Dinners

So I came to bed tonight at 12:30!! We finished dinner at 12:15!! AHHH!! Im soooo tired, and I dont think this is good for me. HOWEVER TONIGHT WE HAD HAMBURGUASAS!!! OH how i miss my ground beef!!! It was soo delicious, not quite the same as home, but still amazing!

So this is how dinner usually goes here....

I help Norma set the table and most of the time Lucia helps cook things like the vegetables and what not...

(For you tomato lovers try this: Cut up a tomato, put some oil on it (I dont know what kind) then add some oregano and salt!! Its deliciouls)

Back to supper... So Lucia usually helps Norma cook, and Edgardo either cooks the meat on the grill or watches Futbol while supper is being prepared. When it is time to eat we all sit down, and Norma serves us. NO ONE waits for others to get their food we all just dig in. When someone is done or needs something Norma always gets up and takes their plate to get more food. My first few weeks here I felt really bad about this. At home if I want more, yes Paula can get it, but we are kind of expected to get our own food! But then at Taylor's birthday party we talked to an English professor, and she explained to us that is part of the culture. It is the woman's kitchen and she feels it is her duty to "serve" us. I dont know if that was the best explanation, but after she told us that I could really see how this is true. Its like they take pride in it being their kitchen and their home cooked food and they enjoy serving us. I guess its just different from the U.S. I think at home we have gotten away from our "the kitchen is a woman's room and place to show off her talents." I do feel like we need equality as far a gender roles, but there is something special here about how the women take pride in what they do. Im not saying either way is right or wrong; Im just saying it is different in each place... here some things are more "traditional" or "ways of the past, but does this mean they are not equal? Can women still claim the kitchen as theirs yet not be discriminated against or thought of only as cooks and servers? Are we women at home in Iowa "loosing" this part of us. I dont really think so. But I dont know that we can have it both ways... we cant have this "equality" and "pride in our kitchen" at the same time. I think our two cultures clash a bit....and now I feel like im rambling.


Back to dinner... Edgardo always drinks beer or wine and the rest of us drink water or juice. Sometimes Norma drinks with him. We NEVER drink milk, and I not SURE why. It may be because it is soo expensive. So after we all eat, Lucia or Noel takes our plates to the sink and we finish off the meal with ICE CREAM!! Its the BEST icecream I have ever had!! I dont really like it that much back in the States but here it is DELICIOUS!!... Maybe its the heat.

Sometimes we have fruit for dessert, which is weird for me, but I like it none the less.

Another thing I find interesting is thy types of vegetables that people eat here. At home, I know a few picky eaters myself.... *Joel*.... I think at home if kids or people do like vegetables the ONLY ones those picky eaters eat are potatoes and corn. Here I think the vegetables of choice are tomatoes, potatoes, and green OLIVES!! Olives are served on EVERYTHING!! ugh... ;)