Peeling oranges

In the United States, I always peeled my oranges with my hands. The idea of using a knife to do so never really crossed my mind until I got to Ecuador.

There, the people laughed when I tried to peel an orange with my hands - mostly because they accomplished the same task in about four seconds. It is honestly one of the most impressive things I've ever seen. Sometimes they do it so quickly you don't even see it. It just happens.

Whenever the gringo tries to peel the orange with the knife, he or she invariable cuts off about an eighth of the orange and/or one of his or her digits.

I didn't realize how much of a knife-only society I was in until I met Ivan.

We were taking a break from blowing coffee and eating the oranges we had brought with us for snack. I looked around for a knife but couldn't find one. I started to peel the orange with my hand when Ivan stopped me.

He picked up to sticks from the ground, using one to fashion a knife out of the other. Then he proceeded to peel the orange.

I have greatly improved at peeling oranges with a knife but I still take much longer and do a much worse job than any campesino would blindfolded. I have learned a technique that uses both hands and knifes that I find works best for me. I will feature it in an upcoming blog post.