post office on a Friday to see if anything fun and amazing has come in and to send out all of my love to you guys as well.
4. On average it takes about 2 weeks for a letter or package to get here. I don’t actually LIVE in Choluteca, I have to take a 45 minute bus there and then walk another 15 minutes to the post office. Some weeks I don’t make it there unless I know something is coming, which is why a bunch of my Christmas cards were there for a while.
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| Obviously customs wanted to go through this one...notice all the new tape... |
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| My friend John never gets mail (gasp!) so I let him enjoy opening this package from my friends Linda and Brad |
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| My friend Dennis' card was slightly 'ripped' so the Honduras postal system put it in a special plastic bag |
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