My Tamale Adventure

Yesterday, I was invited to the home of a Mexican friend where we spent the day preparing tamales for her family and friends. I was excited to help, as I love to cook, and I think I'm a pretty good cook--that was until I tried to hog-tie a tamale.
She gave me a recipe for the base of the tamale, and I was sure I could whip this up like a pro. It was simply a matter of adding some chicken broth, lard, and spices to the Masa Harina (corn flour) I saw her watching me, and soon she was taking over my job, explaining how to add this and when to add that. She then sent me over to the meat, and told me to shred it, and then add the chili sauce to it.
Now a couple of her sisters had joined the assemble line. One sorted out the corn husks, and smeared the masa on it. Next, one of them added the meat mixture, and passed it to the folder, and she tied it into a perfect little package. After twenty or thirty were assembled, Mama placed them in the steamer. It is believed that only one person can add them to the steamer, or they will not cook properly.
I took my turn at each step, except the steamer. They all agreed I did okay at smearing the masa on the corn husk, not as quickly as they would have, but they were patient with me. Adding the meat mixture was no big problem. But, let me tell you my little packages weren't very pretty. When I folded them, they sort of squirted the meat and masa out, and it ran over the corn husk. Maybe, after twenty or so, with their help, they were looking a little better. I could tell Mama wasn't happy with my help, but the sisters got a good afternoon laugh at the gringa's tamales.
Walking back to my home, I could see people looking at me strangely. When I looked in the mirror, I understood why. It looked like I had murdered someone or something. I had red sauce, everywhere on my body and my clothes were covered with caked on masa, plus meat sauce. A shower was definitely called for.
Today I get to return for the big payoff. Those pretty packages, and some not so pretty, will be our lunch.