A vital part of the ICS experience is the cultural exchange between the UK and national volunteers. What better way to learn about the intricacies of a culture than to spend three months working with the locals? In order to squeeze the most out of this opportunity we decided to arrange a weekly session during our lunchbreak, where the two groups of volunteers can take turns to showcase something from their culture, from the Beatles to Baleadas!
This week, it was the turn of the national volunteers so they decided to host an enchilada making masterclass. National volunteer Elvin kindly offered to host the session at his house. The enchilada ready meals in the UK supermarkets felt a long way away from Elvin’s kitchen. The surfaces were piled high with delicious fresh ingredients ready to be prepared from scratch.
We were all given the chance to try the variety of task on the enchilada production line: rolling the fresh tortillas by hand, chopping the salad, grating the cheese. The tortillas were then fried until golden and crisp, then masses of meat, cheese and salad were piled on top. It was fairly difficult to eat without decorating your face with the toppings so, definitely not an ideal first date choice but delicious all the same. The enchiladas made for a fresh, tasty lunch – beating a Boots meal deal hands down! It really brought home to the British volunteers how easy and cost effective it can be to cook delicious, fairly healthy food from scratch, instead of relying on the myriad of convenience foods we’re bombarded with in the UK.
First learning session complete and we’re already committed to packing that element of Honduran culture in our suitcases!
Written by ICS Team El Carrizal. Photos by Noel Specowius.
