Probecho

While the food in South America has been good, I am certainly happy to return back to the states. I don’t know if it’s because my dad and my grandparents have spoiled me with food all my life, but I feel like nothing compares to American food. I’m not even sure what American food is, but I do know that is a lot better than eating chicken and rice everyday. In the past two months, I have maybe ate vegetables a total of ten times. I am excited to return home to a fresh dinner of salmon with a green salad and of course, sushi. Albeit japanese, I feel like it has become enough of a fad to be considered American.

But I don’t want to completely knock Peruvian food; like I said, the food in South America is good, it just lacks a little bit of variety. One of my favorite things about food in South America is that you can find whatever you want on the street: popcorn, pineapple, almonds, empanadas, chocolate, really, whatever you want!

Every morning began with pan, or bread. When we were lucky, our host mom would serve us yogurt or eggs. For lunch it was, surprise!, some sort of variation of chicken, rice, and potatoes. I never knew there were so many ways to prepare chicken and rice! There were so many different types of sauces, most of which were made with a milk and cheese base.

Although the first couple of days we didn’t eat dinner, after about a week or so we started having left overs for dinner, many of times which I skipped out on. I skipped out on dinner not only because I was so full from lunch, but also because I was so tired of eating chicken and rice, especially if I already knew what it was going to taste like. After dinner, came dessert, which was my favorite. Dessert in Peru is slightly different and consists of a cup of tea and galletas con dulce de leche (crackers with carmel spreading).

The strangest thing I tried in Peru was cuye. Cuye is the furry friend we all had when we were in third grade, also known as guinea pig. Surprisingly enough, I actually enjoyed it. Apart from the fish like miniature bones and lack of meat, it had a lot of flavor. They prepare cuye only on special occasions, similar to our thanksgiving, stuffing it with cilantro and basil.

Chile, on the other hand, is known for its fish, since the whole country practically is a coast. My first day in Chile I had fish and papas fritas for lunch for a total of $3, and it was delicious! While I was in chile I also tried ceviche, which is much different than our American version of ceviche. Ceviche in chile has cooked fish and is almost like a soup. While I enjoyed the ceviche in Chile, I think I prefer American ceviche.

And now, I am in Argentina, and think I have tried the best food yet (apart from their Italian food, which is terrible). Our first night here, we went to a steak place and it was so delicious! I don’t usually even like steak, but this steak was covered in mushrooms and so tender that I couldn’t resist. There are also tons of parillas on the streets, or meat restaurants. Chad and I went to one today and got sausage sandwiches, which were the most delicious things I have ever tasted.

Since being in South America, I have definitely eaten my share of bread and meat. As I see it, I am making up for past years when I passed on the bread and meat, and while it has been fun to indulge, I am definitely ready for my healthy organic california style of eating, just as much as my waist line is. In spanish, after every good meal they say probecho as a way to say 'thanks for the food, i enjoyed eating it.' So "probecho" Latin America, but I'm ready for California.