Dia de la Calabaza

?Calabaza? ? it is a word used in Mexico to describe any kind of pumpkin or gourd and even zucchini. Here in Montreal when you say ?citrouille? you narrow it down to pumpkins and gourds. In English a pumpkin is a pumpkin and there are only a few types that fit into the pumpkin category.

A pumpkin for me is a symbol of harvest, autumn and of course Halloween.I wanted to show Denya, my daughter, a little about Halloween traditions. I decided it would be fun to carve pumpkins into Jack-O-Lanterns like I did as a little girl. My Mexican friends were interested in this little tradition. Some of them remembered carving pumpkins as children, but the tradition hasn?t flourished because in Mexico the ?Dia de los Muertos? or the Day of the Dead is celebrated the 1^st and 2^nd of November. I asked my friends what they do with pumpkins in Mexico if they don?t carve them. All of them licked their lips in unison and replied, ?Dulce de Calabaza?. Based on their reaction, I wanted to learn more so we decided to have ?Pumpkin Day? or ?Dia de Calabazas?, a cultural exchange where we could teach and learn about pumpkin traditions.

The ingredients were easy to come by. All we needed were pumpkins, knives, cinnamon, and piloncillo (sugar from sugar cane). For the first part of the event we were mostly women and we prepared the sweet pumpkin from Mexico. The recipe was super easy and with a little guidance I did most of it myself. All my quantities are estimated. Take a look:

2 pumpkins (approx. 1.5 kg., usually these are the small green pumpkins)

Piloncillo (500-750 g., sugar from sugar cane)

Cinnamon to taste

Water

Slice the pumpkins into big chunks leaving the skin on. Keep the seeds in a separate bowl. Dilute the piloncillo in a large pot of water over medium heat. Once the piloncillo is diluted add the pumpkin and cinnamon. Let boil until pumpkin is tender but not overcooked, approximately 15-30 minutes. Enjoy! Serves lots!

It?s a sweet soup with pumpkin chunks inside and it?s delicious! It is loved by little children.

While we were making our pumpkin brew we were talking about the Day of the Dead in Mexico. It is a celebration to remember loved ones who have passed on. The tradition includes altars stacked with the dead person?s favorite foods, drinks or small items that were important during his or her life. Candles adorn the altar and sometimes photos help family members remember their loved ones.

I recall that some years ago, while traveling through the Chiapas State in Mexico I celebrated the Day of the Dead in San Juan Chamula. San Juan Chamula is a small village outside of San Cristobal. The people have maintained a very traditional way of life but the influences of the outside world were all too obvious. The tiny town is famous for their ceremonies and the fact that they do not allow anyone to take photos of them or of their town. The ceremonies are famous because they are a curious mix of old and new. The shaman are herbalists and spiritualists and their methods for diagnosing ailments and healing are unknown to me. Ceremonies often have two important ingredients: a chicken (usually killed) and Coca-cola. The Coca-cola is used in different ways during the ceremony, sometimes it is drank, sometimes it is used for cleansing, but it is necessary to have the sacred drink present when performing any type of ritual. Apparently, when Coke first appeared in San Juan Chamula it was marketed as being sacred because otherwise foreign food and drink were not accepted by locals.

The Catholic Church has no seats or benches. It is a huge open space where rituals can be performed at will. Although I didn?t have the opportunity to see a ritual performed in the church we did see the celebrations in the graveyard. Families gathered around the tombstones of their dead and picnicked together. It is customary that the family eat the favorite foods of their dead. The cemetery was the place of a beautiful gathering and it was decorated with cut paper of all colors strung between the light posts and trees. In addition, all the women wore their traditional huipil, an embroidered dress made with many bright colors. It was a beautiful event made even more special because it could only be captured and remembered in my mind?s eye.

My Montreal Mexican friends mostly come from big cities and their tradition involves an altar and offerings. The Day of the Dead tradition is a beautiful way to remember loved ones no longer with us.

While describing the tradition of Halloween to my friends it felt funny knowing that the holiday has evolved so much from its original meaning that today it?s really about candies and getting your pants scared off? oh, and of course pumpkins.

I was impressed with the originality that my friends all showed in their carvings. All of the pumpkins ended up being faces. Some of them were very hard to carve because they were a little unripe so their artists had to work diligently to create their vegetable masterpieces. It was fun to see everyone relaxing and having fun using their imaginations. One pumpkin even ended up with three dimensional ears!

Have a Happy Halloween.

Wanderings: Geographical and Mental

Stripped of your ordinary surroundings, your friends, your daily routines, your refrigerator full of food, your closet full of clothes - with all this taken away, you are forced into direct experience. Such direct experience inevitably makes you aware of who it is that is having the experience. That's not always comfortable, but it is always invigorating.

-Michael Crichton

A three-week semester break was approaching, and choices were to be made. At first I leaned towards a soul-cleansing jaunt through the Himalayas. But Nepal is becoming safe again, and October is the optimum trekking season. Since many travelers fly to Kathmandu via Bangkok, hens teeth proved easier to find than a ticket.

Of course, one of the advantages to living in Thailand is that it is extremely easy to plan a Thai vacation. Now the scope of my choices altered, and the decision was between north and south.

In the north of Thailand lie the mountains and the hill tribe villages. In the south, tropical islands and coral reefs. Still undecided the day before my departure, I heard that there was flooding in the north. A mental coin flipped, and it landed on south.

I have had the opportunity to visit a fair number of Thai islands, but I was ready for new territory. Based on minimal research and maximum whimsey, I opted for Koh Tao (Turtle Island). Initially uninhabited, from 1933 until 1947 this island functioned as a political prison; sort of a tropical Alcatraz. In the 80's, word of Koh Tao infiltrated the backpacker network and the tourism boom was on. Lured by its natural beauty, visitors began frequenting the island and an infrastructure arose to accomodate their needs. Unlike cornfields in Iowa, the cause and effect chain in Thailand is 'if you come, they will build it.'

For the last decade, Koh Tao has enjoyed a reputation as one of Thailand's premier diving locations. In fact, travel books warn of difficulties in trying to find lodging without being willing to sign up for diving packages. For better or for worse, that caution is already outdated, as significant building has supplied an abundance of accomodations.

First though, before reaching the island itself, I caught a ride into Bangkok and checked into one of the backpacker hotels on Khao San Road. In this cornucopia of souveniers, food and tourist services, it was a simple matter to arrange my transportation to Koh Tao. My bus would leave the following evening at 8 pm and arrive in Chumpon at six in the morning. From there a boat would ferry me through the remaining three hours of my journey. Total price: less than $20.

2007-10-greg tagged map by user - Tagzania

The bus ride was typical; comfortable seats, but not quite comfortable enough. Air conditioning. A middle-of-the-night stop for food and fuel.... I watched Brad Pitt do battle in Troy, and afterwards dozed intermittently until morning and my ferry transfer.

When I first disembarked onto Koh Tao, I was met by a number of touts hawking transportation and places to stay. I had looked at an island map on the ride over, and now bartered transport to Sai Nuan, one of the smaller beaches. After asking 500 bhat, the longboat taxi pilot settled for 200. I was reasonably sure that it was still an exaggerated price but, after an all-night bus ride, striking the ultimate bargain wasn't my highest priority. We coasted onto the beach at Sai Nuan, and I booked into a bungalow at the beach's one resort.

For under ten dollars, I had a bungalow in the jungle; rustic but functional. There was a restaurant, the beach itself, and town was a thirty-minute jungle walk away. I spent two restful days there, enjoying the locale and the people. The resort was managed by a Burmese woman, with a very cute and precocious two-year-old daughter.

After two days though, it was time to relocate. As one who rarely books a hotel in advance, the following is a time-tested method for me: Land somewhere, find a place to stay, scout around a bit, find a better place.
The better place I found was Jansom Bungalows. For slightly over ten dollars I had a beachside bungalow, complete with veranda, hammock, and the obligatory palm trees. For the next ten days, this was my tropical retreat and sanctuary. It was both isolated, and a ten-minute walk into town. There were two other bungalows in this picturesque cove; one occupied by an Irishman and the other by an Australian couple on their honeymoon. Good people, all.

Now Thai islands, at least the ones that travelers visit, typically offer a wide array of services and stimulation, and Koh Tao is no exception. Hotels, restaurants and assorted tourist options cater to a wide spectrum of budgets and inclinations. My own time on the island can be divided, somewhat arbitrarily, into three components; aimless wandering, activities, and kickin' back at the bungalow.

The first speaks for itself; wandering without intent through town, jungle and shoreline, interspersed with refreshment stops, bookstore browsing and internet cafes.

As for the second, activities, here is a partial accounting. I spent one beautiful day circling the island in a boat, with four one-hour stops for snorkeling among sharks, fish and coral reefs. Another day found me on a motorcycle, exploring the island's roads and semi-roads. I attended a Muay Thai fight (the national sport, also known as Thai boxing). Did some snorkeling on my own. Indulged myself at a spa with a Burmese herbal sauna, an aloe vera body wrap, and a one-hour foot massage. I also had a truly exceptional meal, which deserves a paragraph or two of it's own.
Strolling through the hub of the island's nightlife, I was accompanied one evening by Brian and Imogen (the Aussies) and Alan (the Irishman). We veered off into an establishment that offered a sheesha, the turkish water pipe filled with flavored tobacco. The ambience was surprisingly sophisticated; a hookah lounge, BBQ garden, classy main dining room and bar. Their menu offered premium absinthe, creative cocktails and an incredible selection of tapas. As I sipped my wasabi-sake-vodka cocktail, I noticed their 'Connoisseur's Formule,' an inclusive set menu which had to be ordered two days in advance. Brian and Imogen were departing the next day, alas, but Alan and I reserved a meal. I will list our dinner courses, and simply say that it was an incredible dining experience, flavored even more by the incongruity of its location.

1. Japanese plum martini


2. Tuna & scallop tar-tare with dijon sesame glaze and baked in-the-shell escargot in garlic-herb butter accompanied by a glass of Blanc de Blancs


3. Green asparagus soup flavored with white truffle accompanied by a dark aged rum & vanilla cocktail


4. Seared goose foie gras with a raisin, apple & onion chutney accompanied by a glass of pinot noir.


5. Beef carpaccio with quail egg yolk, onion, sour cream and caviar, accompanied by a shot of chili-lemongrass schanpps.


6. Chocolate truffle tart topped with forest berries puree accompanied by a calvados & fresh apple-pear frappe.


7. Lavazza espresso

The memory of this meal is still as clear as Pavlov's bell....

The third component of my island life, kickin' back at the bungalow, should not be under-rated. I could read on the veranda, take in the beautiful ocean vista at will, doze in the hammock.... It was here at my bungalow where I found my thoughts most inspired or most still, both of which are highly desired states.

Travel is often described as a potential tool for personal expansion and self-discovery. But sometimes it isn't the place we go to that creates our life-changing experience, but rather the routines and habits which we leave behind.

As days passed on the island, some core truths came back into my consciousness. It's as if awareness were returning birdlike, after being startled away by my busy life. Negative thinking gave way to clearer insight, and tunnel vision to a wider and more holistic perception.

Numerous models, both current and ancient, use 'removal-from-routine' as a catalyst for personal growth. This is by no means limited to a geographical removal. For example, look at the altered states brought on by distance running, hallucinogens, meditation, holotropic breathing, etc. They pull us from the psychological world we habituate, and lead us into a deeper and vaster sense of ourselves and the universe.

For me though, one of my prefered techniques is this geographic departure from location and habits. If I am not overly quick to fill the void with new routines, I am almost always refreshed and revitalized by the experience.

There are people who prefer to get away inwardly, some with the help of a powerful imagination and an ability to abstract themselves from their surroundings (for this a special endowment is needed, bordering on genius and insanity), some with the help of opium or alcohol. I prefer shifting my whole body to shifting my brain, and going round the world to letting my head go round. -Alexander Herzen (1812 - 1870)
Ah, well, Sissy, you see, a lot of noisy rain has fallen on our people in the past few years. Riots and rebellions, needless wars and threats of wars, drugs that opened minds to the infinite and drugs that shoved minds into the mushpot forever, awesome advances in technology and confusing declines in established values, political corruption, police corruption and corporate corruption, demonstrations and counter-demonstrations, recessions and inflations, crime in the streets and crime in the suites, oil spills and rock festivals, elections and assasinations, this, that and the other. Well, you and I, we separated ourselves from all those happenings, they haven't touched us. You passed right through them; I let them pass right through me. You practiced the art of perpetual motion; I practice the art of stillness. The result has been much the same. We've maintained a kind of strange purity, you and I; you too mobile for current events to infect you; me too imobile, too remote.

-Tom Robbins, "Even Cowgirls Get The Blues"

And now, for something completely different...

Howdy ya'll from the hottest place in the country today, at least according to USA Today - Arizona. Okay, so we knew it was a desert, but it's October, right? Doesn't that count for something? Apparently, not here. Things have started to cool down, though - if you consider 97 degrees cool. But, hey, they say it's a dry heat, for whatever that's worth (and really, what is that worth?).

Here we are at a dude ranch in Arizona, something completely different from all of our previous experiences. This job is our 14th together in our 10th state in 4 1/2 years. There's cowboys, horses, mooing cows and bulls, and more cactus than either of us has ever seen (who knew there were so many different kinds?!). We've been here just over a week and have been going non-stop. In between learning our new jobs, we've seen a thunderstorm, lots of little lizards, a jackrabbit, a huge bullfrog, quails (which, ironically, are often served for our employee dinners), and little birds with yellow bellies. We've met a girl who just came from a summer at one of our previous employers and have spent a lot of time talking about who we know in common (bwahaha!). We've hiked a little on the Vulture Peak Trail, though we haven't yet made it to the top of Vulture Peak (did we mention it's 97 degrees?!). We've seen the old Jail tree, to which they used to chain outlaws (did we mention it's the Old West?!). We made a wish in the Wishing Well, and we checked out a fine collection of western wear (please help me convince Begee not to buy a big belt buckle!).

At the end of September, when we left Catalina Island, we spent some time in LA with Begee's uncle and cousins, including Knott's Berry Farm (we highly recommend the Accelerator and the Perilous Plunge!), the LA County Fair (even thought we missed the deep-fried Coca Cola), and we ate more food at the buffets with them than we ate all summer on the island. We then took the train to New Mexico, and Begee's parents' picked us up there. We then spent some time in Colorado, including going to the top of Pike's Peak and spying a marmot.

When we were in Colorado, Begee's sister said that all of our blogs contain a reference to McDonald's (do they really?), so for her benefit, here it is this time: We are so excited to live in a town with McDonald's, we've already been through the drive through twice. Score for the almighty Big Mac!

On our road trip here, we stayed a night in Albuquerque and reminisced about 2 Octobers ago when we worked at the Balloon Fiesta (my, how time flies!). We also stopped at the Petrified Forest National Park, and Erin remembered her first trip there as a 9 year-old and how fascinated she was by it then.

Everything here at the ranch is still really new, and it's impossible to tell how this winter will play out. First impressions only go so far. As far as they do go, though, there's nothing like the stars in the Arizona sky or the colors the sun produces here when it's setting. Gorgeous! We've been thinking a lot about settling down after our time here and getting out of the seasonal work game (sorry, CoolWorks!), but it's moments like walking through a grove of saguaro cacti hand in hand and chasing a lizard that makes this life we lead feel so special (hooray CoolWorks!).

We just want to take this opportunity (since we now know a little bit more about all our awesome readers) to thank all of our friends and family for supporting us. You've put up with us living in 5 different time zones in a year, stacked our boxes up in the corner of the house, gotten our car ready for yet another road trip, and sent us candy-filled care packages when we needed them most. We really are so very happy and lucky to be living our lives together, and we are so very grateful to those of you out there who have helped us make our dreams come true (even if those dreams include belt buckles, McDonald's, a car with no air conditioning the hottest place in the country!).