Comida

I think I'm getting better at taking pictures of my food. I don't remember the names of these dishes...

They're not food but I bought these flowers after class on Thursday for my host mom...They were only 4 soles (that's like a little bit over $1)!

Bembos!

I tried Bembo's yesterday. Bembo's is like the Peruvian fast food restaurant. I won't even say it's like McDonalds because they have those on every corner. Most of the time, next to the Bembo's. It was better than I thought it would be. I stayed safe with a chicken caesar but it was really good. And ALOT of food. The peruvian I was with got the "hawaiian" which had an egg and pineapple. I wasn't quite ready to try that.

Here's some of the other food I encountered this week. Still haven't found anything that's completely disgusting.

**Note to self: take more pictures of food. Think before eating.**

Papas y Arroz!

Potatoes and rice. Rice and potatoes. The 2 items Peruvian food is built around. Yes, they eat the simultaneously. Yes, that is alot of starch. No, they're not extremely huge.

Aji de Gallina- potatoes with a creamy sauce that tastes a little cheesy with shredded chicken. Served with rice and an egg. Que rico! In the glass is pineapple water with herbs and spices and the red stuff is gello.

They don't gain weight because:

• Almuerzo (lunch) is the largest meal of the day. By my standards, it's the ONLY meal of the day. Breakast is very light...like corn flakes, or toast and cafe, or yougurt and fruit. Dinner doesn't really exist. They might eat buttered crackers or something extremely light. Seriously.
• Ingredients are fresher and not fried. Alot of dishes are served with baked chicken but there's never fried anything. Even dishes with papas fritas (french fries) aren't deep fried. Plus they move alot more. I have 20 minute walk to and from school. But even people who drive alot still end up getting some sort of exercise.

I'm not sure what this is called but it was surprisingly tasty. I think it had meat, potatoes (claro), and something else... The "salad" is steamed vegetables.

The thing about food here is that it's not what it appears to be. It all tastes better than it looks. I should have more pictures of food but I keep forgetting until I'm staring at an empty plate.