3 Dragons Activities to Stoke Your Inspiration
Posted On
03/31/20
Author
Dragons HQ
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[post_content] => Here are 3 Dragons activities that you can easily do at home focused on goal setting, gratitude, & connection.
We are sharing some of our resources to keep positive! Dragons programs focus on creating meaningful connections to self, place, and the planet. Though our mission generally happens abroad, the work we do can definitely translate to life at home.
We’re all about silver linings, taking things in stride, and trying to learn from whatever life throws at us. Hopefully, these activities offer some inspiration, perspective & laughs during these challenging times.
3 Dragons Activities for YOU!
Gratitude Personal Reflection
Grab a notebook and pen. Take 5-10 minutes to free-write a list of all the things you are grateful for. Do your best to fill at least one page. Once you have completed your list, take some time to consider:
- The why behind each of your bullets
- Are there any people in your life that stand out on your list? Have you shared your gratitude with them?
- Has COVID-19 changed how you feel about anything on your list? Given you any new perspectives? Made your gratitudes specific to this time in history?
- What are 3-5 things that you can do to share & express your gratitude?
10 Minutes of Fame - Connecting more Deeply with Friends & Family
Set up a zoom meeting with friends, or do this activity with your family over dinner. One at a time, select someone in your group to be in the ‘hot spot.’ The person in the hot spot then answers questions from the crowd about their life, beliefs and thoughts on just about anything. Sample questions:- What’s your favorite food? Why?
- What is your best childhood memory and how did it shape your life today?
- If you had unlimited resources to spend 24-hours however you wanted, what would you do?
- Name 3 important people in your life & share more about your connection with them.
- In an alternate universe, what would your life be like?
- What’s the weirdest thing you've ever done? Smelled? Eaten?
- What is something that you are proud of?
- What is something that most people don’t know about you?
- What do you need right now & how can we support you?
- If you could be an animal, what animal would you be and why?
Magic Statement - Goal Setting
Choose a period of time in the future (e.g., January 2021, the end of the summer, through the end of shelter in place, etc.) and think about the things you want to accomplish by that date. Visualize yourself standing in that future moment of time looking back at the weeks, months, or years behind you. From that perspective of your future self, journal about your “past” goals and accomplishments and how you reached them. For example, your journal prompt may be something like, The summer of 2020 was the best summer of my life because... or My junior year was the best year of high school because… Write down the things you have accomplished in the past tense as though you’ve already achieved them. Make sure to include the steps that you needed to take in order to reach your aspirations. It has been shown that looking backward at your imagined successes can help turn them into reality.PS. WANT DRAGONS BLOG UPDATES SENT DIRECTLY TO YOUR INBOX? ONE EMAIL A WEEK. NOTHING MARKETY. UNSUBSCRIBE ANY TIME. SUBSCRIBE TO DRAGONS BLOG AND STAY CONNECTED TO THE COMMUNITY. ❤️
[post_title] => 3 Dragons Activities to Stoke Your Inspiration [post_excerpt] => We are sharing some of our resources to keep positive. Dragons programs focus on creating meaningful connections to self, place, and the planet. Though our mission generally happens abroad, the work we do can definitely translate to life at home. [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => open [ping_status] => open [post_password] => [post_name] => 3-dragons-activities-to-stoke-your-inspiration [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2020-04-02 12:28:49 [post_modified_gmt] => 2020-04-02 18:28:49 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://www.wheretherebedragons.com/news/ [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw [categories] => Array ( [0] => WP_Term Object ( [term_id] => 655 [name] => Continued Education [slug] => continued_education [term_group] => 0 [term_taxonomy_id] => 655 [taxonomy] => category [description] => Continued Education, Webinars, Curriculum, Transference. [parent] => 0 [count] => 12 [filter] => raw [term_order] => 3 [cat_ID] => 655 [category_count] => 12 [category_description] => Continued Education, Webinars, Curriculum, Transference. [cat_name] => Continued Education [category_nicename] => continued_education [category_parent] => 0 [link] => https://www.wheretherebedragons.com/news/category/continued_education/ ) [1] => WP_Term Object ( [term_id] => 638 [name] => From the Field [slug] => from_the_field [term_group] => 0 [term_taxonomy_id] => 638 [taxonomy] => category [description] => Featured Yaks, Reflections, Quotes, Photo Spreads and Videos from the Four Corners. [parent] => 0 [count] => 62 [filter] => raw [term_order] => 4 [cat_ID] => 638 [category_count] => 62 [category_description] => Featured Yaks, Reflections, Quotes, Photo Spreads and Videos from the Four Corners. [cat_name] => From the Field [category_nicename] => from_the_field [category_parent] => 0 [link] => https://www.wheretherebedragons.com/news/category/from_the_field/ ) [2] => WP_Term Object ( [term_id] => 669 [name] => Engage [slug] => engage [term_group] => 0 [term_taxonomy_id] => 669 [taxonomy] => category [description] => Activism, Advocacy, Leadership & Organizing. [parent] => 0 [count] => 22 [filter] => raw [term_order] => 13 [cat_ID] => 669 [category_count] => 22 [category_description] => Activism, Advocacy, Leadership & Organizing. [cat_name] => Engage [category_nicename] => engage [category_parent] => 0 ) [3] => WP_Term Object ( [term_id] => 1 [name] => Uncategorized [slug] => uncategorized [term_group] => 0 [term_taxonomy_id] => 1 [taxonomy] => category [description] => [parent] => 0 [count] => 5 [filter] => raw [term_order] => 16 [cat_ID] => 1 [category_count] => 5 [category_description] => [cat_name] => Uncategorized [category_nicename] => uncategorized [category_parent] => 0 ) ) [category_links] => Continued Education, From the Field ... )WP_Post Object
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The following has been translated by the Instructor Team on behalf of Kat’s host mom, Ibu Suparmi
Let me introduce myself, my name is Suparmi, I am 55 years old. My husband is Agus Hartono, he is 56 years old. I have two children, Adibah (25) and Arwana/Awa (24).
The first time I heard that our family would host an American Dragons student, I felt doubtful and unconfident. I was not sure whether I could host our guest well because everyone in our family has their own responsibilities outside our home. We are a new Dragons host family, and this was our first time hosting a guest from abroad, so we didn’t know what to expect or how we would do.
When I learned that our new family member’s name would be Katherine, I felt nervous and excited. But in retrospect, I shouldn’t have worried because over the last three week we have had a lot of fun and interesting times while hosting Kat (that’s what I called her).
During my first week with Kat, I had difficulty communicating with her. Every time I spoke Indonesian with her, she just moved her eyes and said “I am confused.” However she is a very curious person. She always asked a lot of questions and shared stories. One morning, when she got up from bed, she asked me “Ibu (mom), do you like my hair?” (while she was playing with her curly hair). I told her, “I like your hair”, everyone in the house was laughing. In this first week we learned that Kat is just 17 years old, she is very young, but she is already independent, and she always wants to help around the house.
I remember one morning during that first week when Kat was in the kitchen. She asked me about the many different types of ingredients that we had there, and afterwards she said she wanted to make her own drinks. I watched her as she made her own ginger and lemongrass drinks. I was so proud of her, she was able to take care of herself. No wonder, I think this was because she had a part time job in a coffee stall in America. Wow! The next morning, while Kat was helping us with the dishes, she made her own coffee and tea. I was so impressed 🙂 And once in a while she would happily help me with cooking (as I mostly bought food from outside, hehe).
During the second week, I didn’t want to waste my time with Kat. We met every morning and evening. We talked and talked about politics (both in Indonesia and in America), about Kat’s family, and a lot of other things. Her stories made us become closer. Saturday and Sunday are our family days and I invited Kat to join me at my work where we had organise activities for “National Garbage Day”. On this occasion we had many activities such as river cleaning, a talk show about the environment and garbage waste, a village clean up competition, and even a flash mob! I could see that Kat had enjoyed those days. She was a celebrity! Almost everyone that she met wanted to take a selfie with her.
Kat would always tell me about her cooking ISP (Independent Study Project) too. In the morning she would go to the local market and then in the afternoon she would cook alongside her mentor. One evening, Kat brought us some food that she made at her cooking class and said in Bahasa: “Hari ini saya masak lemet dan pisang goreng (today I cooked traditional snacks wrapped in banana leaves and fried banana).” I told her that in my whole life I had never cooked lemet, and I am Indonesian! Kat said ” I am American, and I do cook lemet”. Everyone laughed. And then we all tasted her food.
During our third week, I noticed that Kat was tired. She was busy with the Dragons group. Every time I asked whether she was tired, she answered: “Sedikit (a little bit)”, and then she would laugh afterwards.
For me, Kat is a special person. She is polite, curious, and a fast learner. At our home, Kat is already part of our family, she is my youngest child. Adibah, Awa and my husband always want to invite Kat to eat outside. Last time we went to a Javanese noodle place, then Japanese food, and we even tried Pizza Hut. We also took her to some bookstore here in Jogja too.
In a few days Kat will leave us and I thought, why does time have to go so fast? I had tears in my eyes… I was just getting closer to Kat, and she already had to leave soon. When there is a meeting, there is always a time to say goodbye. “Sampai jumpa lagi, Kat” (until we meet again).
by Ibu Suparmi (Kat’s host mom), translated by the Instructor Team.
P.S. WANT DRAGONS BLOG UPDATES SENT DIRECTLY TO YOUR INBOX? ONE EMAIL A WEEK. NOTHING MARKETY. UNSUBSCRIBE ANY TIME. SUBSCRIBE TO DRAGONS BLOG AND STAY CONNECTED TO THE COMMUNITY. ❤️
[post_title] => OVERHEARD ON THE YAK BOARD: A LETTER FROM KAT’S HOST MOM
[post_excerpt] => A homestay host in Indonesia reflects on her time with a Dragons student. "In a few days Kat will leave us and I thought, why does time have to go so fast? I had tears in my eyes… I was just getting closer to Kat, and she already had to leave soon. When there is a meeting, there is always a time to say goodbye. 'Sampai jumpa lagi, Kat' (until we meet again)."
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OVERHEARD ON THE YAK BOARD: A LETTER FROM KAT’S HOST MOM
Posted On
03/26/20
Author
Ibu Suparmi (Kat’s host mom), translated by the Instructor Team.
Description
A homestay host in Indonesia reflects on her time with a Dragons student. "In a few days Kat will leave us and I thought, why does time have to go… Read MoreWP_Post Object
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[ID] => 156559
[post_author] => 1530
[post_date] => 2020-03-17 15:27:47
[post_date_gmt] => 2020-03-17 21:27:47
[post_content] => We wanted to share these recipes from the field to spread the love with some comfort food.
Izzy Arrendell shares a recipe for Kopiak from our Mekong Semester. Daniela Harvey and Adam Marcelo, Andes and Amazon students, chose cooking as their Independent Study Project (ISP) and shared weekly recipes on the Yak Board. A few of which are listed below.
Kopiak
As we continue our journey through China, I have been spending time reflecting on our time in Laos. Thinking back to things that made me love Laos so much. There is too much for me to put in one yak post. So instead I will share something small but valuable during the time I spent in Laos. My host mom taught me how to make Kopiak noodles during our homestay. I became addicted to this noodle soup and sometimes ate it twice a day. There are no measurements so just add ingredients to your preference. You can make it vegetarian if you want or add a different kind of meat than beef. Whatever floats your boat. I hope you enjoy this dish as much as I do. - Izzy
Cook time: 15 min or so
Ingredients:
- Water
- Ground Beef
- Rice Noodles
- Cilantro
- Soy Sauce
- Bullion (Cubes or powder)
- Lime
- Fish sauce
- Boil Water
- Add bullion, soy and fish sauce (go light on the sauce you can add more later)
- Chop and add beef (in bite-sized pieces) to boiling water
- When froth forms on the top of water, add noodles and continuously stir so water doesn’t boil over
- Add extra seasonings to preference
- Let cook till meat is cooked through (no pink)
- Add cilantro plate and serve with a lime.
Ceviche and Causa
"Today we started our ISP’s and mine is cooking. Today we made Ceviche and Causa. Adam is writing about Ceviche and I’m writing about Causa. I am vegetarian so I’m writing the vegetarian version. You can put anything in as a filling, what matters is the potato bit. This is for one person." - Daniela
Ingredients:- Filling bit (Shrimp, Chicken, Vegetarian, whatever)
- 3 Potatoes (Yellow, boiled and peeled) for 4 people it’ll be 1 kilo
- 3 Tbsp Aji Amarillo (Yellow chile pepper)
- 1 Lime (to taste)
- 1 12 tsp Salt (to taste)
- 12 tsp Black Pepper (to taste)
- 12 Avocado
- 1 tsp Mayo (to taste)
- 1 Tomato
- Take the potatoes and mash it
- Add salt, pepper, and aji amarillo
- Mix until very yellow
- Add lime and oil
- Peel tomato and cut into 4 slices (like apple slices) and cut out the seeds and guts
- Peel Avocado and cut into thin slices, from top to bottom
- Take your filling and cut it into little squares. Add salt, black pepper, mayo and mix
- Oil the mold
- Layer your potato, tomato (leave some for garnish), avocado (leave some for garnish), and your filling and top with more potato. The layering doesn’t matter, it just needs to start and end with potato. Also if you don’t have a mold you can use a bowl or a cake tin, it doesn’t matter.
Ceviche
"For Ceviche the best types of fish to use are whitefish and the worst type is tuna. Salmon can also work but it has a very strong taste. So here is Trucha Ceviche. I hope you all enjoy. 🙂" - Adam
Ingredients:- 1 piece of Trucha
- 2 Lemons
- 12 tsp Salt
- 14 tsp Pepper
- 1 Chile Pepper (small)
- 14 tsp Garlic
- 14 tsp Ginger
- 5 leaves Cilantro
- Take your piece of fish and cut it into small squares. After place the pieces of fish in a large bowl
- Get your onion, cut it in half, and take out the heart of each one. After cut the onions into small slices
- After cutting onions, put in water while you begin to cut the other vegetables
- Take your chile pepper and cut the tips off. After filet it and cut the two slices into small squares. Add to large bowl and mix well
- Mince cilantro and add to large bowl. Mix well
- Add salt. pepper, and garlic to large bowl. Mix well
- Grate the ginger and add the juice to large bowl. Mix well
- Cut two lemons in half and juice them in large bowl. Mix well
- Finally, add onion that has been soaking in water to large bowl
- Add to plate and enjoy.
- Helpful garnish: Eat your ceviche with plantain chips.
Picarones
"This is my last recipe for this trip it is for Picarones. They are Peruvian doughnuts. So good. Very fried. You can serve them with maple syrup or any sauce like that. It does take two days." - Daniela
Day 1: Ingredients:- 1 kilo of sweet potato
- 1 kilo of pumpkin
- Water
- 2 grams anis
- 1 tsp of yeast
- 1 kilo flour
- 1 egg
- 1 cup of anise tea
- Gut the pumpkin (deseed it get the weird stringy bits out), take the rind off, and cut into big chunks
- Peel and slice the sweet potato
- Put everything into a big pot and add 1 liter of water
- Add anise and leave to boil
- Once all the water is dissolved mash everything
- Slowly add flour and mix with your hand, add the egg and tea water (Very mushy and I would suggest cutting your nails first too) Keep mixing with your hand until it makes a batter
- Dissolve the yeast in 1/2 cup of warm water, pour it into the pot with the batter and mix
- Cover it and let it rise overnight.
- Helpful tip: for every 1 kilo of flour use 1 egg
- The batter from yesterday
- Oil
- Water
- A stick
- Whatever topping you want
- Heat oil to fry.
- Get your fingers wet so the batter doesn’t stick to your hands
- Make a ball of batter into your hands and put a hole in the middle to make a doughnut shape
- Gently place the doughnut into the hot oil and take your stick and poke it in the hole and swirl the doughnut and until the hole becomes round and doesn’t close
- When it starts to become golden, flip
- Take out the doughnut and place it on a paper towel to get extra oil off
- Drizzle whatever sauce you have over the doughnut and eat.
Capchi de Avas
Ingredients:- 5 yellow potatoes
- 100g lima/fava beans
- 1/2 onion
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 1 stem/branch of huacatay or oregano if you can’t find huacatay
- Oil
- 1/2 tbsp crushed garlic
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup water
- 1 large ostra mushroom
- 500ml milk
- 1/4 cup cumin
- grated parm
- To start you need to wash and peel your potatoes and cut them in half
- Chop your onion into little squares
- Heat oil in a pan and add onion and garlic
- Once they’re almost brown add salt and pepper
- Once they are fully browned add the potatoes and water and leave to boil
- When it comes to a boil cover the pot
- Wash your beans and add to the pot
- Cut mushroom into large squares and add to pot
- If your potatoes are taking too long to cook now would be a good time to cut them in smaller pieces to help them cook faster
- Add milk and some salt
- Mince your huacatay and add to pot
- Leave the pot to reduce
- Add cumin and salt if needed
- Sprinkle parm on top and eat.
"This recipe was so good and easy to make although it was a bit time-consuming. Totally worth it though. Today I went back and got the amounts for masamora de quinoa and apple compote that I didn’t have yesterday." - Daniela
For the masamora you need: 2 sticks of cinnamon, 200g of quinoa, 1 star anis, 400 ml water (double the amount of quinoa), 400g condensed milk, 400g normal milk, 3 tbsp sugar, 2 tbsp corn starch For the compote you need: 2 peeled granny smith apples (it can be any type of apple really), 1/2 cup water, 1 stick of cinnamon (plus some ground cinnamon to sprinkle on top, 1 star anis, and 1 cup of sugar.Espagettis a la Huancaina
I once again have a new recipie to share to Adam and my mass following of Peruvian cooking enthusiasts. We can’t let our fans down. I am writing about Espagettis a la Huancaina. It serves 1-2 people. I personally thought the sauce was delicious as it had an aroma of different and unique flavors. The fried mushroom I also added to the dish was spectacular as it was fried to perfection. I hope you enjoy this classic Peruvian pasta. - DanielaIngredients:
- Linguini 1/8 kilo
- Aji (the same hot pepper things we’ve been talking about for the past two weeks) 4
- Onion 1/2
- Oil 1 TBSP
- Salt 1 tsp (plus a little more for the mushroom)
- Cheese (Andean salty cheese, queso fresco would probably work) 20 grams
- Milk 1/4 cup
- Black pepper 1/4 tsp (plus a little more for the mushroom)
- Mushroom
- Cook linguini
- Go to my post where I describe how to make papa a la huancaina and follow those instructions, only the sauce part
- Take your huancaina sauce and put it back into the skillet you used to cook the onion and peppers
- Put your cooked and drained pasta into the pan with the sauce and toss it. You might need to re-heat a bit
- Add salt and pepper to your mushrooms
- Egg and bread your mushrooms and then fry them
- When your pasta is mixed and the desired temperature put it on a plate
- Put your mushrooms on the plate on top of the pasta and enjoy
- Adam did shrimp instead of mushroom but you get the idea.
P.S. WANT DRAGONS BLOG UPDATES SENT DIRECTLY TO YOUR INBOX? ONE EMAIL A WEEK. NOTHING MARKETY. UNSUBSCRIBE ANY TIME. SUBSCRIBE TO DRAGONS BLOG AND STAY CONNECTED TO THE COMMUNITY. ❤️
[post_title] => COMFORT FOOD: RECIPES FROM THE FIELD [post_excerpt] => We wanted to share these recipes from the field to spread the love with some comfort food. Izzy Arrendell shares a recipe for Kopiak from our Mekong Semester. Daniela Harvey and Adam Marcelo, Andes and Amazon students, chose cooking as their Independent Study Project (ISP) and shared weekly recipes on the Yak Board. A few of which are listed below. [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => open [ping_status] => open [post_password] => [post_name] => comfort-food-recipes-from-the-field [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2020-03-17 15:54:52 [post_modified_gmt] => 2020-03-17 21:54:52 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://www.wheretherebedragons.com/news/ [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw [categories] => Array ( [0] => WP_Term Object ( [term_id] => 638 [name] => From the Field [slug] => from_the_field [term_group] => 0 [term_taxonomy_id] => 638 [taxonomy] => category [description] => Featured Yaks, Reflections, Quotes, Photo Spreads and Videos from the Four Corners. [parent] => 0 [count] => 62 [filter] => raw [term_order] => 4 [cat_ID] => 638 [category_count] => 62 [category_description] => Featured Yaks, Reflections, Quotes, Photo Spreads and Videos from the Four Corners. [cat_name] => From the Field [category_nicename] => from_the_field [category_parent] => 0 [link] => https://www.wheretherebedragons.com/news/category/from_the_field/ ) [1] => WP_Term Object ( [term_id] => 646 [name] => Alumni Spotlight [slug] => alumni_spotlight [term_group] => 0 [term_taxonomy_id] => 646 [taxonomy] => category [description] => Featured Student Alumni and their projects/organizations/visions. [parent] => 0 [count] => 42 [filter] => raw [term_order] => 10 [cat_ID] => 646 [category_count] => 42 [category_description] => Featured Student Alumni and their projects/organizations/visions. [cat_name] => Alumni Spotlight [category_nicename] => alumni_spotlight [category_parent] => 0 [link] => https://www.wheretherebedragons.com/news/category/alumni_spotlight/ ) [2] => WP_Term Object ( [term_id] => 654 [name] => Mixed Media [slug] => mixed_media [term_group] => 0 [term_taxonomy_id] => 654 [taxonomy] => category [description] => Featured Photography, Videos, Podcasts, Photo Contest Winners, Films & Art [parent] => 0 [count] => 45 [filter] => raw [term_order] => 12 [cat_ID] => 654 [category_count] => 45 [category_description] => Featured Photography, Videos, Podcasts, Photo Contest Winners, Films & Art [cat_name] => Mixed Media [category_nicename] => mixed_media [category_parent] => 0 ) [3] => WP_Term Object ( [term_id] => 1 [name] => Uncategorized [slug] => uncategorized [term_group] => 0 [term_taxonomy_id] => 1 [taxonomy] => category [description] => [parent] => 0 [count] => 5 [filter] => raw [term_order] => 16 [cat_ID] => 1 [category_count] => 5 [category_description] => [cat_name] => Uncategorized [category_nicename] => uncategorized [category_parent] => 0 ) ) [category_links] => From the Field, Alumni Spotlight ... )COMFORT FOOD: RECIPES FROM THE FIELD
Posted On
03/17/20
Author
Dragons HQ
Description
We wanted to share these recipes from the field to spread the love with some comfort food. Izzy Arrendell shares a recipe for Kopiak from our Mekong Semester. Daniela Harvey… Read MoreWP_Post Object
(
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[post_date] => 2020-03-06 09:47:50
[post_date_gmt] => 2020-03-06 16:47:50
[post_content] => Overheard on the Yak Board (Guatemala Independent Spring Experience)
If you had happened to be walking down 4th avenue in San Miguel Escobar last Saturday around noon, you would have seen me and my Spanish teacher Blanca carrying a massive, scalding frying pan in a Guatemalan swaddling cloth woven for newborn babies. This strange event was only one of many misadventures that day.
As my time in Guatemala began to come to an end, I wanted to cook a thank-you lunch for my host family, my instructor and his family, Biz and Nell, and my Spanish teacher. I settled on an overly-ambitious menu of avogolemono (a Greek chicken soup), a massive Greek bread, two salads, and strawberries with cream. I wanted to share a few of my favorite foods, like the Greek cuisine I eat with my grandmother at Christmas, the strawberries I associate with summers in New Hampshire, and the obligatory kale salad I must like as a Brooklynite.
The adventure began on Thursday, when Biz, Nell, and I went to Antigua to buy ingredients. Our first stop was La Bodegona, a massive grocery store that caters to locals and tourists alike, resulting in an overwhelming maze of food. We found three separate pasta aisles, went on a several-minutes long quest for powdered sugar, and even stumbled into a whole separate building dedicated to clothing, which felt a little like stepping into another dimension. After La Bodegona, with our iPhone translators at the ready, we crossed the street to the municipal market where we spent an equal amount of time finding our way to the vegetable section as we did actually shopping.
On Friday, I spent the whole morning cooking the soup, and prepping the other dishes for lunch the following day. My grandmother helped me start the wood stove for the soup, and then watched in horror as I put my chickens directly into boiling water without washing them. She efficiently helped me rescue the birds and run them under the tap, and although a crisis was averted, she and my host mother asked me if I had washed just about everything else every time I added it to a dish. Whoops!
A few minutes after chicken-gate, I ran into soup crisis number 2. In Greek, the name of the dish means egg-lemon soup, and although fresh eggs abound here, it turns out there’s not a lemon to be found in all of Antigua. As I later learned, lemons require cooler temperatures than limes, and are thus not well suited to tropical, warm countries like Guatemala. Fortunately, my instructor Juancho brought me an alternative citrus fruit he grows at home, and combined with lime, I used that to replace the lemons. Satisfied with my soup, I put it in the fridge, and called it a day.
On Saturday, I woke up very early to start the bread dough. Guessing roughly how much yeast to add in absence of the rapid-rise packets I’m used to, I got the dough rising right about when the rest of the family woke up. The mornings here are quite chilly, and as a result, I was having a hard time getting my bread to rise. I tried putting it various parts of our patio and kitchen, boiled water to heat the bowl, and finally settled on an elaborate system of heating and cooling the dough on our stove, around the boiling coffee, beans, eggs, and tortillas my host grandmother was preparing for breakfast. Eventually, I was satisfied with the dough, and enlisted the help of my host sisters to braid it.
The lunch ended up being a huge success. The food (against all odds) turned out well, but the best part about the meal was spending it with all of the people who have made my two months here magical. I’m so sad that I only have one more week in Guatemala, but the lunch reminded me that the connections I’ve made here will last a lifetime.
Once the bread was set, my host sister and I carried it down the street to my Spanish teacher’s house to bake. The oven in my kitchen doesn’t work, so Blanca generously volunteered hers. When we arrived, however, we discovered that the massive frying pan we were using for the bread didn’t fit into her oven. Fortunately, she had a larger oven in a different part of the house, and her husband kindly dragged it to the kitchen and connected it to the gas. Unfortunately, however, this oven only had two markings to measure temperature, a plus sign and a minus sign. I took a guess and selected plus, and then told Blanca I would return in an hour. I guessed wrong. 20 minutes later, Blanca texted me a photo of some very crispy looking bread, and asked me if this was what I was going for. I sprinted down the street (my host sister led the way on her bike) and found my bread several shades darker than it should have been. Fortunately, with some scraping, we managed to salvage the bread, and the inside was just as tasty as usual. The final challenge, however, was getting the bread back to my house. Blanca volunteered her baby swaddle, and that’s how I found myself on fourth avenue with a piping-hot Greek holiday bread.
Meanwhile, a situation was developing at home. Before picking up my bread, I had put the soup on the stove to heat up. As I was walking home, my host mother called me to say that the soup smelled horrible, and had separated overnight. Disappointed, I was resigned to cooking spaghetti as a last-minute replacement, but my host mother would hear none of it. “We’re going to remake the soup!” she declared confidently, even though we had less than an hour until our guests were going to arrive. I tried to reason with her, but she had already fired up the wood stove and enlisted her mother to help us. “¡Manos a la obra!” she declared, and went into a frenzy of buying replacement chickens, helping me chop ingredients, and heaping wood into the stove to speed up the cooking. One second I would see her at the woodpile, and the next she would be stirring the soup side-by-side with my host grandmother who was picking apart chicken carcasses like it was an Olympic sport. And, about 45 minutes later, just as our guests were walking in the door, we had a fully-completed soup!
The lunch ended up being a huge success. The food (against all odds) turned out well, but the best part about the meal was spending it with all of the people who have made my two months here magical. I’m so sad that I only have one more week in Guatemala, but the lunch reminded me that the connections I’ve made here will last a lifetime.
P.S. WANT DRAGONS BLOG UPDATES SENT DIRECTLY TO YOUR INBOX? ONE EMAIL A WEEK. NOTHING MARKETY. UNSUBSCRIBE ANY TIME. SUBSCRIBE TO DRAGONS BLOG AND STAY CONNECTED TO THE COMMUNITY. ❤️
[post_title] => FEATURED INDEPENDENT SPRING EXPERIENCE REFLECTION: “SUNDAY LUNCH”
[post_excerpt] => Guatemala ISE student, Zoe Davidson, reflects on the time she cooked a meal for her homestay family and everything seemed to go wrong. But in the end, "the best part about the meal was spending it with all of the people who have made my two months here magical. I’m so sad that I only have one more week in Guatemala, but the lunch reminded me that the connections I’ve made here will last a lifetime."
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FEATURED INDEPENDENT SPRING EXPERIENCE REFLECTION: “SUNDAY LUNCH”
Posted On
03/06/20
Author
Zoe Davidson, Student, Guatemala ISE.
Description
Guatemala ISE student, Zoe Davidson, reflects on the time she cooked a meal for her homestay family and everything seemed to go wrong. But in the end, "the best part… Read MoreWP_Post Object
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[post_content] => Dragons is upping our video game.
We are highlighting alumni and instructor voices with new videos on IGTV.
We've been hard at work creating three video series that live on our Instagram. Get travel tips from alumni, your questions answered from instructors, and see awesome videos from the field.
Follow us for more videos, live info-sessions, content from the field, and opportunities to talk directly with the Dragons community! DM or text us your ideas and questions.
Text Us: 720-620-9500
How to find IGTV on Instagram:
[embed]https://www.instagram.com/tv/B7GiubGgo6S/[/embed]
PS. WANT DRAGONS BLOG UPDATES SENT DIRECTLY TO YOUR INBOX? ONE EMAIL A WEEK. NOTHING MARKETY. UNSUBSCRIBE ANY TIME. SUBSCRIBE TO DRAGONS BLOG AND STAY CONNECTED TO THE COMMUNITY. ❤️
[post_title] => Don't Have Time to Research Travel Programs? Learn About Dragons on IGTV! [post_excerpt] => Dragons is upping our video game. We are highlighting alumni and instructor voices with new videos on IGTV! Check out our newest series with instructor Q&A's, alumni stories, and videos from the field. [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => open [ping_status] => open [post_password] => [post_name] => dont-have-time-to-research-travel-programs-learn-about-dragons-on-igtv [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2020-02-20 11:48:45 [post_modified_gmt] => 2020-02-20 18:48:45 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://www.wheretherebedragons.com/news/ [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw [categories] => Array ( [0] => WP_Term Object ( [term_id] => 638 [name] => From the Field [slug] => from_the_field [term_group] => 0 [term_taxonomy_id] => 638 [taxonomy] => category [description] => Featured Yaks, Reflections, Quotes, Photo Spreads and Videos from the Four Corners. [parent] => 0 [count] => 62 [filter] => raw [term_order] => 4 [cat_ID] => 638 [category_count] => 62 [category_description] => Featured Yaks, Reflections, Quotes, Photo Spreads and Videos from the Four Corners. [cat_name] => From the Field [category_nicename] => from_the_field [category_parent] => 0 [link] => https://www.wheretherebedragons.com/news/category/from_the_field/ ) [1] => WP_Term Object ( [term_id] => 640 [name] => Dragons Instructors [slug] => dragons_instructors [term_group] => 0 [term_taxonomy_id] => 640 [taxonomy] => category [description] => Featuring the words, projects, guidance and vision of the community of incredible staff that make Dragons what it is. [parent] => 0 [count] => 29 [filter] => raw [term_order] => 8 [cat_ID] => 640 [category_count] => 29 [category_description] => Featuring the words, projects, guidance and vision of the community of incredible staff that make Dragons what it is. [cat_name] => Dragons Instructors [category_nicename] => dragons_instructors [category_parent] => 0 [link] => https://www.wheretherebedragons.com/news/category/dragons_instructors/ ) [2] => WP_Term Object ( [term_id] => 646 [name] => Alumni Spotlight [slug] => alumni_spotlight [term_group] => 0 [term_taxonomy_id] => 646 [taxonomy] => category [description] => Featured Student Alumni and their projects/organizations/visions. [parent] => 0 [count] => 42 [filter] => raw [term_order] => 10 [cat_ID] => 646 [category_count] => 42 [category_description] => Featured Student Alumni and their projects/organizations/visions. [cat_name] => Alumni Spotlight [category_nicename] => alumni_spotlight [category_parent] => 0 ) ) [category_links] => From the Field, Dragons Instructors ... )
Don’t Have Time to Research Travel Programs? Learn About Dragons on IGTV!
Posted On
02/20/20
Photographer
Dragons HQ
Description
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[post_content] => Alumni, Emma Freund, authored this piece for Colby College's HerCampus blog.
Read on for this reflection on Emma's time in Myanmar.
Take a chance on life, on you, and on the world being bigger and better once you get to know it.
As college students, we’d like to think we understand what life is and what our role is in it. In the words of Steve Jobs, “When you grow up you tend to get told that the world is the way it is and your life is just to live your life inside the world. Try not to bash into the walls too much. Try to have a nice family life, have fun, save a little money. That's a very limited life.” Jobs goes on to describe how “life can be much broader” when you realize that you have the power to change the world. Life can be much broader when you realize how much the world has the power to change you.
This past summer, I went on an educational, immersive, rugged travel experience throughout Myanmar with a company called Where There Be Dragons. Dragons, according to its “Mission & Values” page on its website, is an “environmentally conscientious, culturally self-aware,” travel company that is “focused on developing mutually meaningful connections with local communities” with a goal to “to build empathy and foster a feeling of shared responsibility for our collective future” as citizens of the world.
Some would assume that I came back to 'reality' with a taste of a different world. On the contrary, I came back to a different space within a broader reality that I hadn’t known existed.
My experience with Dragons is one that changed my life in a way I don’t believe can ever be undone. Some would assume that I came back to “reality” with a taste of a different world. On the contrary, I came back to a different space within a broader reality that I hadn’t known existed. I gained the feeling that I know little to nothing about life, that I have so much more of life to explore. I looked fondly at my bug bites, chacos foot tan, notebook flowing with journal entries that perfume of sandalwood, and Myanmar milk tea that I drink when I yearn for that mystical other land. For when the world around me here at Colby makes me feel anxious or bored, these things are evidence to me that all of it was even real. I did fly halfway across the world to a place called Myanmar and felt my heart alive. I did. I took a chance and left my bubble to explore new edges of what seems like a different world but, in reality, exists inside mine without me ever knowing it before.
these things are evidence to me that all of it was even real. I did fly halfway across the world to a place called Myanmar and felt my heart alive. I did. I took a chance and left my bubble to explore new edges of what seems like a different world but, in reality, exists inside mine without me ever knowing it before.
So I say to you, take a chance on bamboo shoots and catfish soup, on taking a picture with a random little boy on the street because he wants to see your digital camera. Take a chance on climbing a 777-step mountain while sneaky monkeys grabbed at your purse, and taking a bucket shower in the middle of the village for all to see. Take a chance on planting rice at 4 am in the mud fields, and on cooking freshly slaughtered chicken over an open fire stove. Take a chance on abandoning toilet-paper and living for days off of only the woods. Take a chance on life, on you, and on the world being bigger and better once you get to know it.
I wouldn’t give back what Dragons gave me for anything in the world. So, I implore you, as a fellow college student who once thought she knew all that life had to offer her, take a chance and explore the world while you can because the world is beautiful. Just when we think we’ve seen it all—we haven’t. So take a train to a city you’ve never been to before, start writing to a pen pal in Bali. Watch documentaries about faraway lands. There’s so much to experience, whether you’re there in person or there in heart. Because once you bash your walls down a little bit, you will realize that life is only as small as you make it. So take the leap, see what else is out there. I can’t say it’ll be easy, but you’ll live.
About Emma:
Emma Freund is a passionate creative writer with special interest in culture, wellness, beauty, and lifestyle. She is an avid movie geek and loves to read romance and sci-fi novels. She pursues philosophy as background for her creative writing and could spend all day reading Plato's Republic if only given enough time. She is a fun gal who loves what she does, and she hopes you enjoy reading her work as much as she enjoys writing it!
PS. WANT DRAGONS BLOG UPDATES SENT DIRECTLY TO YOUR INBOX? ONE EMAIL A WEEK. NOTHING MARKETY. UNSUBSCRIBE ANY TIME. SUBSCRIBE TO DRAGONS BLOG AND STAY CONNECTED TO THE COMMUNITY. ❤️
[post_title] => From The Field: How My Experience in Myanmar with Dragons Expanded My Life
[post_excerpt] => Dragons alumni, Emma Freund, authored this piece for Colby College's HerCampus blog. Read on for this reflection on Emma's time in Myanmar.
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From The Field: How My Experience in Myanmar with Dragons Expanded My Life
Posted On
02/10/20
Author
Emma Freund, Alumni
