¡Que viven los tamales!

My second week in Guanajuato has left me longing to be in the kitchen. I don’t want to seem ungrateful, but really I can’t remember the last time someone waited on me like this. My mom even refuses to let me help her with dishes. Desayuno around 8 AM consists of some fresh fruit (pineapple, melon, orange – not papaya, I’m one of those people who thinks it tastes like stomach acid) toast with butter and jam, some frighteningly pink yogurt, and coffee. Sometimes I substitute cereal with soy milk (Splenda added, unfortunately) for the toast.

I typically like to eat a bigger breakfast so it’s taken a little bit of time getting used to a small breakfast and a much later lunch. Comida is served anywhere between 2 and 4 pm. In my house everyone eats at different times. Dad has snacked throughout the day, so he’s not typically hungry. The [grand]children sometimes eat when they get home from school, but they’re often spoon-fed because they’re too distracted while watching cartoons or playing with new gadgets. Mom eats very slowly after the children are done. Her daughter, Rocío, and her boyfriend, Gerardo, eat when they come home from work at the electric company, around 4 o’clock. Sometimes Delia’s son Lalo will stop by around 6 or 7 and eat leftovers.

Delia typically prepares a good amount of food, but not an overwhelming quantity. Comida starts with a soup, usually vegetable of some sort. Today it was cream of chaote, very delicious. 5-year-old Samantha spooned it into her mouth on Ritz crackers. Soup was followed by herbed spaghetti, garlic sautéed mushrooms and a salad. In general, Delia is a very health-conscious cook and her portions are smaller in comparison to some of my classmates. She does not stand over me with a heaping spoon and demand that I have seconds and third helpings. I leave the table satisfied but not stuffed. Other days we will have some type of meat simmered in sauce accompanied with warm, corn tortillas, bought fresh from any one of numerous local tortillerias.

Right now I don’t have any afternoon classes so I go exploring, or take a nap, or try to write. Last night I went to yoga class held in a very cold tile room, with very little flow between the poses. I know I should be able to make the most of the experience despite the conditions, but at this point I still need lots of instruction to stay focused. This is one of the reasons that I can’t practice in my room by myself. Tonight I tried Zumba (aerobics + Latin dance.) I have no rhythm. I made a fool out of myself and it was awesome. I won’t be able to walk up these hills tomorrow most definitely.

La cena is anywhere from 8 to 10pm and does not consist of anything substantial: sometimes a ham sandwich, or some sweet bread. Tonight after Zumba I begged the girls to stop for elote on our walk home. After seeing approximately 15 vendors, we took the 16^th as a sign that we were supposed to indulge. It was the one thing that I had been craving since I got here. We split two cups full of delicious roasted corn cut off the cob and slathered with chili/lime mayo, hot sauce and cheese.

It’s usually too long of a stretch between desayuno y comida for me and I inevitably need a snack. The first week I was buying bad salted products from one of a million OXXO stores (like 7-11.) Then I wizened up and started buying the most delicious gorditas for 9 pesos every morning. Every morning three or four ladies set up shop in a callejon muy cerca de la escuela de lenguas. Two ladies hand press masa into thick circles and then continuously flip them on a large flat circular griddle, el comal. For about 75 cents you get a fat hand-made tortilla stuffed full of chorizo, nopal, arroz, frijoles, huevos, papas, queso, garbanzos and other things I can’t figure out. It’s incredibly delicious and definitely a part of my routine now.

It’s nice to have a routine.

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