Going Aztec in Vietnam

In the name of cultural confusion we ventured deep into the Vietnamese pottery village this week to produce replicas of ancient Aztec hot chocolate mugs as the grand finale to our study of the magnificent cacao industry.  It's not quite as implausible as you may think.  Vietnam has the ideal climate for growing cacao trees (they do grow here - just not commercially) just like the Aztecs of old in their kingdom halfway around the world.  So, we thought we'd put local resources to work and visit the pottery village to create some mugs in the Aztec spirit.

Just a quick bike ride along the river from Hoi An (or a rather long, somewhat tedious ride with nine hot and sweaty kids), we found ourselves in the heart of the local pottery village where the residents handcraft clay whistles, mugs, tea sets and pots of all shapes and sizes.  The operation is pretty basic - one wheel on the floor with a woman kicking it to make it spin - first one leg and then the other.  Two brick kilns stand ready for the next batch of clay art.  Mr. Son was quite happy to accommodate our special request - nine kid-made Aztec mugs with some random adult pieces thrown in for fun.

Mr Son with one of his Buddhas

                     

Our project took the better part of two mornings - one day to fashion our mugs, a two day hiatus to allow for drying in the kiln, and then another morning of painting.  In the end we came away with a collection of beautiful orange, red and black pottery mugs that may or may not be safe to drink from (and may or may not maintain their color).  Some of the details were completely lost in translation.  The irony of watching these kids paint geometric pyramids and patterns under the watchful eyes of dozens of clay Buddhas that were on display throughout the studio was not lost on me.  I'll chalk it up to a true multicultural experience.

Fit to be dried

Let the painting begin...

   

Naturally to finish our chocolate unit in style (just before vacation) we had to test our skills at making the original Aztec hot chocolate, Xocolatl.  The most important lesson learned from making this spicy & bitter version of the ancient drink: Don't rub your face when working with chili peppers. It was a week of history, culture, cooking and life lessons.  Adios chocolate y bienvenido vacaciones!

Don't they blend in nicely with the Vietnamese art?