Stranger Games and Customs

The conference was interesting, the people were fascinating and what I learned was fun, hilarious, curious and strange.

There was this game from France, that involved rolling a wheel of cheese. It was about the size of a scooter tire, and a rope was wound around it, then wrapped around your fingers, much like you would while spinning a top. You picked it up and yanked at the rope letting the wheel of cheese roll across the floor.

Oh, my—that cheese was heavy and slippery, but I got it rolling! Depending on your skill, the cheese could roll quite a good distance.

Someone told me that one of the reasons they do this is so that the cheese softens with the rolling and the heat. When the rolling is all done, they literally cut away the rind and everyone digs into the cheese, which is usually paired with a glass of wine.  

This changes the perspective of what your mother used to say: “Don’t play with your food.” Here, it was literally about playing with your food! 

Lunch and siesta in Spain are sacrosanct. People begin lunch around 1:30, and there are numerous courses, wine, enjoyment, and merriment that go along with it. This time, there was something else strange going on. Just as we were drawing to the end of our lunch, I spied a large cauldron resting on a table. Curious, I walked up to see what it was. I was told that it was alcohol fermented from the skin of grapes to which lemon wedges, orange wedges, sugar, and coffee beans were added. The alcohol was lit on fire, and the flames danced around while someone in costume constantly stirred it. It was a strange tradition to watch, and I almost felt I had wandered onto the scene of the witches of Macbeth. This sensation was further heightened when someone shared a poem with me.

Here are some excerpts. I am sure there are some errors in translation, you will probably get the drift:

The Magical Queimada of Galicia

“Flies, owls, toads, and witches,

 Demons, trolls, and devils, spirits of the foggy valleys.

Ravens, ants, and sorceresses, spells of the witches….

…….

And when this brew goes down our throats,

We’ll be free from the evils of our soul and all enchantment…..

It was a chance for various regions in Spain to showcase their traditions and customs, with deep merriment and great fun. But it was also accompanied by a satisfying feeling that we had done a job well—we had shared games with other people, learned from others, and discovered cultures different from our own. While we may not adopt them all, we can respect them, and understand the different cultures of the world, for though some customs may be strange, we are still united in so many ways.