Monday Memories – Food for thought

I like food. A lot. And through food, I found revelation. I hope this entire site is tribute to that.

Not quite chips and salsa…

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

cazuela
This photo looked way cooler in the original phlog. The only time iWeb was better...

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Hot soup containing beef or chicken with a potato, a corncob, carrots and possibly other vegetables with some rice: Cazuela, a typical Chilean dish. How about a steak covered with grilled onions and French fries topped off with a fried egg: “a la pobre.” Completos, a hot dog on a fresh baked roll with tomatoes, sauerkraut, avocado and mayonnaise, or empanadas, filled with various ingredients…this is Chilean cuisine.

Prior to knowing better, I honestly believed I would be eating fresh salsa with an assortment of tortilla-based foods nearly every day. Why did I think this? What made me so sure that I’d be eating Mexican-style food in Chile?

This assumption is the basis of what I feel was a major fault and ignorance on my behalf. So often, due to Mexico’s strong influence on the culture within the United States, we take this massive and diverse group of Latin Americans and clump it into one type, one culture. Latin America is so much more than Mexico.

Each country has its own culture; and just because a person, country or thing is Latin American does not mean fresh salsa and margaritas with mariachi bands will accompany it.

In fact, in Santiago, it is difficult to even find a restaurant offering Mexican food—hence my enchilada withdrawals. Though on one hand this deeply saddens me, on the other it has provided a good lesson and reminder that we must not be too quick to perceive others and classify them into what we think they should be. An open mind and finding out for yourself is the only way to truly know a person.

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