This post features student writing.

Buenos dias!

The first day we arrived in La Guazara we were sent on a scavenger hunt to learn more about the village. One of the steps was to purchase a food called bien me sabe — however, we were informed by the locals that there were none left! We were curious to find out why this unfamiliar treat was so popular and decided to explore this as our independent project.

Today we were introduced to the source of these quick-selling desserts. A woman named Daisy has been baking this beloved treat for many years and loves doing it. She described it as “hard work but it rewards the soul.” Daisy has a big family and she was more than happy to share stories and pictures of them with us. She grows a lot of the ingredients she cooks with and has a beautiful garden surrounding her home.

Daisy makes the popular la Guazara dessert bien me sabe, translating to “it tastes good to me,” which is fitting for this delicious treat. She also bakes bonbons, and sells both of these desserts in la Guazara and Barahona. To our surprise, bonbons in the Dominican Republic are not the traditional chocolate-covered bun that we enjoy in the United States, and Daisy was kind enough to teach us her way of making them.

First, we melted brown sugar and water over the fire until it transformed into a thick black liquid. Then, we strained this into a big bowl and added cinnamon and baking soda. After this, we grated the meat of a coconut and mixed it with water. Then, we strained this “milk” into a pan over the fire and cooked it until it was translucent. We added this to the sugar mixture along with sifted flour. The only difference between bien me sabe and bonbons is that bien me sabe contains the actual meat of the coconut and the bonbons only include the milk. We then put both of the mixtures into pans and cooked them until they had a bread-like texture. While we waited, Daisy shared different fruits from her garden with us including mamoncillo. She also gave us a frozen cherry drink that was just what we needed on the hot day! In the afternoon, we shared the desserts with the rest of the group and everyone loved them!

Overall it was a sweet experience, hence our word of the day 🙂

Eng: SWEET
Spa: DULCE
/swiːt/
adjective

We are so grateful for Daisy’s generosity and feel so lucky to have had this experience.

Adios!

— Abby y Elsie