Food is something we all have in common across cultures—we all have to eat! Nicaraguans are very proud of their dishes and generally not very experimental with new dishes and foods. Many Nicaraguans do not like spicy foods and if are given something new, probably won’t like it. In my opinion, many are picky eaters and like their mama’s gallo pinto (rice and beans) the best! So we do not attempt to replicate anyone’s mothers’ home-cooking. We bring our own culture into the kitchen and try to introduce new things subtly and slowly to friends and neighbors who are willing. It’s best not to be offended when a Nicaraguan adds three more spoonfuls of sugar to their already sweetened coffee or homemade fruit juice you have made for them. It’s also best to just offer salt to them when you give them food because chances are we didn’t salt it enough! The small but noticeable culturally differences we encounter.
Since food is something we share in common with everyone, we realize it’s important to not be picky ourselves and to accept what is given to us with gratitude and a smile! Although we are vegetarians and have kept it that way while living here, there are exceptions. If we are offered meat in a situation that we can’t just tell them we’re vegetarians, we will try to eat what we can without getting ourselves sick. One example: We were invited to our pastor’s house in Teustepe for lunch. We completely forgot to mention in advance that we don’t eat meat, so we arrive and are served arroz aquita (soupy rice with chicken). We couldn’t say in the moment that we wouldn’t eat this dish after they graciously invited us and prepared a meal for us, so we ate as much chicken as we could off the bone.
Portion sizes are something we both struggle with, especially in the campo. I’ve mentioned before that tortillas are the size of plates, right? Well they are! Rice is served on one half of your plate and red beans on the other half, plus a huge chunk of salty cuajada (campo cheese) and a tortilla the size of your face.
What method will I choose?
- Can I manage to eat it all fast enough before I feel how full I am? I’ll deal with the consequences of heartburn and acid-reflex for the rest of the day or night.
- Can I try eating slowly to attempt to aid my digestive track, but in the process my brain realizes how full I really am. The last half of my plate I am fighting to shove it in without getting sick from the feeling of how full I am.
- Attempt to hide some food and feed it to the dog or pig nearby when no one is looking! This is tricky when in a household of 5 or more people, but it has been done!!
- Try to be in the room with the person serving your food and tell them you want less. (This is only an option if we know people better and feel comfortable doing this.) We then end up with a large portion instead of an EXTRA-large portion.
- Choosing not to eat it all! Really we don’t feel like this is an option! (This option is very tricky because you could easily offend the cooks or it could be seen as food wasted that someone else would have eaten.)
What would you choose? These methods are completely healthy, right? All in the name of cultural sensitivity!?!? How will I survive this for two more years?
Not too mention the amount of sugar, salt, oil and sometimes cream that people use in their cooking here is INSANE!!! This is no joke! If I come out alive without diabetes, high cholesterol or obesity issues I think I’ll be in good shape! It’s no wonder diabetes, kidney and gall bladder issues are so common here!
I struggle with finding the delicate balance between being culturally sensitive and listening to what my body can handle!!
Oh I so remember...for me it was the insane amount of oil they put in the gallo pinto sometimes - it made me sick, especially when I ate it for breakfast! I would choose option C. And D. In Granada/Managua E is an option, but from my experiences, in the country it's much more difficult to say "no" or "less"
ReplyDeleteTortillas the size of your face, haha great post!