I Ate Chivo!

April 17, 2009

Today I would like to share a few insights about Dominican food. I must say, as far as food is concerned, I am quite lucky to be in this country. Most things are “edible” (unlike some other possible PC countries where you may have to eat “exotic” animals). But here, the standard meal is “la bandera” (literally – flag). La bandera has rice, beans, meat, and sometimes plaintains or yucca. Most meals are homemade and are cooked from early morning to early afternoon. The main meal is lunchtime and dinner time is usually a lighter dish (supposedly… though nothing is “light” here. Dominicans are very generous with their portions.).

So I have a few anecdotes to share about food…

SIN AZUCAR, POR FAVOR

Dominicans LOVE LOVE LOVE sugar. Life is so much sweeter with sugar. Well, as some of you may know (or not), I usually do not take sugar in my coffee, but since I’m in a different country, I’m willing to make sacrifices out of consideration to others. So in Santo Domingo, every morning, I had super sweet espresso. I secretly wanted it without sugar, but didn’t want to cause any sort of miscommunication by expressing my desire. However, when I came to this pueblo, my Doña put the sugar on the side. Great! I could finally have coffee without sugar! One day, my Doña forgot to put out the sugar dish. Didn’t bother me, of course, but as I was leaving, my Doña exclaimed, “¡Ay Dios mio! ¡Olvidé la azucar! Lo siento. Lo siento.” (My goodness, I forgot the sugar. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.) I responded by saying, “Don’t worry about it. I don’t take sugar in my coffee anyway.”

Haha, well, that was quite a surprise for the Doña. This silly, lost gringa doesn’t take sugar in her coffee! She couldn’t believe I could stand to drink the coffee without sugar. Later that afternoon, my host brother and sister had heard the news and they were laughing at me too.

The very next day, I went to have my breakfast. All was normal – except the coffee. I took a sip and sure enough, it was sweetened! My Doña peeked around the corner from the kitchen and giggled, “Did you notice your coffee? It tastes better today, doesn’t it!” We both laughed. How sweet! (And just so you know, I got my way… I don’t take sugar in my coffee – most days.)

ESPAGHETTI ON THE BEACH

Espaghetti is another treat here. It doesn’t quite taste like the spaghetti we have in the States because Dominicans add their own special flavor to it. But it’s good…

A couple weeks ago, our group went to beautiful Playa Esmeralda (you saw the pictures). Well, I asked my Doña if she could pack a lunch for me. She asked me if espaghetti was okay. I told her I preferred a sandwich (that’s what we do in the States… Seemed normal enough to me.), but for some reason that was unusual to her to take a sandwich. “But you’ll be hungry all day,” she protested. (If we eat anything less than a HUGE meal for lunch, we’re hungry all day.) I told her not to worry, I don’t eat much, and a sandwich is much easier to make and pack than spaghetti. She consulted with my other Doña, who, in turn, questioned me about my sandwich choice. I didn’t understand what the issue was…

I told a fellow Trainee about this situation, and she laughed. She told me that when she went to the beach the week before, everyone on the beach had containers of espaghetti! Ay Dios mio! That’s why they thought I was so weird. Dominicans don’t pack sandwiches for the beach; they pack meals! Let’s just say I felt a little silly. Can’t even take the smallest things for granted here… Most likely what makes sense to us “Americanos” doesn’t make sense to them!

Of course, when I went to the beach the next day, everyone had tins and containers of elaborate meals. I was jealous… haha. But I got what I wanted times 5. I had 5 sandwiches, papaya, crackers, orange juice, mini sponge cakes, and bananas. It was all to share, of course. Of course.

AND FINALLY, THE CHIVO!

So in case you haven’t looked up the translation of chivo yet, it means “goat.” Yes, I ate some goat and it was goooood. Chivo is considered very special here. It’s expensive so it’s for special occasions. Well, we went to a despedida (going-away party) for a Volunteer who is finishing her service, and her community killed 2 goats to celebrate! At first, I was a little weirded out by the idea of eating chivo, but I thought, hey, I’m in another country, so I need to buck up and try new things! (I’m already eating fried eggs on a regular basis – which I hate!)

Ah, food! Everyday is an adventure here – even with food.