The Freewheelin' Ryan & Abby: Iron Chef America

Not much is new here this week. A tropical storm moved in and we got a ton if rain. It was nice to get water in our tank. All the farmers in our village were so happy as watering their crops was getting to be tiring.

Currently, our students are working on reading and understanding instructions. One of our colleagues, Taniella, had the kids cook a traditional Tongan dish called veihalo. Veihalo is a soup-like dish made with coconut water, chunks of fresh coconut meat and an amazing herb that tastes like lemongrass. Such a delicious dish.

Taniella asked us to try to have the kids read and cook something in English. We decided to try cooking cinnamon rolls with them. It was a really fun day with our class 5 and 6 kids. It was one of those days I am actually thankful I work with my spouse. (Trust me, those are rare.)

Ryan and I split our class into two teams. Class 5 vs. Class 6. Ryan was team lead for class 5 and I was team lead for class 6. Ryan had the ingenious idea to turn this activity into a sort of cooking competition.

(I spend hours planning the details, he pulls something out of his ass on the spot and his contribution makes the activity. Go figure.)

Ryan's Team

My Team, we had quite a few kids absent for a funeral that day which made the numbers more manageable!

The kids rose to this challenge brilliantly. They read their directions carefully together. They consulted their vocabulary chart to make sure they understood the directions. They looked on with bated breath as things were added to the mixing bowl. Looking over from my station at my husband made me glow with love. (God, cheesiest line ever!) It was so special to look over at him with a group of wide-eyed class 5 kids huddled around him while he whispered ways to cheat and add more sugar and cinnamon to their rolls to make them better. I got to watch my husband be a true hero. The kids now worship him and think he is pretty much the shit.

Moments like this help me remember how lucky Ry and I are to be able to have this experience. Being in a room radiating with pure joy and happiness is so moving. Being a married couple in the Peace Corps is never easy, but having the chance to see your spouse dipping his finger in butter, sugar and cinnamon, just to lick it off to the squealing delight of a bunch of kids (who quickly followed suit…real sanitary Klob) is a memory I will forever treasure.