Experiencing a New Culture

Sunday was our day off from working on our projects, We had a medicinal plant walk scheduled with the medicine man, Armando, and a demonstration from the tribal artist, Victoria, from the Ngobe tribe. Unfortunately, I was not feeling well so I could not go on the medicinal plant walk. However, I was able to make it to the demonstration that Victoria led showing us where they derive fibers for weaving. She brought bromeliad leaves from Panama that were large enough for her to strip, she sat on one end of the leaf and put the other end up on a palm trunk. She said they usually use balsa wood, but the palm wood worked too. To strip off the outer green part of the leaf, she took a stick that she had cut in half length ways. After she strips off one side, she separates the fibers from the rest of the leaf. Then they wash the fibers and hang dry them, they dry white but you can use various plants to dye them a certain color.
Later in the day, we took a trip to town. Having a language barrier was difficult, and I feel disrespectful not knowing Spanish and coming here. I will have to work on learning more Spanish from now on. However, it was still a fun time. We realized that an iced latte is not something they have, instead it is ice cream with coffee. I also experienced a new type of fruit called a granadilla, that is related to a passion fruit. It was slimy inside with seeds, but it tasted sweet and tropical. It was very good! After that we walked around town and met up with the rest of the group for pizza. Being in town was so different than anything in the US, a lot of random guys would say stuff to us in Spanish and we had to just ignore them. Despite that, everyone was very friendly. I met a girl from Costa Rica who had lived in Florida for awhile, she helped me attempt to order an iced latte in Spanish. When we were at the fruit stand, the guy working and another guy and his son helped us with the fruit we had never seen before. I enjoyed the town because it was a new way to experience new foods and new ways that others live.