When I was a kid my Mom worked. In fact, she worked my whole life. A great cook, but seldom home to prepare meals, Mom always had a backup plan. In fact several of them.
In the early years, when money was tight, Plan B was often Kraft Macaroni and Cheese with tiny flecks of tuna. Or we might find ourselves eating chipped beef on toast. And if Mom was really wiped out we'd get to have cold cereal for dinner.
The Mac and Cheese with tuna was my all time least favorite plan. We were living in Ohio, and seafood wasn't something we had often. Salmon patties (complete with eye socket bones) were the usual seafood choice, and were a favorite. So the first time we had the mac and cheese with tuna I did not know what the odd flecks of flavor were. And to be clear, these were not flecks of solid white albacore. Smelly, odd tasting and very tiny; they added an interesting balance to the creamy richness of boxed mac and cheese.
Chipped beef on toast was amazing. Creamy, beefy and crunchy, all at the same time. It was a mouthful of yummy. When I was an adult I tried to figure out how Mom made this dish. Today you can buy the Stouffer version in the freezer case.
Obviously, cold cereal nights were rare, and when we had one we knew Mom was dog tired, so there were never any complaints. But what's to complain about when you've got Cocoa Puff's for dinner?
At my house we've never tried any of these choices. I'm pretty sure my kids would die before they'd eat Mac and Cheese with "dark" tuna OR chipped beef on toast. I go for other options like an easy posole or pasta carbonara.
Another difference for me is that I haven't worked since the kids were little. Some nights I may be worn out but I can't ever claim to be as tired as Mom would've been. And I've got a microwave, fresh food options that didn't exist in the 60's and two kids who love to cook. And the phone number to Papa John's on my speed dial.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Working on my Spanish
As an American kid in Peru several lifetimes ago, I learned Spanish in self-defense. Arriving in Lima, with two years of high school Latin under my belt, was not the best preparation for an exchange student, but it was what I had.
Peruvian educators put me in their English classes, which sounded nutty, but actually worked pretty well. For a while. After a few weeks at Nuestra Sra de Carmen, I was advised that I was too distracting to the other students. Whatever that meant.
So, I hung at home with mi tias and the servants. Learned to knit, to shop in the market, and to travel Lima by bus. All good ground for learning new words in Spanish.
Then I went to la universidad de San Marcos. Where I also studied English, though this time with students who were not distracted. The problem at USM was that the teacher taught via immersion, so all I was learning was English. My academic advisor was at a loss for what to do with me, so I sat in the courtyard and soaked up culture instead.
Back at home, my family helped me see Peru. I rode a night bus from Lima to Chiclayo with mi tia Rosa, under a Spanish surname, with the plan that I should play the role of a deaf mute, so that no one would know I was American, in the likely event that the bus would be stopped, by bandits or "state" officials as we crossed borders. I probably should've been worried. We were stopped. I did play dumb. No one kidnapped me, so I must've been convincing in my portrayal.
A car trip down the coast back to Lima. A plane to Cusco. A train to Macchu Pichu. And buses, so many buses. And along the way, I learned Spanish. So much so that when I returned to the US, English sounded all wrong.
But now, years have passed and my Spanish is quite rusty. I've begun a personal effort to recover vocabulary words and verb tense usage. Es muy dificil, pero es importante hablo la lengua de America del Sur. Porque, contestas? It's very difficult, but it's important that I speak the language of South America. Why, you ask? Because I just found my Peruvian family again, after 37 years.
So, If I continue to ignore my blogs, at least you know why. Because I'm working on my Spanish. Happily.
Peruvian educators put me in their English classes, which sounded nutty, but actually worked pretty well. For a while. After a few weeks at Nuestra Sra de Carmen, I was advised that I was too distracting to the other students. Whatever that meant.
So, I hung at home with mi tias and the servants. Learned to knit, to shop in the market, and to travel Lima by bus. All good ground for learning new words in Spanish.
Then I went to la universidad de San Marcos. Where I also studied English, though this time with students who were not distracted. The problem at USM was that the teacher taught via immersion, so all I was learning was English. My academic advisor was at a loss for what to do with me, so I sat in the courtyard and soaked up culture instead.
Back at home, my family helped me see Peru. I rode a night bus from Lima to Chiclayo with mi tia Rosa, under a Spanish surname, with the plan that I should play the role of a deaf mute, so that no one would know I was American, in the likely event that the bus would be stopped, by bandits or "state" officials as we crossed borders. I probably should've been worried. We were stopped. I did play dumb. No one kidnapped me, so I must've been convincing in my portrayal.
A car trip down the coast back to Lima. A plane to Cusco. A train to Macchu Pichu. And buses, so many buses. And along the way, I learned Spanish. So much so that when I returned to the US, English sounded all wrong.
But now, years have passed and my Spanish is quite rusty. I've begun a personal effort to recover vocabulary words and verb tense usage. Es muy dificil, pero es importante hablo la lengua de America del Sur. Porque, contestas? It's very difficult, but it's important that I speak the language of South America. Why, you ask? Because I just found my Peruvian family again, after 37 years.
So, If I continue to ignore my blogs, at least you know why. Because I'm working on my Spanish. Happily.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
