博客存档 - MOUTH TO HAND LEARNING CENTER

SEEING THE SUN

BY PAUL KLEIN

All my life I prayed for a miracle: to have a voice. My thoughts were mine alone, and that is the loneliest thing on earth. The first day I met Judy was like the first day I saw the sun. Within minutes I was talking to her on the laminate. I could talk! My world opened up, like a flower unfolding. Now all those thoughts that were trapped inside are bubbling out, like a soda can that’s been shaken. What is more precious than talking? What is more precious than friends? What is more precious than sharing who we are with each other?

1/30/2025 1 Comment

Juan

In Uruguay, I met Juan who works at the stables and helps me to care for my horse. My horse’s name is Lafe [Fate] and she is really easy and quiet to ride. Every day I help Juan to saddle my horse, and we ride to the lagoon. The view is very special, especially during the sunset.

Juan is from Argentina and he knows a lot about horses, and he tells me stories from when he worked in his country. Once he had an accident with one of the horses, but nothing serious. He only hurt his shoulders, falling from the horse and after that he never fell from a horse again.

Juan speaks only Spanish. I can understand when he talks to me, but I feel badly because I can’t talk to him. I can spell in Spanish but he has not seen me spell.

He invited me to visit him in Argentina; he goes back there after the summer is over. My horse stays here (with the other 5 horses that we own), living off our land during the winter. They eat grass and drink water from the lagoon, and roam freely in our big fenced area.

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1/3/2025 0 Comments

Uruguay Food Traditions

In Uruguay, people eat a lot of meat. The traditional dish is asado, which is barbeque, usually sausages, lamb and beef with chimichurri on top. [editor’s note: chimichurri is a sauce native to Uruguay and Argentina. It is made up of olive oil and vinegar, oregano, salt, pepper, and chilis.] Salad, tomatoes and peppers are served with the meat. Also, they eat bread and cheese along with the meal. The region produces blueberries and peaches. On our farm here, we grow limes and many vegetables. This morning I picked a lot of tomatoes, eggplants and strawberries.

Uruguay has different types of weather; where I live, near the coast, there is lots of fishing. (I live 4 kilometers from the ocean.) Brotola is a fish similar to cod; it is very popular to eat on the grill. The country has a large production of wine: Alvarino is a white wine and Tannat is a red wine, both of which are local to the area where I am living.

My favorite dessert is alfajores, a kind of shortbread cookie with dulce de leche sandwiched in between. They also eat crepes with dulce de leche.