Classes with Ruben have been going really well too. He and his wife Landsey are super awesome people, definitely folks that I could imagine hanging out with back home. With their first baby due in a matter of weeks, there's always a bit of excitement when I visit the restaurant to see them. I've been spending time with Landsey's brother Herson, as well. He's super sweet and I really like spending time with all of them. When I heard they were going to be renovating some extra space they had to rent it out for some extra money, I offered to help out. I was a little worried that my time helping would be like my time at the farm, more chatting than anything else, but Ruben definitely used my time to his advantage. I helped scrub rust off the sheet metal roof, repainted the roof (using gasoline as thinner, which I didn't know you could do), and then helped to install a new ceiling. It was great bonding time :)
Apparently Ruben thought so too because as we were wrapping up, he invited me to go to his mom's house the next night for dinner. (His exact words were, "Come to my house and meet my family. My Mom will kill a pig for you!") Of course I couldn't say no to that! His family doesn't live very far away (about a half hour from Antigua in a town called San Martin Dueñas), but since we couldn't leave until after the restaurant was closed for the night, it was best for us to sleep over.
I expected his house to be like most of the houses I've seen in Parramos, but it was actually a lot different than I imagined. His dad is an iron worker (a pretty popular job here), so his house has beautiful metal work all over. His younger brother also runs a restaurant out of their home, so everything was nicely decorated. The main outdoor hallway was lined with orchids and different plants that they collected from the wild. Only a few were blooming, but I loved the idea of it.
The inside of the house was gorgeous. There were exposed-beam ceilings, arched doorways and some great stonework. His mom collects antiques too, so everything felt really homey and comfortable.
Great archway
I love this sink!! It has a wine bottle as it's faucet.
The cabinets that his dad made
I keep posting stuff that his dad made, but I'm genuinely impressed! Ruben and his dad made this bike together when he was younger. The pictures don't do it justice, it was really awesome!
Ruben's niece and nephew were happy to pose for a picture. So cute.
Here's a bucket of pig! I missed the slaying, though the head was still prominently displayed on the clothes line (there's a pretty popular dish here that's cooked from pig head, so I'm guessing that's what it's destined for). I tried chicharones (the deep fried hunks of pig fat and skin) again, but I think I can officially say that I don't like them. If I were starving and needed something to sustain me I could do it. Until then, having a huge wad of pig fat dissolve in my mouth is nothing I need to experience again. Aside from the chicharones, everything was great. I passed on the blood sausage as well (SO glad I missed them making those) but I ate more than my share of grilled pork.
His family was really nice and I loved getting to spend time with my friends outside of the restaurant. It's really cool to be making connections with people who are completely separate from NPH. It gives me a great opportunity to see typical families in action which is refreshing after spending so much time with kids from rough backgrounds. I feel really lucky to be meeting so many great folks here!
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