Weaving with straws

When I went to Peru a few years ago, I went as part of a volunteer group to promote awareness about the weaving culture. My volunteer group consisted of 15 undergraduate students and 1 professor. While we all spoke Spanish in the group, only our professor had any previous knowledge about weaving. We worked with the Cusco Center of Textiles and met a lot of incredible people. I had such an amazing time learning how to weave and communicating and connecting with my weaving mentor. We learned all about the weaving process; from shearing the animals to washing the wool (this process sent me to the emergency eye doctor after some detergent scratched my cornea - I had to wear an eye patch for 3 days!). We also learned how to dye the wool using natural products like leaves, berries, and sticks. Finally, we learned how to spin the wool to make it nice and fine for weaving. Then came actually learning how to weave, which was very difficult, but a lot of fun. In the end, my peers and I made bracelets, belts, hats, and purses. We felt very accomplished. I can't imagine that being my lifestyle though and spending every day of my life weaving to survive. The weavers were very proud of their work and you could see it in their lit-up eyes as they spoke about it. My peers and I were very impressed with their creations of ponchos, blankets, place mats, and table-runners, just to name a few.

I've been trying to figure out a way to share this experience with my classes. There wasn't room in the curriculum this year to add in a full unit and I wasn't sure what I'd even do. So, instead I just shared this experience with my Spanish crafts after-school club. I showed them my weavings and balls of yarn and then we did our own weaving project that I found in a Spanish crafts book. The weaving project went... okay. I didn't test it out ahead of time (fatal mistake, I should have known better - my mom would be disappointed especially since I helped her test out so many experiments and activities ahead of time for her class) so I was trying to figure it out as we went along. That meant that I didn't have the answers for my students so they became frustrated which made me more frustrated which was just a vicious circle. After thinking about it more last night and this morning, I have come up with ways to improve this project for next time. It still needs improvement because this new process isn't perfect either. However, every day is a learning experience, right? Here's the process, with updated directions.

Materials: Yarn, ruler (or measuring tape), straws, scissors

Step 1: Cut 2 equal strings about 30 inches each. (2 for a bracelet, 4 for a belt)

Step 2: Cut 1/2 inch off the top of each straw and feed one string through each tiny piece of straw.

 Step 3: Thread both parts of the string through the long part of the straw. LOOSELY knot the ends of the string together. (You will be untying this later.)

 Step 4: Start weaving! Grab the end of the skein of yarn and tie a know around the bottom of one of the straws. Wrap the yarn around one straw, then drop it through the middle, then wrap around the other straw. Go back and forth, making sure everything stays tight together. When you fill up the straws, gently push the woven part off the bottom of the straw and continue weaving.

Step 5: When your project looks long enough, cut the yarn from the skein and carefully knot the yarn to the straw. Then, cut the little pieces of straw off the yarn. Next, slowly slide the straws out from the yarn.

 Step 6: Untie the loose knotted end of your bracelet and then tie the two ends together. Admire the beauty of the project you just created!

Hot chocolate like you've never tasted

This is another recipe that I used with my after-school cooking club. Again, it was the first day so I don't have pictures but this is a delicious recipe. This hot chocolate is not like the swiss miss envelope packets at all. It is so much better than that and totally worth the effort. I got this recipe from my host family when I stayed in Peru during college.

Hot Chocolate (Peru)

Ingredients:

4 oz chocolate de taza, or semisweet chocolate, chopped

3 cups water

4 cloves

2 sticks cinnamon

1 can unsweetened evaporated milk

Sugar to taste

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

½ teaspoon nutmeg, grated

whipped cream (optional)

Oats (optional)

Preparation:

1.   Bring the water to boil with the cinnamon and cloves, for 10 minutes.

2.   Add the chopped chocolate, stirring until melted.

3.   Add evaporated milk, sugar to taste, nutmeg, and vanilla extract.

4.   Serve immediately with a dollop of whipped cream if desired, and a sprinkling of ground cinnamon or grated chocolate. You can also put oats in the hot chocolate to give it a little bit of texture. My host family from Peru taught me that :)

Peruvian Fried Rice?

In addition to a Spanish crafts after school club, I also have a cooking one. This week, we made arroz chaufa, which is Peruvian fried rice. There is a large Chinese population in Peru and so they have adopted a fusion of Peruvian food and Chinese food as part of their culture. Restaurants that serve this food are called Chifas and are super delicious. My students and I mixed a soy sauce and ginger with chicken, green bell peppers, red bell peppers, zucchini, carrots, broccoli, and rice to make a delicious meal. I got this recipe from my host family when I stayed in Peru for 5 weeks a couple of years ago. This is a dish that everyone will love. I was very impressed that all of my students pretty much cleared their plates... Even most of the vegetables were gone! That's more than I can say for my husband who enjoyed the leftovers :)

Step 1: Cut up 2 chicken breasts and cook them in a wok with peanut oil, soy sauce, and ginger. 

 Step 2:  Add in sliced green and red bell peppers, carrots, and zuchini.

Step 3: Add precooked broccoli and rice.

Step 4: Enjoy! It's super tasty :)