Marbles and More

Marbles:

Assorted marbles for reference.

Marbles is a game I lose at all the time in Santa Librada. Normally, I'm okay with not being good at games I didn't grow up with (having accepted that any ragged, bare foot 13 year old will beat me shin guards, cleats, 11 years and all. (no I dont actually have cleats or shin guards, yes, I get schooled by children often). But when 8 year olds dominate you in a game that makes gold fish look like 4 player chess from Big Bang Theory, its hard to stay strong.


Marbles requires 2 things, marbles and flat dirt. The game works like this. Each player has their own stash of marbles. A cup size circle is drawn in the dirt and each player deposits one of their own marbles into the circle. The players then retreat back to a predetermined location about 10 feet away and use another marbles to try to hit the group of marbles out of the circle.

Artists rendition of marbles the game.

The players, lets say Roque, Ronald and Ariel (all real boys in my community) take turns shooting. When a marble or marbles from the center is/are hit out of the circle, that player wins that/those marbles and adds them to their stash, also getting a second shot if a marble is hit. (like winners in basketball). In addition when a shooting marble is thrown by a player, that player's next shot will be taken from where his shooting marble came to rest. The winner is the player who wins all of the marbles from the other players.

Now im not sure if these games are played for keeps because I feel like the best player in the community would just have a ginormous stash of marbles but in any case, this weekend I am off to buy my own marbles and begin practicing. The swarms of 8 yr old and their companions mocking me will hopefully be no more.

Bulgogi:

Living in Paraguay gives you lots of time to try things. One of those things is cooking and you'd be surprised to find that I can make bulgogi marinade here in Paraguay. So the other day I made bulgogi marinade and its actually pretty good (used it on ground beef and it tastes yummy). I think I need to let the beef marinate longer given that it says to marinate for 24 hours and I did it for about 18 minutes. If I can do it in a remote farming community in Paraguay so can you in the comfort of your temperature controlled, insulated, bug proof, highspeed internet, oven, TV, carpet, microwave, toaster, couch, glass window included homes in America. Here's the recipe you should try it.

The recipe below can marinate up to 4 lbs of beef. I like to make more marinade so I can freeze for a later time. Although it's a cinch to make the marinade, it does help me prepare a meal quickly after a long commute.

Meat
2 lb (1.8 kg) beef, sliced ribeye works well as picture above
Marinade:
garlic, 2 Tbs., pureed or chopped fine
scallion, 4-5 stalks cut 2" long
onion, 3/4 c (200g) pureed or chopped fine
soy sauce, 1/2 c. (110 g) regular. I use Kikkoman brand.
sugar, 1/3 c (100g)
sesame oil, 2 Tbs.
mirin, 1/4 cup
water, 1/4c (optional) to thin marinade
Asian pear, 1/4c (100g or so), pureed or chopped fine. Substitute 7-up or seltzer. (optional)

The last two ingredients are optional but highly recommended. My grandmother used to use 7-up but I like to use Asian pear. If your meat has passed its prime or you suspect that it's tough, add a 1/4 cup of pureed kiwi to soften the meat. A half of a kiwi does wonders. Don't overdo it or the meat can seem to fall apart.

Combine all the ingredients of the marinade. 

Rainy days are Snow Days:

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So I mentioned how rain affects rural life in Paraguay in a previous entry. I am now updating you on the fact that I treat rain days like personal vacation days. In rural areas rain during the day means no school, no field work, no nothing. Just sitting in door or next to fires hanging out. So every time I wake up to the pitter patter of rain drops on my roof or the frightening sight of my windows rattling and water seeping rapidly through my wooden windows, it is reason to rejoice....well kinda given that I need to move things away from my carpet and the assorted leaks in my roof as well as contend with losing power... soo hooray?

Internet:

I have to say I cant complain that I have internet out here. It's just enough to get gmail and facebook but makes a world of difference. The funny part is that I often have to hunt for a good signal. One would think that once you find a strong spot it would remain.. you know, strong but sometimes its like I only get signal when the moons align just right and the internet gods feel merciful. This leads to me dragging my table to awkward cramped, poorly lit areas of my house in search for signal. This also means precariously balancing or holding my lap top while methodically plugging in and taking out my stick modem to refresh the search. Its actually a really repetitive cumbersome task that I have gotten so used to that consistent good internet is always refreshingly amazing.

Unrelated hilarious photo.