Edible Silverware and Grape Soda

I haven't really spoken much about the food, and that is for good reason, its not really something to write home about without some other context. As a general rule it isn't as exotic as I was wont to believe before I left home. I was imagining Mexican food with a more native flair, so as you can imagine I was way off the mark. I'd say food here resembles mexican in that they eat beans, rice and things called tortillas, but that is about as far as one can legitimately compare the two. I find food here to usually be on the bland side and the menu is pretty limited; generally carne asada, pollo encebollado, rice, beans or some sort of simple soup.

The tortilla is something I wish to explore a little more. As americans we are too used to the Mexican idea of a tortilla. That is to say, a large, thin flat thing that is generally a part of other foods, but not generally a food on it own. It can be used as a wrap as in a burrito, a holder as in a taco or quesadilla or fried as in a tostada shell or chips. That isn't what a tortilla is here. Oh sure, its made from the same ingredients, but it isn't used in the same way, nor could you use one for the Mexican purpose if you wanted to. To imagine a tortilla here you need to think in terms of a silver dollar pancake of solid flour that has been grilled. It is small, thick and, if your luck is bad, sorta mealy. I couldn't eat more than one a day at first. I can tell I am becoming well culturally adapted because the amount of tortillas I consume daily is on the rise. Part of the problem is to change the way you think of a tortilla, it isn't really the meal enhancer I wanted it to be. I have also ceased to think of it as a side dish. Currently I like to think of tortillas as edible silverware. That is right, silverware. I am rarely given more than a fork to eat with, and forks are lousy for eating beans, rice or just about anything but salad on their own. So that is where the tortilla comes in, I use it to scoop things onto my fork, mop up errant sauce or bean juice, hold my chicken in place while I tear at it with my fork and whatnot. The beauty of it is that when it becomes soggy, limp or just otherwise broken, a quick bite restores its former glory by revealing a fresher part. When I eat lunch out I average about 3 tortillas now. I call that a win and in my mind I am now at least 3 times more Salvo than I was in training when I could barely stomach a whole tortilla.

Now for the Grape Soda. I hadn't tried it here until today. I had been trying to consume fruit flavored sodas prior to leaving the United States knowing what I was in for. Well I didn't know. Sunday morning I went to a large meeting with members from 6 of the communities in my municipality where there was a training and a zonal committee being formed. It is regular here to be given a random refreshment during the course of a meeting and I was given a grape soda. My first grape soda in El Salvador. I figured I didn't know what it tasted like so I went for it. I wasn't impressed. In fact I'd say I was rather dismayed and repulsed. I found it to taste rather similar to the way my spray fixative for my drawings (or the glue I used to use on plastic models) smells. It gave me an instant headache and I wouldn't be at all surprised if I made a rather horrendous face. I tried to play it off cool, like I just wasn't thirsty since I didn't want to ruin the meeting or dismay all the others happily downing their grape sodas. For a full 45 minutes of the meeting i couldn't focus and I just kept getting grape soda aftertaste in my mouth and trying to hold back those whole body shivers you get when you think of something disgusting or hear nails on a chalkboard. I can't remember a large portion of the training because I couldn't concentrate on anything. With my luck they like to put the Gringo in front to show off that they have an American here to help out. Generally I try not to grimace at the food and find a better, more sensitive way of explaining my distaste. In this case I had to try very hard not only to hide my distaste, but my lack of focus that it caused. Needless to say I will not be drinking any more of the grape soda here.