The other day as I walked to the university for a swim peeking into stores, reading signs and learning as much as I can through observation of my new home, I noticed a sign that read, "se necesitan peladora de pollos con experiencia." It's a help wanted sign looking for an experienced chicken plucker. There's a job I'm seriously under-qualified for and I can't say I'm too upset about it.
This shop is close to one of the markets in town, I explored it on my first full day in Cuenca. It's like the farmer's market in Minneapolis but take all of the produce sold there and condense it into a much smaller space, add an open-air meat market, a much greater number of prepared food vendors, clothes, shoes, and just about anything else you could possibly need. My favorite part was on the second level where women sat among piles of herbs and plants for cooking and healing. I could smell mint and parsley on top of dozens of other scents that I can't name. There were vendors that sell unroasted coffee beans (fascinating, but how would I roast them? with my flat iron?) and home made candies that tempted. Vendors would call out to me and ask me what I wanted, insisting that they could offer me whatever I needed.
The lower level had the meat market and it was unlike anything I've experienced. There you see that you are buying animal parts when you're selecting your meat, very much unlike the meat departments in bright and sterile US grocery stores. Oh, and while I'll leave out some of what I saw, I have to say that I did see a pile of skinned guinea pigs with heads, teeth, claws and all. Cuy is what it's called here and people are aware but seem surprised that North Americans keep guinea pigs as pets. I haven't tried it yet but I promise I will before I go!
On the day I saw the sign for the experienced plucker, I also saw wheelbarrows full of plucked chickens. I don't know if they were for purchase or had already been purchased.
Yesterday a friend and I visited the Feria Libre, a giant indoor/outdoor maze of a market that makes the first market I went to look like a convenience store compared with a suburban mega grocery store. My friend bought a big bunch of cilantro for $0.50 and I treated us both to big cups of fresh sweetened coconut juice. It was so delicious! Kids tried to sell us corn on the cob and the quantity of everything was overwhelming. The Feria Libre is near a major intersection and I believe every bus stops there so the exhaust from all the vehicles, especially the smoke ejecting buses was choking.
What I take from all this is that I am sensing a different "relationship" with food in my home and newly adopted cultures. At home we pay so much more for local, organic, free-range food and here I think that's what is the most easily accessible and economical. The eggs Rosita buys have big bright orange yolks and they're delicious. At about $1.50 a dozen they're a bargain by US standards!
I didn't intend on writing all about food. I am hungry and lunch will be served soon so maybe that's it. There's a young man in the house who tells me I'm the first vegetarian he's ever met. He seems to look at my plate with wonder at every meal. I'm quite happy with my big pile of vegetables over his rice and sausages.
I'm going to go down and see if lunch is ready yet. Hasta luego!
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