Intercambio Cultural

This is truly a cultural interchange, a fusion of cuisines between “tico” and “gringo”, latino and northamerican. I returned home today at 1:30 pm after working with youth in my neighborhood on environmental issues in the community. It’s Sunday so I cannot go to the Soda la Amistad. What will I eat quickly for lunch before I head to another meeting at 2:00 pm? I refuse to cook in the afternoon. It’s too hot. I open the fridge. A peanutbutter and jelly sandwich sounds great and quick. I have peanutbutter that a friend in my community gave me because he knew I liked it. I also have a jalea (jam) de guayaba that I made not too long ago. Wait, do I have pan (bread)? No hay pan. ¿Qué voy a hacer? OK, I’ll eat some peanuts with some yogurt. I eat them, but I’m still hungry. Wait, I have an idea. Brilliant! I have masa. I can make a tortilla and put peanutbutter and jelly on it! ¡Riquísimo!

I thought this was a funny anecdote and I wanted to share it with my readers (If I have any). In the US, it would have never occurred to me to make a tortilla. However, after living here for well over a year, I have to say that lots of cultural customs have rubbed off on me, especially the gastronomy. Making tortillas is something I have picked up and will share with friends and family back home.