One moment or experience that I am choosing to reflect on was earlier in the day at the gold mines. Specifically Dona Rosa and her cooking. Not only was the food delicious, but I really enjoyed her eagerness to share a little bit of her culture. She made a variety of traditional dishes using only fire, and even offered to teach others how to prepare some of the meals. What I found most significant was at the end of the experience when we were asked to give a rating of her cooking and everyone responded with 10s. Her reaction was one the was unforgettable. This heavily demonstrates her love and pride for her culture.
The moment I would like to reflect on today was Juan’s story about the origins of the town and his job as well as his way of life. It was extremely interesting to hear how gold mining started in the peninsula, with machines and a french company. It was also interesting to hear how the name of the town was started because the ranch burned down, which was a strange but fascinating way of naming the area. It also stood out to me how Doña Rosa had asked us if the story was boring us, and when we said no we wanted to hear more, I could see both their faces light up. To hear how the kitchen we were eating in was the original building was also fascinating. We were eating delicious food, listening to a wonderful story in a historical building. It definitely made me more attentive but also appreciative of the history. Lastly, later on while gold mining and seeing just how much effort was used to receive such little flecks of gold, it made Juan’s story so much more impressive and amazing.
-Lily H
