Today in class we were discussing different types of families: extended families, bicultural families, nuclear families, single parent households, and so on. We were discussing the advantages and disadvantages of different types of families. When we were talking about bicultural families, one of my students said that food was a disadvantage of being in a bicultural family. I asked him what he meant by this and he told me that if someone from Peru and someone from the United States married, it would he hard for the person from Peru since food in the United States is so bad.

Peruvians, like people from every country that I have been to, are stubbornly proud of their food. When my two friends from home were here visiting not a day went by when my host mom did not remind them of the variety of food from Peru and how delicious Peruvian food really was. I did not tell my host mom that my friends did not really like food in Peru; they thought there was too much rice.

In fact, when we put together a Thanksgiving meal for my Peruvian family, my host sister was amazed that there would be no rice at the meal. This made me remember when I had made a Thanksgiving dinner for my host family in France almost 7 years ago and my French family did not understand why we put all the food out on the table at one time. They are used to bringing out each part of the course at a different time and they did not like the idea of putting everything out at the same time. I guess each country has it’s own food rules. Peruvians really think their food is the best. When I first came to Peru I actually did not like the food too much, I thought it was too bland and a little boring. After being here for a while longer I started to get used to the different dishes and honestly started enjoying the food. Now I like the food here, but I do not think I would say it is my favorite food and I probably will not miss it that I much when I go home.

One thing that I will miss is the delicious fruit juice. They combine pineapples with papaya or bananas or some kind of fresh fruit and always drink juice in the morning. This is something that I love about Peruvian food. Also, unlike my friends, I really like the rice. Ever since living in China I think rice makes any type of food delicious. Even when I eat spaghetti here it comes with rice. Other good dishes are potatoes with a delicious creamy sauce served with eggs and olives. Or I love to eat cow heart on a stick called anticuchos with some sweet potatoes and spicy sauce.